Pt. Dume Zuma Beach California seascape oil painting by Karen Winters
Pt. Dume, Zuma Beach
Giant Coreopsis
18 x 24 oil painting
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This painting was done in the springtime when the giant coreopsis are in bloom on Pt. Dume. There are a few small paths you can walk on amid the billowing plants. It’s a spectacular sight.
Eaton Canyon Hike – California impressionist oil painting by Karen Winters
SOLD
“Eaton Canyon Hike”
Eaton Canyon, Altadena – San Gabriel Mountains
9 x 12 oil painting on linen plein air panel
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In fall, when the sycamores turn, Eaton Canyon reveals its dusky side. We’ve recently had some beautiful cloud formations – it’s an early harbinger of fall. Soon the chaparral will put on its own fall finery. This trailhead starts near the parking lot, skirts the west side of the canyon and continues northward for several miles.
Western Watershed – San Gabriel Mountains oil painting by California impressionist Karen Winters
“Western Watershed – San Gabriel Mountains”
SOLD
9 x 12 oil painting on plein air panel
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Click this link to write me. See more of my paintings on my website
The last remnants of spring storms course through the upper Arroyo Seco, which separates La Canada from Pasadena. Just weeks before the sandy riverbed was overflowing with a coursing river. Now, the willows and sage will take over, until winter rains come again.
Malibu Monuments – Malibu Creek State Park oil painting by Karen Winters
Malibu Monuments
20 x 24 inches
oil on canvas
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Malibu Creek State Park as seen from a high overlook – on one of the highways leading into the area. In the early springtime, the grasses are just starting to green up. These peaks are well known landmarks in the area.
San Simeon – Big Sur California Seascape oil painting by Karen Winters
“Cloudy Day at San Simeon” (Big Sur, California)
12 x 16 oil
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The southern part of Big Sur, California is at San Simeon, the site of Hearst’s Castle. The dramatic ocean cliffs frame the always changing sea. The day I painted this the sun was peeking through from time to time, but overall the scene was moody, with blowing fog and moving clouds. I actually like these sorts of days as well as the ones with bright sunshine.
Below, a photo of me working on it on location:
California Mission San Antonio de Padua, landscape oil painting by Karen Winters
Mission San Antonio Morning
(San Antonio de Padua, California Central Coast, northwest of Paso Robles)
9 x 12 inches
Oil on linen plein air panel
In early June 2012, I joined a group of other California Art Club artists to paint at Mission San Antonio de Padua, a California mission that is the most “untouched” of the chain. Although some outbuildings and residential quarters have been added, the setting is very much as it might have been hundreds of years ago. This side of the building, the facade where one enters the church, remains much as it was in the early years. By mid day this was all in shade, so morning is the time to catch it. We were up before dawn getting set up to capture the light. We were warned several times to watch out for rattlesnakes. It’s easy to become so focused on what you’re painting that you might not notice one that’s emerged from a hole while you are painting. I didn’t see one, thankfully, but I was certainly careful where I stepped.
California impressionist wildflower painting by Karen Winters
“Those Fields, Those Hills”
9 x 12 oil on hardboard plein air panel
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Springtime in Southern California brings the awakening of wildflowers to the hillsides. Some of the dried grasses of winter remain, but the cheery California sunflowers brighten the scene. This hillside was not strewn with wild mustard, as many are, but had a profusion of small beige and white flowers, plus helianthus californicus, the California sunflower.
The large tree is a pepper tree. The foliage of its soft branches seem to drift and sway in the wind, not unlike a weeping willow.
Tejon Ranch California Oak Landscape Plein Air Painting – Welcome Shade
SOLD
“Welcome Shade”
9 x 12 oil on plein air linen panel
Painted at the Tejon Ranch, May 2012
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In the middle of a warm spring day, just about high noon, a mighty Tejon Ranch oak spreads its limbs to offer shade to all who visit. Cattle, mostly, but most likely some other critters, too. This majestic tree was silhouetted against the rolling hills and mountains of the ranch. Wherever you look, beauty surrounds you, making it a real treat for plein air painters – even during the part of the day when the light is less than dramatic. (That’s why we get up at dawn and stay painting until moonrise, when we can.
Below, a photo of my work in progress. There were occasional gusts of wind which threatened to topple my umbrella. A road hazard sawhorse came in handy. Sometimes you’ve just got to improvise.
Sunrise in the Oaks – Tejon Ranch California plein air Landscape impressionist oil painting by Karen Winters
“Sunrise in the Oaks”
11 x 14 oil on linen plein air panel
Tejon Ranch, May 2012
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REMINDER – Artists reception for my show at Gale’s Restaurant, Sunday, May 20 – 4-6 pm, 452 S. Fairoaks Ave., Pasadena
Good morning, Tejon. A small band of intrepid California Art Club plein air painters woke at 4 am to get to the ranch and queue up in our vehicles to be on site before the sun rose. I had found my perfect spot – on Sycamore Creek, looking eastward just as the sun peeked over the hills and made the leaves of the old oak dazzle with the backlight. I had to bundle up and dress in layers, knowing that before long I’d be peeling them off as the day turned warm. This, like all of the Tejon Ranch, is absolutely beautiful – a real treat for plein air painters. We appreciate the invitation and the privilege to be there.
Sailing Clouds at my Solo Show – Gale’s Restaurant
“Sailing Clouds”
18 x 24 oil on canvas
(Moonstone Beach, Cambria)
See more of my Cambria paintings here
This painting, “Sailing Clouds,” is one of about 30 currently on exhibit for sale at Gale’s Restaurant in Pasadena, in my 2nd solo show at the venue.
The opening reception is this Sunday, May 20, from 4-6 pm. All are welcome to come see some new art, and enjoy a wonderful wine and cheese event. Gale’s Restaurant is at 452 S. Fairoaks Avenue, Pasadena.
“Sailing Clouds” is from Cambria, California, on the southern edge of Big Sur. It’s an area where I love to paint small studies as well as larger studio works derived from those studies. The image is especially calming, and is a visual retreat for a busy, hectic day. You can almost see the clouds move if you sit quietly.
There’s a quote from Wordsworth that was the inspiration for this title, taken from the poem, “Written in March.” The phrase is “small clouds are sailing.”
Those words stuck with me as I saw these massive ships of vapor and moisture making stately progress across the horizon. I have always enjoyed reading poetry, both western and eastern, and find them to be good sources of ideas for titles of painting. Perhaps it’s because creating visual art and creating poetry are closely aligned. In both cases, the writer or the poet is pointing to an emotion beyond the literal representation of the subject. Much is suggested and implied rather than stated directly. Some art teachers describe a painting’s brushwork as being “poetic.” Conversely, we may describe a poem as “painting a word picture.” William Blake was one of the rare individuals who both painted and wrote poetry. Maybe one day I’ll post some of my old haiku here.
Coming up next: another plein air painting from the Tejon Ranch paint out last week.
