Poppy and Mandarin Still Life – California impressionist Karen Winters
Poppies and Mandarins
14 x 18 oil on canvas
Painted from life
The brilliant but delicate iceland poppies form a backdrop for the mandarin oranges. Or perhaps they were tangerines or clementines. I can never be sure about citrus.
There is some glare on this painting because it’s soaking wet, but I hope it conveys the general idea. I’ll shoot another picture in a week or so when it is dry.
It has been pouring rain here, which we dearly need. Tomorrow morning I hope that I wake to see snow on the Angeles Crest mountains. If so, it will be a good day to go out and paint a rare scene. These mountains are infrequently dusted, and sometimes subsequent rains wash it away if there’s not sufficient cold. Blue skies, white snow and a few scantily-clad sycamore trees still holding onto their leaves like fan-dancers protecting their modesty. Brrr.
My interview on Creative Liberty
Pomegranates and sunflowers
11 x 14 oil on canvas
I was interviewed yesterday on Creative Liberty, a wonderful blog about living creatively. Liz Massey, the blog owner and a creative coach asked me some good questions for her “In the Studio” series, and I enjoyed the opportunity to talk about my work flow, staying “unblocked” and keeping my creative fires lit. Click the “creative liberty” link to read it.
Folklorico Dancers at Pasadena Civic Auditorium
Plein air oil painting
9 x 12 oil on canvas board
This may have been the most difficult plein air painting I’ve ever done. I’m not complaining, mind you. I love to paint outdoors and the dancers were beautiful with their colorful costumes, but it was just challenging for a variety of reasons. For one, the colors of the sunset changed moment by moment. I hadn’t taken into consideration how dark it would be when the dancers appeared in the plaza (yes, 7:30 is dark, it’s not summer any more, even though temps are still in the 90s!) And even though I arrived early to get the Paseo Pasadena background blocked in, the colors of the buildings changed by the minute. The dancers of the Clasica troupe performed for about a half an hour with one costume change. (This was the first costume, the second costumes were all white) It was the best I could do to get a suggestion of the swirling skirts. I hope the beautiful ladies will forgive me for not including faces, but I only had time for an impression of the scene – and the paint was flying!
Because plein air painting means simplifying the design and making choices about what to include and what not to include, I simplified this scene by just suggesting some of the major buildings in the Paseo Mall, the shape of the Sierra Madre Mountains, the foreground plaza and the dancers themselves. All the windows and details were reduced to a few glowing shapes to convey a night scene. The dark shapes of palms in the distance form a border to the setting. I left the painting of the ground under their feet until I got home and could assess what the painting needed.
I’m going to have to try “urban night” again sometime, and see if I can incorporate what I learned from this experience.
The dancers were appearing as part of opening night festivities for the Pasadena Symphony – and their performance was wonderful!
Still Life with Red Vase – Karen Winters
5 x 7 oil
Still Life with Red Vase
A small study of a vase with a sprig of abelia from a bush blooming outside our door. Painted from life.
I’m off to a nocture paintout this evening, which should be an interesting challenge. I’ve scouted the location and know what to expect, generally, but lighting is always a surprise.
This past week I’ve been trying to spend some time catching up and decluttering my studio. It’s easy to let things get out of control when painting on deadline and doing the multitude of other things that an art business involves. In the act of sorting, filing and calendar updating I gain a greater feeling of control and relaxation and in a small way, I almost look forward to that time. Order … tranquility … letting the mind settle quietly.
Gotta run … more later.
Tuscan Flavor 1 – Fennel and Mushroom
“Tuscan Flavor – Fennel and Mushroom”
6 in x 6 in
Remember how I said I was watching more food network and less politics for the moment? As part of that trend, I’ve enjoyed shopping for some vegetables I don’t usually prepare, among them, fennel. This delicate vegetable and its companion mushroom called for a quick portrait before their trek to the salad bowl, and I obliged.
This is the first in a series … more Tuscan Flavor still lives to come. Oooh, this means more shopping, doesn’t it?
Onion and Peppers – Still life by Karen Winters
“Onion and Peppers” 5 x 7 oil on canvas
After months of watching virtually nothing but election news on TV and radio, I decided that I am finding the whole thing too stress producing and have switched some of my viewing habits to Food Network. Yeah, I still keep tabs on what’s going on, but I no longer choose to have political speak as the soundtrack for my life. With that influence, I’ve probably seen more closeups of peppers and onions and garlic cloves in the past week than I have in years. And they’re really fun to paint, too!
So here’s a closeup view of some ingredients headed for the chopping block. Get em while they’re hot … the pepper, that is.
Pacific Palisades Hillside – Will Rogers State Park by Karen Winters, California Impressionist
“California Summer Hillside – at Pacific Palisades, Will Rogers State Park”
Plein air painting 11 x 14 oil on stretched canvas.
Yesterday I enjoyed the company of the Allied Artists of the Santa Monica Mountains for a paint out at Will Rogers State Park in Pacific Palisades.
I saw many faces I knew from the California Art Club, Artists of the Canyon, and other paint-out groups, and we all had a wonderful day enjoying the mild good weather and range of painting subjects.
It was a little breezy and I struggled getting my umbrella to shade my work but finally gave up and positioned my medium sized Yarka easel so that the sun wouldn’t strike it directly. Note to self: bring a sandbag next time for the umbrella and stand. It had been left in the other car.
Because I positioned myself at a trailhead I had the pleasure of talking with many hikers on that beautiful Saturday morning, including some who were quite knowledgeable about impressionism and the growing popularity of plein air painting. It really is undergoing a revival!
After the paintout we enjoyed a potluck lunch and shared stories about galleries, shows, teachers, art products and more. I always have a good time getting together with artists – for all our solitary pursuits we can also be gregarious.
Huntington Hotel Palms – Pasadena – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“Huntington Hotel Palms” – 9 x 12 oil on canvas
Paintout report:
It was a picture perfect day in Southern California, although it didn’t start out that way. We had been getting a little early taste of “June Gloom” which meant that a low marine layer hovered over much of the southland until it burned off around 12:30. I had anticipated this happening, so I didn’t start to paint the sky until afternoon – I spent my time blocking in the trees, lawn and palms, knowing that I could change the color to represent the warm light when the sun came out. A purple jacaranda tree had started blooming, and some bird of paradise plants provided welcome contrast to all the green.
We arrived around 10:30 and I found my chosen spot on the Terrace balcony – right outside the tea room. I had a panoramic view of the great lawn and this clump of palms attracted my attention. The paintout was organized by the Laura Segil Gallery as a kickoff to the Huntington Artist in Residence program. One of the most enjoyable parts of the day was taking time to chat with all the passersby who were strolling after Mothers’ Day brunch or perhaps were guests of the hotel. The hotel is the former Ritz Carlton, but is now part of the Langham Hotel chain.
Altogether, a delightful way to spend the day. Since my two kids are out of town, we will defer Mothers’ and Fathers’ Days (and a passel of birthdays) until we are all together again sometime in June. But they did send me a beautiful big bouquet of roses which I adore.
Avocados – Karen Winters Daily Painting
Avocado & Leaves – 5 x 7 oil
Avocados from our overburdened tree – guacamole coming soon! This was painted from life this morning with actual sunshine streaming in my studio window!
I’m feeling better – finally – things are looking up.
University of Redlands Original Plein Air Oil Painting of Larsen Hall by Karen Winters – November 2007 Centennial
“Larsen Hall” – 9 x 12 oil on canvas on board
University of Redlands original plein air oil painting
Thanksgiving has come and gone and we are thankful for the blessings of home, family and freedom from want. I am decidedly NOT thankful for the nasty cold I came down with during the day, which has absolutely knocked me for a loop today. I’m hoping that by tomorrow I’ll start to recover somewhat.
I have been working on a winter painting which may be our Christmas card this year, so in the meantime here’s a painting from October’s plein air paintout at University of Redlands which I had not posted earlier. It was done at about 9:30 am at Larsen Hall on Saturday, October 20, just a day before the winds and fires came to So. California.
This isn’t the front of Larsen Hall, which may be a more popular angle, but I chose this one around the side because it provided a good view of the dome as well as the beautiful violet mountains, deodar trees and the blooming sago palm – all images which are iconic of the campus.
