Huntington Beach Seascape Impressionist Oil Painting by Karen Winters
Peaceful Planet – 8 x 10 oil on canvas on board
Huntington Beach Sunset
The sea has always been a source of strength and serenity for me, and it remains one of my favorite subjects for photography and painting. The colors change with the moment, reflecting the beauty of our natural world.
Today I had the delightful experience of meeting a charming woman who is the newest collector of my work. I have not said it often on my blog, but I truly feel that the creative experience is most fulfilling when I have a chance to meet the person who will be giving my art a new home. So I have seen the place where she will be hanging Flint Canyon Trail, and I agree she has found the perfect setting for it.
And speaking of meeting other art lovers, I will be painting publicly in two places this weekend, August 9 and 10. So if you happen to be in the area(s), please come by and say hello.
Saturday afternoon, arranged by Segil Fine Art in Monrovia, I will be the “artist in residence” from 2-4 pm at the Langham Huntington Hotel in San Marino, California (near Pasadena.) This is the same beautiful hotel where I painted on Mothers’ Day this year. I will be in the lobby of the tearoom, most likely painting a still life which they have thoughfully set up. I will also bring some smaller works with me.
On Sunday from 9am to 1 pm, I will be painting at the new Americana mall in Glendale, on Brand Avenue. It is a group paintout and I don’t know where I’ll be positioned yet, but I’ll be there! If you have met me at Descanso Gardens or one of the other places where I attempt to talk and paint at the same time, you know i enjoy meeting people, so don’t be shy. It turns out the plein air paintings have become so “hot” that you can practically find a paintout somewhere every weekend day. Good thing we have a lot of beautiful locations here!
I am counting down the days until our Descanso show opens – only about 2 weeks to go and I’m painting like crazy, here.
Pasadena afternoon – Cityscape urban oil impressionist oil painting – Karen Winters
El Molino Afternoon
11 x 14 oil on board
SOLD to a collector from Pasadena
Strong sunlight streamed through the alley just south of the Pasadena Playhouse in the Playhouse District.
I enjoy the feeling of painting on board. Although it lacks the “spring” of stretched canvas, the paint glides on smoothly and can be pushed around in different ways.
Thanks for all the comments left here in support of my 5 years in blogging. Connecting with others through Facebook is another new and interesting direction that promises to bring other opportunities to be creative and connect with other creative people. I’m really enjoying it a lot. It’s not just for college kids, anymore! There are groups based around common interests (like art) as well as other relaxing activities like playing Scrabble and organizing get togethers. So much fun!
Sunset Magic – California Impressionist Painting by Karen Winters
Sunset Magic
12 x 16 oil on canvas – California impressionist landscape
My latest larger sized landscape draws inspiration from the works of George Inness – a Hudson Valley painter who gradually evolved into an impressionistic style (even though he always rejected the term “impressionist” when it was applied to him.) I have been studying his work for the past few weeks, having seen some of his paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago, and then seeing Sun Shower, at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Inness had a unique way of combining realism and impressionism that I admire. And no doubt it was because of the era in which he worked – in the transitional period between the two movements.
Here’s how it looks a dark frame. I wouldn’t put a bright gold frame on a painting like this – the brightness would compete with the sunset.
Oak in the Meadow – Santa Monica Mountains – Karen Winters Daily Painting
Oak in the Meadow 12 x 16 inch oil on canvas
Late afternoon light streams across a meadow dotted with oak trees. The glow reminded me of a long ago time in a peaceful place.
In real life, the place is the Santa Monica Mountains – a meadow not far from Malibu Creek State Park. The distant mountain range takes on a violet cast as the sun descends. Soon, even the wildflowers will be covered with deep shadows. Don’t you just want to sit under that tree and listen to the calls of the red-winged blackbirds?
May at Malibu Creek – Karen Winters Daily Painting – Art
“May at Malibu Creek”
11 x 14 pastel on board
SOLD
This week has been another week of preparation for a show – this Sunday, June 1 at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. So I haven’t had a lot of extra time for painting but I will try to make up for it, soon.
This is another favorite scene of mine from Malibu Creek State Park. The long lazy trail winds back through the spring grasses, which are beginning to turn golden here and there. Wildflowers decorate the hillsides with swaths of color, and the afternoon glow kisses the chapparal-covered mountainsides.
I was reading a website recently that was extolling the beauty of the Santa Monica Mountains. This area is so close to urban Los Angeles, yet it might as well be out in the wilderness. There is so much natural texture and beauty here – a painter’s delight.
The other day I was sitting in the car in the parking lot while my husband ran into OSH for a few hardware bits. Rather than wrap myself up in an art magazine, I just gazed for a long time at the Verdugo Hills and the clouds drifting above it. I challenged myself to see as many colors and values as I could. Art is not only made with brush or pastel in hand. Sometimes it gestates by just our attentive seeing.
Laguna Sunset – Crescent Cove – Oil Painting – Karen Winters
“Laguna Sunset (at Crescent Cove)” – 16 x 20 oil on canvas
SOLD
Although this painting is sold, I have others. Click this link to write me.
This is another of the paintings I’ve taken to the Huntington for the Art Matters event this Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. The inspiration was the small beach called Crescent Cove or perhaps Crescent Bay in Laguna Beach. I’ve seen people refer to it by both names. We were there in late March and stayed until the sun went down, enjoying every last bit of the beautiful sunset.
Pasadena Arroyo Seco Paintings – new show for Art Night
Arroyo Pond – 11″ x 14″ oil on canvas – Click to enlarge
Under Autumn Skies – 11″ x 14″ oil on canvas – Click to enlarge
SOLD
New California Art Club Show
See more of my arroyo seco paintings here.
Yesterday I got official notification that these two paintings have been accepted into a special exhibition of the California Art Club featuring paintings of the Arroyo Seco area of Pasadena. These paintings are of the northernmost part of the Arroyo, near JPL and Devils Gate Dam, on the border of La Canada Flintridge, my home town.
The show will be hung in the Pasadena Public Library and will open Friday night, March 14 (this Friday) and continue through March 30.
Reception is from 6 to 10 pm and artists will be present to chat with. The show is part of Pasadena’s bi-annual ArtNight – a great event in which all of Pasadena’s many museums and concert venues are open, free, for the evening. Shuttle buses take art lovers around to all the locations so you don’t have to keep driving and parking. More information about ArtNight can be found here.
So, if you’re in LA or especially if you live near Pasadena, you should really get out and enjoy this special evening of art, music and more. And if you get by the Pasadena Library, stop by and say hi.
Earlier that same evening, I’ll be at the Chevy Chase Country Club for the opening of another show featuring paintings of the club, canyon and surrounds. More details about that (and pictures) in a day or two.
Now you know why I’ve been saying I’ve been crazy busy for the past month or so!
Sycamores and Sand
SOLD
Sycamores and Sand – 5 x 7 acrylic on canvas on board
Click for actual size painting
Colors are strongest at sunset and dawn. In this miniature painting of a winter sunrise, the dawn touches wildflowers and clinging sycamore leaves and makes them shimmer. The location is near Palm Springs in one of the canyons where water and plant life are abundant.
Arroyo Pond – Arroyo Seco Painting – Karen Winters
Arroyo Pond – 12 x 16 oil on canvas
When the rains come, a part of the upper Arroyo Seco (in Hahmongna Park) can fill up with water, creating a seasonal pond. Here’s how it looked on one overcast day in early spring. I’m wondering what the current rainstorm will bring (this was from a few years ago.)
Conventional wisdom says that there should be a vertical element in a composition for balance when it is primarily horizontal, but in this case I think the purely horizontal format helps to reinforce the feeling of peace and tranquility. This view is from above Devils Gate – looking southward in the early morning in the direction of the Colorado Street Bridge. The hazy mist is typical when there’s a lot of moisture in the air.
Sailing Home – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“Sailing Home” – 16 x 20 – oil on canvas – SOLD
This is the next in my marine series – and I am discovering new things with each one that I do. This time my objective was to experiment with some atmospheric effects. Unlike the previous painting, the palette is considerably more limited, with values designed to create a more dramatic presence.
Now, I know that some people will object to the dark and turbulent clouds. But when you think about it, when do you appreciate the sun the most? On a mild blue-sky day – or when it finally breaks through after a storm? So there’s my Deep Thought of the day.
Anyway, tomorrow is the opening of Watercolor West’s annual show and reception, I’ve been looking forward to this occasion for a long time, seeing my painting hung and visiting with friends. I’m sure it will be wonderful and I hope the weather will cooperate. It’s at the Riverside Art Museum in Riverside, California if you’re in Southern California and are looking for an art filled way to spend the afternoon.
On other art fronts, our holiday Descanso show is being hung today. There was a lot of good work I saw this morning, and is a second good reason to visit Descanso other than the camellias now in bloom!
