Descanso Gardens Lily Pond – California Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting
Descanso Lily Pond
9 x 12
oil on canvas – plein air painting, Sept. 2009
I can’t believe that in all the time I’ve been painting Descanso Gardens that I haven’t painted this lily pond which is near the front gate. There used to be two sculptural fishes that formed a fountain, but I have been told that they are no longer in service due to drought issues. I hope that they will return some time in the future, although they may not have been too visible at this angle.
What I loved about this view was the crepe myrtle (pink flowering) tree which was in full bloom and casting its reflection in the pond. The bench awaits a person to come for a moment of meditation.
My thanks to Ed F. for taking this picture and sending it to me. I appreciate it! Note to self, after taking off straw hat, remember to use hairbrush before photo op. [grin].
This Sunday, I’ll be showing my work at the Redondo Beach Art by the Sea Artwalk, specific details to come. Artists will be setting up along the boardwalk/bike path at the parking lot level. I’ll try to get some better instructions. It’s in the general area of the pier, but not on the pier.
A vineyard in Tuscany – impressionist landscape painting
A Vineyard in Tuscany
5 x 7 acrylic on hardboard
SOLD
See more of my vineyard paintings here
I’ve painted this motif before and, in fact, the original painting, which sold earlier this year, has been licensed for use on a wine label. So, I thought it might be time to revisit the theme, a favorite one of mine. This will be a study for a larger painting which I might do this fall.
The fires have left our area of La Canada Flintridge, but I do worry for our friends in Pasadena, Monrovia, Sierra Madre and points east. There are some beautiful areas which are endangered, including Eaton Canyon and the Cobb Estate, two places where I love to go to paint.
The old growth in the forest may be 50 years or older … since there was a large fire. This is the cycle of nature but it is disturbing whenever it happens. Of course the forest will recover, but we will not live to see the replacement of 6o foot pines.
Cabo San Lucas Los Arcos – mini painting
Los Arcos – Lands End – Cabo San Lucas
5″ x 7″ miniature oil painting
SOLD (commission)
This painting has a romantic story to it. The young woman who commissioned it, who I’ll call Stacy, is going to be married very soon. As a wedding present to her fiance, Stacy is going to give him five original paintings of different places they have been and want to return to. She saw my large commissioned painting of Los Arcos online and asked if I could paint a small version of it for this multi-part gift. I love romantic notions, so of course I was happy to oblige. I can hardly wait to hear how her husband likes it.
If you have a special occasion coming up, or are thinking ahead about holiday gifts, this is a good time to put in your order for an original painting. I get busier as the holidays approach.
Now for the less than cheerful news …
For those of you who are regular readers of this blog, you hear the names Angeles Crest, San Gabriel Mountains, La Canada Flintridge, Pasadena, Altadena, La Crescenta and other location names quite frequently. I live in La Canada, now the flashpoint of what has become the infamous “Station” Fire which is raging through the Angeles Crest forest in the northeast part of Los Angeles County. It is named the Station fire because it began near a forest ranger station up Angeles Crest Highway.
We are fine, since we live a mile or so from the forest/residential interface, but the mandatory evacuation area came within about 2000 feet of our home. Today, the skies are blue above La Canada, a far cry from four or five days ago. For us, at least, I think the worst has passed. But we have many friends and neighbors in the surrounding areas who are still in the path of the conflagration. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
It is comforting to see the snorkel helicopters and other fire fighting aircraft in the skies above us, hauling water and fire suppression materials to hot spots.We are SO LUCKY that this happened in August, not during Santa Ana conditions. In a strange way, I am grateful that this happened at all. I heard an interview with a fire chief who said that if this happened during Santa Ana season literally hundreds and hundreds of homes would be lost (including ours, I’m sure) and there’s nothing they could do to stop it.
Counting my blessings in La Canada,
Karen
California Landscape Oil Painting – Pasadena San Gabriel View
Overlooking Pasadena
14 x 11 oil on canvas
SOLD
Although this painting is sold, you can see more Pasadena paintings here
Stately eucalyptus trees line a path overlooking Pasadena/Altadena, looking east and north toward the San Gabriel Mountains. The branches catch the early morning light.
Descanso Gardens Train Station – Plein air California landscape oil painting
“All Aboard” – Descanso Gardens train station at sunset
9 x 12 oil on canvas panel
Plein air landscape oil painting
SOLD
Late Thursday afternoons at Descanso Gardens always bring opportunities for things to paint. Yesterday I enjoyed the view of the little train station where the engine and engineer wait to take people on a magical trip through the camellia forest. Maybe one of these days I’ll actually take the train ride, camera in hand, and see the garden from a different (low angle) point of view. An alizarin crimson underpainting (done very rapidly) imparts a warm glow to the scene.
I thought I left my big roll of brushes at home and consequently painted most of this with a medium sized filbert. Some of the fine detail on the engine and engineer was done later when I had the appropriate tools. Last week’s Descanso painting has been purchased by a lovely new collector from So. Pasadena, but this one is still available.
Reminder: the photos I post are low resolution so that they load quickly for those on slow connections. If you are interested in purchasing a painting, please ask and I will send a higher quality image.
California Oak Plein Air Landscape – Descanso Gardens Oak Pathway
Descanso Oak Pathway
9 x 12
oil on hardboard panel
Oh, I am trying hard to catch up and post paintings that I’ve been working on. I know it’s been a little spotty lately but more are coming. I have been working on a lot of commissions and getting ready for some upcoming shows. Add that to travel all over California and a new passion for daily walking and I’ve been a very busy lady. Yesterday, in fact, I spent a lot of time at Redondo Beach and Palos Verdes. When the weather is hot, we flee to the coast for art and recreation.
This was painted a week ago at Descanso Gardens in the very late afternoon as the sun was setting and back-lighting the oak trees. Although the light and shadows changed by the minute, I blocked in the lights and shadows at one moment in time and then continued with it.
I’ll be at the Montrose art show again September 5 (exact spot to be determined) but I will post it here when I know. I’ll be bringing new work, including plein air work from my recent Central/Northern California trip.
South Pasadena Plein Air Genre Oil Painting – Fourth of July Parade 2009
South Pasadena Fourth of July Parade
8 x 10 oil
Plein air painting
This one was a lot of fun to paint, because the crowd was so lively and colorful. Because I know some of you are thinking – how can you paint a moving parade while it’s happening. The simple answer is I paint the things that don’t move (trees, buildings, distant crowds and then roughly indicate the things that are moving and finish them later from refrence photos. In this case the tractor pulled float with balloons was the big moving thing in the scene, so I could only block in the outline as it passed. I needed a photo to get the detail on the tractor. I painted the cheerleaders from memory because they didn’t stay put for long either. If I got your uniforms wrong, sorry girls, but Go Tigers!
If anyone knows the name of the group riding on the float pulled by the tractor, and the name of the tractor driver, let me know and I’ll add their names to this blog post. I’m thinking Brownies or Girl Scouts but I couldn’t swear to it.
South Pasadena is the most wonderful slice of Americana you can imagine, and on the 4th of July you can feel like you’ve stepped backwards in time in the very best way. Parades, flags and bunting, families gathering, sack races in the park … I just love it.
Sierra Splendor – Mt Whitney, Lone Pine, California landscape oil painting – Eastern Sierra Nevadas
Sierra Splendor
a view toward Mt. Whitney Portal from Lone Pine
18 x 24 oil on canvas
SOLD
More Sierra Nevada paintings here
Some time this fall we’re going to return to the area again for another painting and research trip. A new collector has tipped me off to some beautiful painting spots in the area – and it’s a trip I’m eagerly anticipating.
Lacy Park San Marino Plein Air California Oil Painting – Fourth of July 2009
Lacy Park on the Fourth of July 2009
9 x 12 plein air painting
SOLD
Click the image for a higher quality, larger version.
Interested in this painting? Please write.
Remember that old “Chicago” song … “Saturday, in the park, I think it was the fourth of July.”
Well, this time it really was! My husband and I have gone to Lacy Park in San Marino through the years, but it’s never livelier than on the fourth when everyone turns out for picnicking and fireworks.
There was so much color and excitement everywhere I hardly knew where to begin. Finally I settled on this familiar view of the palms surrounding the big lawn. By the time we left there was hardly a patch of green grass to be seen.
For those people who stopped by to take a peek at my work in progress, here’s the finished version, soon to be signed and framed.
California Golden Hills – Oak Landscape Plein Air Oil Painting
California Golden Hills
11 x 14
Plein air oil painting
Interested in this painting? Please write
This painting is currently on exhibition in the San Clemente Art Association Gallery, in San Clemente, CA.
Much of the week in San Clemente we experienced “June gloom” – that cool gray marine layer that covers the seacoast until early afternoon. Although paintings in the gloom do have a certain mystery to them, I was looking for a more colorful subject, and so we traveled inland along the Ortega Highway to find this vista at Caspers Park. But really, it could be anywhere in the state – the golden hills studded with oaks is so typical of our scenery.
Just for fun, I included a photo of me, mid-painting, on location. You can see my preliminary sketch on the easel, above the canvas. If I have the time I always try to do a sketch because it helps me to organize my thoughts and not to “get lost” as I strive to capture the scene on canvas. Here are the steps I usually take:
1) select an appealing scene
2) do a value sketch
3) draw the “bones” of the scene on canvas
4) put in the darks
5) put in the lights
6) refinement
If the light is rapidly changing, though, all bets are off, and sometimes you just have to paint whatever is most ephemeral. In this case, I knew that the cloud shadows might go away, so I painted them first, saving the golden grasses for last.
More paintout paintings to come …
