Cherry Reflections – Daily Painting
“Cherry Reflections” – 8 x 10 oil on canvas –
Here’s a detail of the painting. Actual size of this cherry is about 1 3/4″ across. Click to enlarge.
Chinese cup – Japanese persimmons
“Chinese-Japanese” 5 x 7 oil on canvasboard
I had a square cornered Chinese demitasse cup and some Japanese persimmons – and thought they looked good together in a primary color sort of way. It seemed like a good get together for a still life. and the colors are even more vivid in person. Somehow they never look as striking on a monitor as they do in real life. If you want to see how much of a difference vivid color makes, take your little finger and cover that small stroke of bright red. The whole painting changes, doesn’t it? That one small area, the size of a fingertip, really has a big effect. Did you try it?
Speaking of which, I had a very good time this morning going around to garage sales and picking up some props for future still life setups – silver plated vessels – colorful ceramics – and I really don’t know where I’m going to stow them – but they sure are fun to look at and to arrange into interesting combinations.
Sunflower – Karen Winters Daily Painting
Solo Sunflower 8 x 10 oil on canvas board
SOLD
When we were driving on a back road off Highway 1, not far from Paso Robles, we came across a row of sunflowers that had been planted along the roadside. These beauties were 7-8 feet tall and each one had a unique character and form. I must have spent 20 minutes there, shooting them from every angle. I selected this one for my first sunflower portrait – a memory of a bright sunny day with an amazing sky that really was that turquoise.
This one I painted in two sessions … one for the underpainting and a second go for some glazing and highlights. Probably the most challenging part was mixing the colors for the shadowed areas. There were so many colors bouncing around in there – reflected russets from the center of the flower, greens from the abundant leaves nearby, plus ochres and even violets – complements of the yellow.
The Way Back Home – Daily Painting
“The Way Back Home” (Central California Coast) – 9 x 12 oil on canvasboard
SOLD
When I saw this location last week it left me with a feeling of nostalgia and bittersweet longing, even though I have never lived in a rural setting. Perhaps there’s something about a lonely country road that evokes feelings of homesickness and curiosity – wondering what wonderful things await just around the bend.
Can you tell I am becoming seriously infatuated with vivid color?
Note: if you find that this image appears exceptionally dark (not just saturated color but DARK) on your monitor, please let me know. I’m trying to tweak my settings so that images scanned through a Mac appear reasonably correct on a PC.
Evening Glory – Daily Painting
“Evening Glory” (central coast) 12″ x 16″ oil on stretched canvas
SOLD
Now you know a little bit about what I was up to from Thursday to Sunday of this past week – I was on a road trip and photo safari to gather references for new paintings. Much as I’d like to stop and paint quietly at each of these locations, we were on a timetable and my little Nikon served me well, providing a wealth of material to use as inspiration for new works.
Thank you all for the feedback you gave on “Beside Still Waters” – as you can tell, I’m still enjoying the use of heightened colors and there’s a very good chance I’ll be exploring this approach for awhile.
This scene was inspired by a drive we took at sunset near Paso Robles, California – our beautiful Central Coast region. Here, hillsides were generously dotted with oak trees, and the grasses literally glowed shades of gold and orange in the waning light. I made notes on the colors just in case the photographs didn’t reveal the true brilliance of the scene. In fact, I relied more on my memory and notes than the photo in doing this painting. So, I’m painting intensely right now. I sense an opportunity coming that doesn’t even have a name yet – but I know I need to have a number of paintings ready. The muse cracks the whip and I obey.
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Cottage – Central Coast California Watercolor painting by Karen Winters
Thanks to EBSQ for picking my painting, “Santa Barbara Cottage” for Art of the Day this past Saturday
This 11 x 15″ painting, when matted, will fit perfectly into a 16 x 20 frame.
Beside still waters
“Beside Still Waters” – 12″ x 16″ – oil on canvas
Inspired by the 23rd Psalm, this painting of a row of eucalyptuses and deciduous trees beside still waters was an experiment using a more colorist approach than I have attempted in the past. It’s a potential new direction for me. What do you think?
Pasadena City Hall
“A Bright New Day” – (Pasadena City Hall) 9 x 12 oil – SOLD
A week ago Sunday the members of the California Art Club assembled at Pasadena’s City Hall for a plein air paint out to celebrate the rejuvenation and retrofitting of this revered local landmark. I don’t usually paint architectural subjects, but I enjoy challenges and this one was a good one. Compounding the challenge was the changing light, which is always a factor in plein air work. During the hours that I worked on this – from 1 -5 pm or so, the facade became more radiant and glowing, which prompted opportunities to add impressionistic color.
A week later, after the painting was dry, we returned to the same venue for a show and sale. The City Hall painting went home with a collector, as did this painting of Eaton Canyon, completed on a paintout earlier the same week.
SOLD
To see more Pasadena paintings that are still for sale, go to My Gallery Site.
Roses at Twilight
“Roses at Twilight” (Descanso Gardens) – 9 x 12 oil on canvasboard – SOLD
Last night we went back to Descanso Gardens to meet my artpal Wendee for a picnic and to do a little plein air painting at “golden hour.” I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seems they’re making golden hour shorter and shorter these days. I painted for about 45 minutes – I got the block in finished (this was after about 15 minutes) and then went on to start to refine the image, but the light had changed so drastically that finishing it on site was impossible. Wendee will vouch for this, that when I threw in the towel because of the light change, I was ambivalent as to whether or not I could make anything of it at home. But this experience tells me not to give up on a painting just because it’s at an awkward stage (kind of like raising teenagers, so I’ve heard.) So I put it aside and took a fresh look at it this morning in the studio, and I’m content with the results.
Just for fun, I put it in a plein air frame (a scan) to see how it would look. I think it really helps set it off.
This weekend I’ll be showing my Pasadena paintings with the California Art Club at the Pasadena City Hall from 3 – 6 pm. If you’re in LA, please stop by and say hello.
Cobb Sunset Trail – New Gallery Site
“Cobb Sunset Trail” – 12 x 16 – oil on canvas
After a certain amount of procrastination, I’ve finally organized some of my favorite paintings (including this brand new one) into a gallery website separate from this blog. If you’d like to have a look, visit Karen Winters Fine Art or click the New Gallery Site icon in the right hand sidebar. I will be updating that site regularly, but I wanted to get something in place. If you find any links that don’t work, please let me know.
I’ve just joined two local art associations, the San Gabriel Fine Arts Association and The California Art Club and look forward to getting to know other artists and participating in paint outs and learning from the many fine artists who share their knowledge so generously. We are fortunate to have a lively and active arts community in the city, and I’m hoping to participate in every way that I can.
As a matter of fact, I’ve already taken part in two events at the SGFAA – I entered a watercolor painting for their July “Americana” show and was delighted to find that it won first prize. I’m sorry, I’ll have to wait until I visit the gallery to take a picture and post it. I framed it the night before it was due and neglected to scan it first. The other event, last Sunday was a wonderful demonstration by Joseph Stoddard, whose loose watercolors are a delight to behold. If you’re in the So. Cal. area, check out this group.
This Sunday I’m going to be taking part in a California Art Club paint out at Pasadena City Hall in honor of the refurbishment of their classic building, bringing it up to seismic standards and re-beautifying it as well. I’m really looking forward to the event and hoping that the day won’t be a scorcher.
Until then, I’ll be busily painting. Have a good weekend, everyone!
