Yosemite Chapel in Autumn oil painting California impressionist contemporary art

Yosemite Chapel in Autumn
10 x 8 inches
oil painting

Autumn is one of the most beautiful times of year at Yosemite, and this little wedding chapel is never more charming than when framed with fall color. The deep afternoon blues of the walls are a perfect complement to the warm colors of the trees. I wonder how many thousands of weddings have been celebrated here?


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El Capitan Summer Yosemite oil painting

El Capitan Summer
9 x 12 inches
oil painting on oil primed linen

The view of El Capitan from the Merced River is one of my favorite sights in Yosemite. I always enjoy returning to paint there, any time of year. One of these days I’ll brave the elements and do a winter painting with snow capping the rocks. For now, the summer greens decorate the scene.


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Yosemite Sentinel Bridge Reflections – Half Dome oil painting


“Sentinel Bridge Reflections”
Half Dome, Yosemite Valley

16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas

This painting is quite special to me as it was the 1000th one I completed. I thought I had posted it on my blog last year, but discovered that I missed it.
If you’ve been to Yosemite Valley, you’ll recognize the view from Sentinel Bridge, with Half Dome reflected in the calm waters. With our current snowmelt, I’m guessing that the Merced River is anything but calm right now.

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Yosemite Paintings

Yosemite Awakening sunrise snowy winter oil painting

“Yosemite Awakening”
18 x 18 inches
Oil on Canvas

A year ago, we had the opportunity to visit Yosemite Valley in the midst of a beautiful snowstorm. We stayed for four days at the Yosemite Lodge and enjoyed seeing the park at its most magical. One morning, as we were hiking around, we came upon this scene where the sunlight had just come over the towering granite peaks to strike the new fallen snow. A soft mist began to arise and drift across the ground, while the bare trees glittered with frost. It was truly unforgettable, and something I’ve been waiting for awhile to paint.

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Cathedral Beach Yosemite Autumn landscape oil painting

Cathedral Beach, Yosemite Valley Autumn
12 x 16 inches, oil on canvas

This painting was done last fall based on my visit to Yosemite. As many times as we’ve been there through the years, I’d never caught it at exactly this time, and it was certainly glorious.

Cathedral Beach is on the left side of the Southside Drive, just beyond the El Capitan Bridge. It’s a popular picnic and swim area, with wide sandy beaches.

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California landscape eucalyptus painting – Beside Still Waters

“Beside Still Waters”
18 x 24 inch oil painting
On the road to Yosemite, through California’s Central Valley

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This scene has intrigued me from when I first saw it a few years ago, in the spring. California’s Central Valley was green with a plentitude of winter rain, and the distant Sierra foothills provided a beautiful cool contrast to the warm wildflower covered foreground. The pond, which seemed to be dammed up for cattle grazing, looked so inviting. If it wasn’t on fenced off private property, I would have liked to sit by it and dangle my feet in that cool fresh water. Eucalputus remain among my favorite trees to paint, although they are less plentiful the further you drive to the foothills. Oaks seem to dominate there. The day we were there, the clouds were drifting by constantly, creating beautiful shadows which I took full advantage of.

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.

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Yosemite Merced River miniature oil painting

Merced Road
4 x 6 inch oil painting

This miniature oil painting captures a part of the Merced River along on one of the roads into Yosemite. Last year there was a good amount of water in the stream last year – I hate to think of how dry it might be now.

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©2014 Karen Winters Fine Art

Yosemite Half Dome California landscape painting

Half Dome, Yosemite
6 x 8 inches
oil on canvas

Almost everyone I meet in California knows someone who has climbed Half Dome or they’ve done it themself. In our family, my husband did the climb in college, and our son did it just a few years ago. It’s a rite of passage, and a beautiful one at that. I’m too squeamish about heights to attempt it myself, but I admire those who have.

This little painting is the perfect size for a holiday gift, to commemorate a friend or family member’s climb to the summit.

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