Rush Creek Remembered commission (Sierra oil painting)


“Rush Creek Remembered” – 40 x 60 inches – June Lake Loop, eastern Sierra, California

This extra large painting of Carson Peak and Rush Creek, Eastern Sierra, was finished last winter, and I’ve just now had the time to share it online.
The painting is 40 x 60 inches, and the location is part of the June Lake Loop, just a little north of Mammoth Lakes, California.

For the last two years, I’ve spent a great proportion of my time working on commissions – large, medium and small … and now I’m returning to painting some things for my own inventory – for sale.
The collector who commissioned this owns a cabin in the area but has since relocated to Tennessee, and wanted to bring a little bit of the Sierra to their new home. The dog was a constant fishing companion and passed away a few years ago. I was happy to include her in this scene.

To see more of my commissioned work please visit https://www.karenwinters.com/pages/commissions.html. And to read what others have said about working with me, click here. https://www.karenwinters.com/pages/testimonials.html.

 
Interested in a commissioned painting or a Sierra painting?
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See more of my Eastern Sierra paintings here

Red Fox portrait oil painting

“Red Fox”
9 x 12 inches, oil painting

It’s not uncommon for me to do pet portraits of dogs or cats, but I think this is the first wild animal portrait I’ve done. The fur was challenging but the eyes were the most fun. The native plants in the background are apricot mallow, a drought tolerant California native plant indigenous to high desert and chaparral areas, as well as valleys.

This painting was exhibited in spring 2019 at the Pacific Grove Natural History Museum, in Pacific Grove, CA on the Monterey Peninsula.


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Breeder’s Cup Bronze oil painting

Breeder’s Cup Bronze
9 x 12″ oil painting

This weekend is the Breeder’s Cup race at Del Mar Racetrack.
This painting is of a Breeder’s Cup statue at Santa Anita Racetrack, where the races were held in 2016.


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Norfolk Terrier Dog Pet Portrait

“Jack and Lucy”
Norfolk Terrier double portrait
12 x 16 inches, original oil painting
SOLD

These adorable dogs were the subjects of a recent portrait commission for a long-time client and friend of mine. Her two dogs are getting up there in years, and she thought it was a good time to have their portraits done for posterity. Lucy, on the left, is the younger of the two. Jack, on the right, is eleven, I believe. Jack had already had his summer haircut, but Lucy had not.

Now, there’s no way you can get two dogs to pose and hold a pose with the light on them “just so” … so every portrait begins with a photo session. That involves a fair amount of crawling around on the ground to shoot them from the right angle. My husband and I were shooting simultaneously, to maximize the number of reference photos we’d get before the dogs ran out of energy or patience with us. The next step was to edit the pictures in Photoshop to put together a composite where the light and direction of their gaze was consistent. After client approval of the reference composite, it just comes down to the painting, which was very enjoyable.

If you’re interested in having a portrait done of your favorite pet, please write.

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Japanese Spitz dog portrait painting

SOLD
“Japanese Spitz Dog”
12 x 16 inches
oil on canvas

Interested in having a portrait of your pet? Please write.

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When we were in Arizona not too long ago, and visiting a beautiful lake, my attention was suddenly diverted from the sparkling water by the dazzling fur of this little dog, who was being treated to a walk. I asked the owners if I could take some pictures of her, and they happily agreed. I explained that I was an artist, always on the lookout for an interesting subject. I almost always paint animals from photography (they aren’t the best at holding still) so I worked on this portrait when I got back home. More than a year later the painting found a new home with the owners of a dog who looked identical to this one. The Arizona folks called it a Japanese Spitz dog, but it greatly resembles the American Eskimo dog, an AKA breed.

“Grazing at Bishop,” Owens Valley Sierra painting


“Grazing at Bishop”
9 x 12 inches
California landscape Oil Painting

A horse grazes in a small pasture in Bishop, California, in the Owens Valley at the foot of the Sierra Nevada. The sunlight burns through the clouds surrounding the distant Sierra mountains.

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Beagle Dog Pet Portrait oil painting Commission

“Lucy”
Beagle pet portrait oil painting
10 x 10 inches
SOLD, painted on commission

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How time flies! I painted this portrait for a family last year, and because it was intended as a Christmas present I didn’t post it here on my blog, lest the secret be spoiled. Then time moved on and I forgot to mention it. So, I’m presenting it now as an example of an animal portrait – I’ll post the companion portrait of a collie in a few days.

Portraits (of animals or people) make special, unforgettable holiday gifts. It’s a good time to place your order now, as things get busier and busier as the end of the year approaches.

The client for this one lives in a different state from me, so I needed to work from a provided photo instead of taking one myself. But I loved the angle and pose, so I was quite happy to use it.

At the Hacienda – Mission San Antonio de Padua Plein air painting by Karen Winters

“Meanwhile, at the Hacienda”
9 x 12 oil on linen panel
plein air painting – painted at Mission San Antonio de Padua
California Central Coast area

During the California Art Club paint out at the mission, I came upon this small guest house which intrigued me as a painting subject. In the late afternoon light, I could imagine it as an old California adobe, cool inside in spite of the surrounding heat. Some early model chickens miraculously appeared where a late model car had been.

The Yearling Sheep oil painting – San Luis Obispo

“The Yearling Sheep”
14 x 18 oil on canvas
SOLD

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This sweet young sheep was painted from a photo I took last year at the San Luis Obispo Plein air festival. I was near the grounds of the Cal Poly SLO Cheda ranch, and the animals moved close to the area where I was already painting Bishop Peak. The sheep, I read from their website, are managed by students in the Cal Poly animal husbandry program. Several students were out monitoring the flock. I found it interesting that small birds were perched on the backs of many of the sheep, presumably helping themselves to insects in the fleece. It looked like a mutually beneficial relationship. This particular young sheep (a ewe, I’m guessing) was quietly munching and looked up at me with curiosity.

Lone Pine Afternoon – Mt. Whitney Sierra Landscape Oil Painting by Karen Winters



“Lone Pine Afternoon”
(Lone Pine Mountain, Mt. Whitney Portal, Eastern Sierra)
14 x 18 inches oil painting on canvas

As fall approaches, my thoughts turn to the color of the eastern Sierra, one of my favorite places to paint. I’m hoping I’ll get away for more Sierra painting this year, but show commitments might prevent that. We’ll have to play it by ear.