Long Beach Lighthouse Sunset – California impressionist Oil Painting – California Art Club Show
“Rest at Rainbow Harbor”
(featuring the Long Beach Lions Lighthouse For Sight)
9 x 12
oil on canvas
In May 2010, I exhibited 2 paintings with the California Art Club Long Beach Bike Festival Art Show at the Phantom Gallery, 170 N. Promenade in Long Beach.
I’d been been painting for this show for several weeks, and the guidelines were that the paintings needed to portray landmarks of Long Beach, and at least one of our submitted paintings should feature a bicycle, in honor of the Bike Festival.
This painting combines several of the themes. The Lighthouse for Sight, one of three in Long Beach, was built by the Long Beach Lions Club and is a reminder of the importance of saving vision – one of the important charities that the Lions support. It sits atop a hill that bicyclists ride around. It reminded me of Glastonbury Tor in England, where a tower sits atop a hill, encircled by terraces. A bicyclist takes a moment to rest at the top of the hill, before continuing his ride.
When I learned that the harbor is named Rainbow Harbor, I gave myself permission to “push” the color more than I might usually do. Like I need an excuse to get colorful, right?
Pasadena Arroyo Bridges – Colorado Street Bridge Oil Painting
“Pasadena Arroyo Bridges – featuring the Colorado Street Bridge”
9 x 12 oil
This plein air painting was done about a month ago and I thought I had posted it to my blog but just realized that I had not. So, here it is. It was painted as part of a paint out for the California Art Club.
The viewpoint is from the east side of the arroyo, near the Casita del Arroyo, looking westward.
And speaking of the CAC, we had a fantastic time last night at the 100th anniversary celebration party of the California Art Club, held at the California Club in downtown LA. The champagne flowed freely and it was fun to see so many early California impressionist paintings decorating the walls of the club, as well as some paintings by some new California masters. It was a pleasure seeing so many old friends and making some new ones, too. No other organization does so much to preserve and promote the beauty of California as portrayed through traditional fine art, and I am always pleased to take part in their many activities. If you’re a traditional fine artist, you really should join.
These are bittersweet times for us, with many mixed emotions. On one hand I’m blessed with so many new opportunities related to art, including my show at the Bowers Museum which will hang this Friday the 16th. On the other hand our almost 12 year old American bulldog Ripley has suddenly become seriously ill and we will probably need to say goodbye in a few days. Feeling intense joy and grief is part of life, and as the wise man said … “this too shall pass …” both the very good and the very sad. I pray for equanimity during these times, savoring good memories of the past and holding optimistic expectations for the future.
California Poppies – Pasadena’s Arlington Garden Landscape Oil Painting
In a Poppy Garden
8 x 6″ plein air painting
oil on panel
SOLD
Late yesterday afternoon, after painting at Descanso, we went for a walk in Pasadena and I took a pre-sunset hour or so to paint this small study of a beautiful Mediterranean garden in Pasadena on Arlington St, just off Orange Grove.
Along with poppies we saw blooming ceanothus, apricot mallows, climbing roses, penstemons, irises, bulbines and many other drought-tolerant Mediterranean and California plants. All inspiring as we convert one of our yards into a drought tolerant garden. While we were there we had the chance to meet Betty and Charles McKenney, the founders of this wonderful city refuge, and to learn about some of the plants and the history of the project. I’ve been a visitor to the garden many times in the past three years, but getting to meet the folks behind it was a special treat. The garden is continuing work in progress and it’s delightful to see its evolution.
Azalea Garden Plein Air Painting – Descanso Gardens
Descanso Gardens Azaleas
9 x 12 oil on linen panel
Along with the bountiful spring bulbs at Descanso, the azaleas are in full bloom, a temptation for the plein air painter. This scene prompted me to paint mostly with red-green complements.
Wishing everyone a beautiful Easter!
Peters Canyon Plein Air Painting – Orange County Landscape oil painting
Peters Canyon
9 x 12 oil on linen panel
Plein air painting
Last week I had the pleasure of painting at Peters Canyon, in Orange County, near the home of some of our friends. The broad meadow was blooming with yellow flowers – perhaps mustard, but I’m not sure. I’m told that it was even more vivid a few weeks earlier, but it was still pretty bright. The trees in the background included evergreen eucalyptuses, favorites of mine, and some deciduous ones, perhaps willows, that had not yet gotten their spring foliage. I’m guessing that there is a stream in there where the trees follow a low point. I liked that little spot of pinkish gray in the otherwise yellow green scene
Below you can see a little of the work in progress.
Descanso Gardens Tulips Plein Air Oil Painting by Karen Winters
The tulips are up at Descanso, and blooming merrily. When I was painting there a few days ago, I heard that although they planted tens of thousands, that raccoons dug up some of the bulbs, so the display is not as robust as they had hoped. The good news is there was no sign of deer grazing, so they must have shooed them out of the gardens or the blooms would be nipped off.
This is a good time to see the spring bulb show if you’ve never been to the gardens. In addition to the tulip display there are also foxgloves, azaleas, clivia, lilacs (both California native – ceanothus – and the traditional syringas) and some camellias still blooming. The wildflower meadow on the south side of the garden is beautiful now, too, as is the Japanese garden.
No wonder Descanso Gardens are becoming such a popular wedding location – it really is magical and romantic looking in the spring.
Leo Carrillo Beach Oil Painting – Pelican Rock – Malibu seascape art
SOLD
Cormorant Rock, Malibu,
Leo Carrillo State Park Beach
5 x 7 oil painting
At Leo Carrillo Beach, I came across a rock that had a flock of cormorants roosting briefly before their next fishing mission. Their silhouettes against the fading sun intrigued me, and I thought they made a nice composition. A wedding was underway just the other side of a big rock structure, a beautiful sunset setting. I thought at first they were pelicans, but I was mistakden.
This limited palette painting was fun to do. The rocks take on different colors depending upon the lighting conditions and time of day, which presents a lot of creative possibilities.
California’s Brown Pelicans have been in the news recently as sick and dying birds have been found a distance from usual home. Their feathers are often discolored with some unknown substance. Whether is the result of red tide (algae bloom) or some other pollutant is unknown. A similar die-off happened around February of 2009. One supposition is that weather and oceanographic influences may disrupt the pelicans usual feeding patterns, causing them to starve and weaken. El Nino conditions may be a contributory factor. These birds were on home turf and looked well-feathered and plump. I love to watch them flying just over the waves, single file.
California painting – Arroyo Seco Pasadena Landscape Oil Painting of Federal Courthouse
Snow on the San Gabriels
(Federal Courthouse with view of the Arroyo Seco)
12 x 16 oil on canvas
The winter storms, which may now be over, often leave rare snowcaps on our local mountains – for a few days. I took advantage of one of these unusual scenes last month. This is a view I have painted before, in the autumn when the sycamores are in full color – and will likely paint again through the years with different weather and seasonal looks.
More of my Pasadena area paintings are viewable at Pasadena Paintings
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Casita del Arroyo show yesterday – it was a great day! I’m now looking forward to spring painting in Central California and working on numerous commissioned projects.
Arroyo Seco Painting – Pasadena Bridge Panorama – Plein Air by Karen Winters
Arroyo Panorama
SOLD
12 x 24 inches
oil on canvas
Interested in other Pasadena bridge paintings?
Click this link to write me. See more of my paintings on my website
Last week I had the pleasure of painting this panorama of the Arroyo Seco from a vantage point high above the canyon. I wanted the late afternoon look, so I had to work fast. As it turned out, I left the painting of the sky and foreground for later, concentrating on the trees, grasses, mountains and architecture as the sun relentlessly continued its course. It’s an interesting time of year. Not all of the deciduous trees have leaves yet – but the grass is thick and abundant, and bright yellow green. In a few months the vivid green will turn straw brown and there will be a solid canopy of leafy trees below. Every season brings its own beauties to enjoy. I’m guessing that I could look at a plein air painting of an early California impressionist and pretty well guess the month it was painted if I knew the location.
My husband shot a little bit of video as I painted, which I’ve included here:
See more of my Arroyo Paintings at http://www.pasadenapaintings.com
Malibu Landscape Oil Painting – Creekside in Malibu
Creekside in Malibu
(Malibu Creek State Park)
11 x 14
oil on linen panel
Malibu Creek, in the Santa Monica Mountains, is swelling with winter rains, and the water is nourishing the surrounding lands. This painting celebrates the return of spring in one of our most beautiful local areas, Malibu Creek State Park.
This is an area that I love to visit and paint over and over again. The creek has many different moods depending upon the season and the weather. To see more of my malibu creek paintings, visit this link.
We’ve had a few days of sunshine here, but the rain is headed back again tomorrow. I don’t mind it too much because I know it means a fantastic springtime full of wildflowers. But I do thrive on the beautiful clear skies the way the weather was yesterday. Studio work is fun but plein air painting is the best.
This weekend I’m looking forward to welcoming some visitors to my studio who are interested in seeing some prints of my work. I think it’s time to put aside the brushes for a moment and rediscover the vacuum cleaner.
