Winter Road – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“Winter Road” – 8 x 10 acrylic on canvas board
Today’s painting has an unusual origin. I wanted to do another snowscape – perhaps a winding road type of picture as I’ve done of some fall and spring scenes. But I lacked a photo reference to work from and there’s no snow close by. So I took another picture of a summer scene and imagined what it might look like after a blanket of snow. This is the result. The thinking through process meant that I had to invent what was behind the foreground trees – because I couldn’t see through their summer garb. The real terrain was actually rather flat and I wanted to see more billowing drifted snow, which meant modeling mounds, thinking about lights and darks created by those mounds, and the color of the shadows. The cast shadows of the trees also helped describe the terrain. I decided that I would have the sun coming from the left, so I’ve touched a little warm color into the snowdrifts on the sunward side. A rural mailbox was added to clarify that this is a road, not a frozen river
An exercise like this causes me to think more about what I am painting rather than just copying it. How many cast shadows do I want to include? What color? What shape? Where do they fall? What is my pattern of darks and lights? What colors do I want to introduce for variety? Most importantly, what is the mood that I want to create?
One of my goals for the new year is to try to be even more observant about nature, wherever I may be. That means looking more closely at some of the details I’ve mentioned. It means noticing the effects of atmosphere on different days. It means looking at the structure of trees and shrubs and carefully noting their peculiar growth habits. I think that this practice will help a great deal with plein air painting as well.
I know that a lot of the US is laboring to clear away heavy snow left by blizzard conditions. In California we tend to romanticize and glamorize snow because we get so little of it. So this is my way of enjoying a white Christmas when the real thing is still a faraway dream.
The Woods in White – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“The Woods in White” – 8 x 10 – oil on canvas on board
High in the mountains above Los Angeles (near Big Bear) we are finally getting snow. Of course it’s the snowmaking equipment at Snow Summit and Bear Mountain, but hey, we’ll take what we can get. I would love to ski again like I did when we were raising our family, but I’m more than a little concerned about falling and breaking something. If I did ski I’d have to stick to the green bunny slopes. More likely I’d find a place to paint the snow instead.
Scenes like this one – partly from an old reference photo and partly from imagination – have a lot in common with abstract paintings. This was painted with a limited palette of ultramarine blue, thalo blue, yellow ochre and a small amount of alizarin crimson. And titanium white, of course.
Snowy field – Karen Winters Daily Painting
9 x 12 acrylic on paper
Freshly fallen snow – a moment of quiet winter beauty. In this sketch I’m using acrylic in a watercolor manner.
I’ll write more later – things are busy right now.
Snowy Creek – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“Snowy Creek” – acrylic on canvas on board – 9 x 12 inches – SOLD
I needed something on a holiday theme to take for show and tell to an art association meeting, and there was no time for oil to dry, so I painted this in acrylic in a very loose, impressionistic method, using watercolor technique also.
I really have artist Dory Grade to thank for demonstrating some of the wonders of acrylic. I had misconceptions about it – not the least of which was believing that it dried too quickly to be blended. Not so! If you work quickly (and I do) and use some matte medium, you can blend as easily as in oil. And a few minutes later it’s dry. Don’t like the colors? Paint over it and blend again.
Most of this was painted with a small one inch flat brush. A rigger was used for finishing touches of twigs and limbs.
Live Oak and Aloes – Huntington Gardens Plein Air Painting
Oak and Aloes – 9 x 12 oil on canvas
In the desert garden area of Huntington Botanical Gardens there is a mature live oak tree surrounded by exotic desert and tropical plants, many of which have an origin in South Africa. Winter is the time for aloes to bloom – and their red flower stalks are holiday cheerful amidst the green of succulents and cacti. Nature puts on a fabulous show every day of the year.
An epiphyllum (orchid cactus) nestled between the trunk and the branches – but they will bloom much later in the year.
In Southern California we are finally in the middle of autumn. Liquidambar trees are turning, the gingkos are fully yellow, sycamores are a blend of green and gold and some trees are already bare. It takes us a long time to get around to the seasons, but we try to do a good job with it when we do.
California Country Road – Karen Winters
California Country Road 9.5″ x 7.5″ watercolor on paper
A spontaneous sketch of an out of the way byway in California’s beautiful hills. Around the bend may be a tired old barn or a vineyard. You just never know what to expect when you go for a drive.
Pacific Memories – Karen Winters Daily Painting
Pacific Memories – 5 x 7 inches acrylic on canvas on board
Much of the coastline of Northern California (and above) lacks the warm beaches and golden sand we know here, but it is blessed with craggy rocks of every shape and description. These rugged areas invite exploration – but not on a day when the surf is high.
On a different geographical note, there’s a good chance we’ll see snow in the mountains when we wake up – an unusual event for our area. Perhaps in a few days we’ll have a chance to drive up into the Angeles National Forest and see some snow-bedecked trees.
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!
Radiant Sea – Karen Winters Impressionist painting
“Radiant Sea” – oil on canvas – 16 x 20 inches
SOLD
I think this is my one of my favorite paintings that I’ve done this year … and it’s headed for Descanso Gardens’ Christmas Show starting this Friday, December 7, along with Desert Sunrise and two other new paintings yet to be posted here. Because there are 15 artists in this show (everyone who’s shown in the previous year) I won’t be gallery sitting every day – only a day and a half. So, if you have a spare moment to stop by and say hi, drop me a note. I’ll know my schedule on Friday.
I don’t usually have time to do this, but I thought it would be fun to post some larger closeups of some of the areas in the painting. Click the thumbnails to enlarge.
The surf and sand reflect all the colors in the painting
The “silver lining” part was tricky. I guess this cloud has a golden lining.
Using fingers and rags to get this effect.
Desert Sunrise – Palm Springs – Karen Winters Daily Painting
“Desert Sunrise” oil on canvas 14 x 18
SOLD
But you can find more of my desert paintings and other landscapes at Karen Winters Gallery Site
This Friday, December 8, I will be exhibiting some paintings again at Descanso Gardens in La Canada, and this painting may be among them. (I’m still deciding which four I’ll bring for the group exhibition, and my final selection will probably be made that morning.) This painting was inspired by the warm beauty of the sunrise in Palm Springs.
On another topic, last Friday night we attended a lecture at the Norton Simon museum in Pasadena on the landscapes of Renoir. His painting continued to evolve through the years, and there were some startling examples of contemporaneous paintings executed in very different styles, depending upon the subject matter. This came as a surprise to me because I think we are used to seeing a great deal of consistency in the bodies of work of the masters. It’s refreshing to see how they experimented and explored new techniques with a variety of interesting results.
