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
This painting is now sold, but I have more at Pasadenapaintings.com
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See more Pasadena paintings here
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.
Montana De Oro Cliffs Painting – California Central Coast Art by Karen Winters
“Montana de Oro Cliffs”
12 x 16 oil on linen panel
California Central Coast oil painting
This plein air painting was started on location on a sunny day on California’s Central Coast. But before long – those distant soft clouds came closer and closer, then let loose with a powerful cloudburst. The light changed so completely I was forced to stop painting and to finish it in the studio based upon my memory (which sometimes works out best of all.)
Interested in this painting?
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Fall at Convict Lake Eastern Sierra California oil painting by Karen Winters
“Fall at Convict Lake”
12 x 16
oil on canvas
Convict Lake is one of the most accessible High Sierra lakes – and in the fall, when the aspens turn color, it’s especially captivating. Some day I’ll spend the whole day there, just watching the light play across the faces of the granite mountains, as the clouds slowly drift, disappear and reform. I’m not sure what kind of fish were biting that day, but there were a lot of fishermen enjoying the freshness of fall.
Just this side of Paradise – Los Osos Central California plein air oil painting by Karen Winters
SOLD
“Just This Side of Paradise”
8 x 10 inch
Plein air oil painting
Exhibited in the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art
during the 2011 Plein Air Festival
Interested in this painting?
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See more of my California Central Coast paintings here
This painting was done along Los Osos Valley road one morning, as rain clouds were gathering (or leaving) and the sun was trying to break through. I saw this scene while driving and hurried to turn around and park and set up my easel before the effect was lost. I liked the hay bales stacked up by the eucalyptus trees, so I put them in also.
The central peak in the background is one of the 9 sisters – the volcanic plugs which include Morro Rock and Bishop Peak. I think that one is Cerro Romualdo. It’s pyramid-shaped top is swathed in clouds.
The title comes from the fact that Paradise Lane is quite close by. I seem to run into a lot of places named Paradise – like Paradise camp in the Sierra, too.
California Central Coast oil painting “The Kitchen Garden” – Los Osos – by Karen Winters
“The Kitchen Garden”
9 x 12 oil painting
See more of my California Central Coast paintings here
Interested in this painting?
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While I was in San Luis Obispo County for the Plein Air Festival this year, I saw this charming rural scene down a side road in Los Osos. The red barn style house provided a beautiful contrast to the vibrant green eucalyptus trees, and I liked the small vegetable garden growing nearby. It took me back to early California days, a bit of the past still thriving in the present.
Blue Skies Ahead – Paradise Camp/Swall Meadow near Bishop California oil painting by Karen Winters
“Blue Skies Ahead”
16 x 20 oil painting
(near Swall Meadows, historic Paradise Camp, outside of Bishop, California)
This road, I believe, is Lower Rock Creek Road, also known as the old Sherwin Grade Road, which parallels today’s Highway 395. I painted this a few years ago, and revisited it recently, since my work has evolved considerably since then. I find it interesting that sometimes when people ask (and they always do) “how long did that take you to paint?” That sometimes the answer is “years.” It certainly is in this case.
This is not an uncommon practice among serious painters. Sometimes you just need some time and distance on a painting to resolve certain areas, or to see color and value differently. Upon revisiting this painting, the sky is very much the same, but the land areas are completely repainted. Many influences move through our lives – teachers, books we read, shows we go to, artists we admire, experiences we have in working things out ourselves. Every painting is the cumulation of experience to date.
Mojave Desert Sunset Oil Painting – Abode of the Desert Rat by Karen Winters
“Abode of the Desert Rat”
Mojave Desert, somewhere off the beaten path between Tehachapi and Rosamond
9 x 12 oil on linen
See more of my landscapes here
This painting was inspired by a trip back from Kernville a few months ago, coming back from a paint out with the California Art Club. The sun was starting to come out from under a cloud bank, and a storm was threatening. The brilliance of the sun contrasted with the dark shapes of the poplars. I imagined that some recluse was living in the trailer, enjoying the constantly changing weather patterns and quiet solitude. Not long after this the rains started coming. Those heavily rain laden clouds suggested a flash flood and we headed for high ground.
Here’s a closer detail shot:
California impressionist landscape oil painting – Blustery Day Sycamore Tree by karen Winters
“Blustery Day”
11 x 14 oil painting on canvas
SOLD
A sycamore caught in the act of changing colors is ruffled by a passing breeze near Eaton Canyon, in Altadena, CA
Breeze from the Lake – California Central Coast impressionist oil painting by Karen Winters
“Breeze from the Lake”
4 x 8″ oil on wooden panel
SOLD
See more of my California Central Coast paintings here
Late afternoon breezes stir the waters of Laguna Lake in San Luis Obispo County
If you live in Southern California, I invite you to visit my solo exhibition at Descanso Gardens in La Canada. Now through January 2, 2012.
Approximately 30 paintings are on display at all times. As one is sold, it is taken by the buyer and I replace it with a new one from my inventory. I will be at the show weekends unless it’s raining, and some weekday afternoons.
Sierra Seasons – Sierra Nevada creek oil painting by California landscape painter Karen Winters
Sierra Seasons
11 x 14 inches – California Sierra landscape oil painting
(Sierra Creek, eastern Sierra Nevada, California)
This painting is now SOLD, but I have many more Sierra paintings – see the link below.
As the summer heat melts away, fall comes to the Sierra, and the cooler nights start to turn the creek-side willows from bright green to gold. The spires of evergreens catch the last light of the day.
More Sierra Nevada paintings here
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