Eaton Canyon Trail – Pasadena – Karen Winters Plein Air Daily Painting
Eaton Canyon Trail
8 x 10 oil on canvasboard
A plein air adventure SOLD
Although I had a wonderful time enjoying the company of my art pal Wendee while painting out in nature, today, just about everything that could go wrong, did.
When we got to the location, I discovered that I had left my palette at home. I had brushes and paint but no palette. After rooting around in the trunk of the car I found an empty Fedex envelope that served the purpose.
When you absolutely, positively have to paint.
It was quite breezy out there. So breezy, in fact, that the panel kept flying off the easel and landing on the palette. Yuk. So I ended up holding the painting in one hand (like the palette I didn’t have) instead of on the easel. It worked out ok.
By the time I got this far, the light had changed too much to continue. So I took a picture and finished it at home, in studio. (As above.) Thus ends the tale of lemonade from lemons, and one woman’s determination to enjoy her paintout day, no matter what.
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.
May 2008 American Art Collector Ad
Here’s the Daily Painters ad for May’s American Art Collector magazine –
My painting is the seascape in the upper right hand corner
I’m one of the juried artists at Daily Painters a collective of professional artists who paint and post daily. That particular 16 x 20 inch oil painting sold last year, but I have others (smile.)
In fact, I have a new landscape to post – which will be coming up soon …
Tulip Magnolia – Karen Winters Daily Painting
Tulip Magnolia – 7.25 x 7.25 inches – watercolor
SOLD
The magnolias have arrived in all their glory. A procession of bloom should follow for a month or so, so I’m going to make the most of it while I can. In some parts of town the trees are in full bloom, while in other microclimates the trees still have bare sticks with only the slightest hint of bud swelling. And although it’s confusing to me how that happens, it only means that the bloom will last longer. Perhaps it has to do with differences of species, I don’t know.
Foo Dog
While I work on some large paintings, here’s a small watercolor sketch of a lion dog, also known as a foo dog. It is one of two guardians of the new Chinese garden, opening very soon at the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino. According to this article the one I drew is the female because she has a cub underneath her paw. The pair of foo dogs stand by the pathway that leads to the new feature of these beautiful gardens.
Camellia Blossom – Karen Winters Daily Painting
Camellia Blossom – 11 x 14 oil on canvas
Camellias bloom in Los Angeles anytime from November to spring, depending upon the species. These are the first in a botanical series which I’m starting work on. There was a certain learning curve as I worked to render the delicacy of the petals. I’m used to painting camellias in watercolor, but it’s quite different in oil. To do the finish on this I was using sable brushes as small as size 0.
There is nothing like trying something new, whether it’s an entirely different subject, different style, different medium or different species to force yourself to GROW. Each painting is like a puzzle to be solved and only you can solve it.
Closeup of big blossom – click to enlarge
Blue Heron – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“Blue Heron” – 5 x 7 watercolor on paper
SOLD
There’s an eBay activity going on right now Feb 1 – Feb 7 called SFA (Small Format Art.) The monthly theme is “bird” so I painted this and will put it up for auction tomorrow unless I get it done tonight, which I might. It will be listed under seller karencwinters, or click the eBay button in the left sidebar. You’ll find the link there.
This was drawn freehand and painted directly, freehand, with no masking. I think it just might be one of my favorite nature illustrations. Do you know someone who loves herons and would love a luminous and regal friend for their wall?
The bird is from a photo taken by my husband while we were painting at Newport Beach, California. He (she?) was sitting on a dock looking around for fish. To isolate this beautiful creature I made the background deep blue, which seemed for fitting for a blue heron.
Oh, and I just got back from a local art association meeting where I got some VERY good news about the results of the current Focus on Oils show. I’ll post that news tomorrow.
At a Lavender Farm – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“At a Lavender Farm”
5 x 7 mixed media (watercolor and acrylic)
We have some friends who live in northern California who own a lavender farm. The climate is perfect for growing this beautiful fragrant plant. The plants actually grow in more regular rows than this, but I sort of like the wild blowsy look.
Sunday Sunshine – Karen Winters daily painting
Sunday Sunshine – 6″ x 6″ – watercolor with colored pencil accent
SOLD to a collector from Texas
Rather, this is the sunshine we WISH we had right about now. It’s been cold, wet and lightning is promised tonight. But I really can’t complain because this sort of weather is such a rare event and the gushing streams and wildflowers that follow will be glorious. In the meantime we’ll just snuggle up with an extra comforter and umbrella and wait until the sun breaks through.
This afternoon I painted this to remember the warmth of spring days yet to come. The lemon is from our tree and is presently full of new buds (if the rain doesn’t knock them off.)
Doing a painting like this is an entirely different experience from some of the bolder more expressive things I’ve posted recently. I’m not abandoning any style at the moment, I’m just exploring a range of techniques and looks. Painting something like this is a very quiet, meditative experience – using a smallish brush and taking quite a bit of time. Painting something like “Tumbling Down” for example, is an invigorating emotional experience, using a large brush and painting impulsively in a short period of time. They’re just … different experiences and sometimes one fits my mood more than another. You think maybe it has to do with caffeine? Hmmm … now there’s one to think about.
Edited to add: an art friend asked how I got the spotted effect in the lemon and how I did the edge of the lemon where the white of the paper is the bright spot.
The lemon was painted with multiple glazes of transparent watercolor – up to 5 layers, if I recall correctly. (Sometimes I forget when I’m in the flow of the moment.) The final glaze was a very pale orange and the uppermost spots were touched in with the tip of a small brush. The rougher spotty texture (toward the bottom of the lemon) comes from using a very light layer of colored pencil in the darks. The edge at the top of the lemon, where it meets the crystal, was just “painted around.” No masking was used.
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.
