Mariposa Meadow – Sierra foothills California landscape oil painting
“Mariposa Meadow – Trabucco Gardens with wildflowers”
9 x 12 inches, oil on plein air panel
When spring comes to the Western Sierra foothills, the meadows light up with color. Goldfields, a small yellow flower, mixes it up with lupine and white popcorn flowers. Valley oaks, now garbed in green, provide a backdrop for the tapestry. This scene was from an area along the Golden Chain Highway, otherwise known as state highway 49, I believe. A nearby sign said “Trabucco Gardens,” so I believe they may be the owner of this spectacular property. This time of year you can set up an easel just about anywhere in California and find beauty to capture.
See more of my wildflower paintings here
Interested in this painting?
Click this link to write me. See more of my paintings on my website
California poppy oil painting – plein air poppies
SOLD – “Plein Air Poppies”
6 x 8 inches, oil on plein air canvas panel
This was painted in Lancaster near the Poppy Reserve in Southern California’s Antelope Valley. It was late in the day and the colors were just getting more and more intense as I kept working on it, making changes and modifications.
Although this painting is sold, I have more poppy paintings available.
Click this link to write me. See more of my paintings on my website
Below, a few pictures of the work in progress
California poppy fields landscape oil painting – One Brilliant Moment
“One Brilliant Moment”
SOLD
9 x 12 inch oil painting
California poppies, Lancaster Poppy Reserve
This past week was peak bloom time for the poppies of the Lancaster Poppy Reserve, just north of Los Angeles. Painting there is an annual pleasure for me and in spite of the drought, the poppies didn’t disappoint. This is one of the paintings that came out of that trip. Another will be posted here soon.
Interested in this painting?
Click this link to write me. See more of my paintings on my website
Truckee snowbank – Lake Tahoe river landscape painting
“Truckee Snowbank”
12 x 16 oil painting on canvas
Interested in this painting?
Click this link to write me. See more of my paintings on my website
For the last several years, we’ve headed up to Lake Tahoe between December and February to take in the beautiful sights. This year we spent Christmas there with our family, and although there was a fair amount of overcast and snowy skies, the blue peeked through now and then. I am always a pushover for strong complements in landscapes and this riverside scene provided some of the colors I love best.
Overlooking Ojai Valley California landscape oil painting
Overlooking the Ojai Valley
8 x 10 oil on linen plein air panel
SOLD
This new painting features a view of the beautiful Ojai Valley, a verdant agricultural area northwest of Los Angeles, in Ventura County. The viewpoint is looking southward from the north part of the valley. Orange trees are in abundance there. It’s late afternoon, a few hours before sunset.
This painting is sold, but please write if you are interested in other Ojai paintings.
Click this link to write me. See more of my paintings on my website
California high desert Valyermo oil painting “High Desert Color”
“High Desert Color”
9 x 12 inches, oil painting on plein air panel
Valyermo, California
Antelope Valley High Desert area
After our welcome rains that came a few days ago, my husband and I saw the sky was still filled with beautiful cumulus clouds – the kind we see around here too infrequently. So we decided to take a drive up to the high desert to see the wide open spaces. It was a picture perfect day and we found ourselves in the small community of Valyermo. Although the wind and rain may have taken away some of the glory of the cottonwoods, there was still some color left, and the paint brush took care of the bare spots.
This is a view of one of those cottonwood groves. I liked the contrast of the yellow golds against the blue violet mountains in the background. Those happen to be the San Gabriels, the closest range to our home. So now I’ve painted them from ‘both sides, now’.
Interested in this painting?
Click this link to write me. See more of my paintings on my website
California landscape oil painting – Across the Poppy Fields
Across the Poppy Fields
6 x 8 inches, oil
How about a little brightness and color as we’re approaching winter? This miniature poppy painting will cheer up a quiet corner in your home or office. Perhaps a gift for a flower loving friend? This impressionistic landscape was inspired by a spring trip to the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve, near Lancaster, California. What I love about painting poppy fields is the natural complementary colors (orange and blue) that are always present in this area. Framing available!
Interested in this painting?
Click this link to write me. See more of my paintings on my website
High Water at Devil’s Gate Dam – California landscape oil painting
High Water at Devil’s Gate Dam – Arroyo Seco
20 x 24 oil on canvas
Available
I painted this to memorialize an area near and dear to me, not far from where I live. This is the boundary between La Canada Flintridge and Altadena – the upper Arroyo Seco, once known as Oak Grove Park and now known as the Hahamongna Watershed Area. Because of the silt that has accumulated above the dam, the dam has lost much of its capacity. There are plans underway to dredge this entire area, but one of the plans will remove not only the silt, but a great number of the trees and habitat that has grown up in the area. To read more about the devastation that will be caused by the County plan, visit It makes me sad to think that views such as this may soon be gone, and probably won’t return in my lifetime, unless a more thoughtful, conservation-oriented plan is adopted.
#arroyoseco #hahamongna #watershed #DevilsGateDam #lacanada #oilpainting #landscape #california
Gold Rush Country Ranch California landscape oil painting
Gold Rush Country Ranch
20 x 24 inches
oil on canvas
SOLD, but I have more paintings of California’s rolling hills at karenwinters.com
This new painting depicts a ranch on highway 49, not far from Murphys, California. There was something about the sculptural mass of the big oak tree that really spoke to me. Although I most commonly paint eucalyptus, I find live oak trees irresistible as well. I haven’t spent as much time painting Gold Rush country as I have the eastern Sierra and California’s Central Coast, but it’s really starting to grow on me. Maybe it’s all that gold?
Interested in this painting?
Click this link to write me. See more of my paintings on my website
Yosemite Falls California landscape oil painting
Yosemite Falls in Summer
18 x 24 inches, vertical
Oil on canvas
At more than 2400 feet high, from the top of the upper falls to the base of the lower falls, Yosemite Falls is the tallest waterfall in the continental United States. Peak water flow comes in late spring to early summer, the time that this was painted. The falls are fed by Yosemite Creek, and after the water leaves the falls, it joins the Merced River on its course out of the valley.
The challenge in painting a waterfall is to capture the soft edges of mist that perpetually rise from the thundering flow. Paint the edge too hard and the falls look like a cutout. Paint the edge too softly, and it looks like a big cottonball.
Interested in this painting?
Click this link to write me. See more of my paintings on my website
