Desert Dawn – Palm Springs California Impressionist Oil Painting
Desert Dawn – Palm Springs – California Impressionist Oil Painting
11 x 14 oil on canvas
Click image to see larger, better res version
Painting the desert as seen in morning light is definitely a challenge. The air is remarkably crisp and clear, probably clearer and with less particulate material than just about anywhere I’ve seen. So that’s a distinctive look that says “desert.” But this is in contrast to one of the principles of landscape painting that tells us that distant objects should be softer, grayer, bluer and with less distinct detail. I could have painted this painting that way .. “pushing back” the mountains with desaturation and adding more blue. But this time I chose to keep them darker, almost close enough to touch. This alluvial area comes out of the San Jacinto Mountains. I believe it’s an area along the Randall Henderson Trail, but I’m not certain. I really need to take better notes about my locations.
This painting was done using only three colors, black and white: ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow light and alizarin crimson. I feel that the limited palette can help to create greater color harmony. It was an experiment and I like the results. Some very wise teachers advocate using a full palette with perhaps two dozen colors, many premixed, so that you can quickly select the right color when time is short. There is definitely an advantage to working that way, speed being a major concern. But other good painters say that you can get more color harmony if you limit your colors and just mix like crazy. I know one demo painter that only uses about seven colors on his palette on location. Another teacher, John Cosby, challenges his students to paint with just five. So there are a lot of different things to explore and learn from.
I may be taking this painting with me to the show at Descanso. Now I’m down to the wire deciding on the right mix of subject matter, size, color, medium and so forth. Although I’m restricted to bringing 20 paintings, if you’re coming to the show and would like to see something else that I’ve featured here or on my website, drop me a note and make sure I have it available for viewing in person.
This Golden Land – California Central Coast Impressionist Oil Painting by Karen Winters
“This Golden Land”
10″ x 20″ oil on canvas
SOLD
See more of my landscapes here
This painting represents my first experience in painting a panoramic scene, as opposed to rectangular canvases I normally use for studio paintings which are more in a 4:3 aspect ratio. You’d have to see it in person to see how it captures more of the feeling of “being there.” I think that’s because we are used to seeing panoramically more than through windows.
The location of this painting in in California’s Central Coast region near Paso Robles. It is wine country, but I’m guessing that this golden field was used as grazing pastureland. If I were a cow I’d think it was a little bit of heaven. The time of day was about 4 pm in mid summer when there was still plenty of light to illuminate the field, but not so much that the colors were all washed out. How I’d love to be back there at this moment, painting, and listening to the calls of the red winged blackbirds. I can imagine that there are probably a few head of cattle resting under that big oak in the windbreak. Can you?
One other note about the painting. Because it is wet there is a bit of glare in the sky that is brighter than the actual painting. It is light in that part of the sky, but not “burned out” white. When It’s drier I’ll reshoot it or scan it. Until then, I need to get it uploaded.
This Saturday, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I’ll be painting in the tearoom lobby at the Langham Huntington Hotel in San Marino as a weekend “artist in residence.” We are invited to bring a few paintings along for display and I’m hoping this will be dry enough by then to travel.
Huntington Beach Seascape Impressionist Oil Painting by Karen Winters
Peaceful Planet – 8 x 10 oil on canvas on board
Huntington Beach Sunset
The sea has always been a source of strength and serenity for me, and it remains one of my favorite subjects for photography and painting. The colors change with the moment, reflecting the beauty of our natural world.
Today I had the delightful experience of meeting a charming woman who is the newest collector of my work. I have not said it often on my blog, but I truly feel that the creative experience is most fulfilling when I have a chance to meet the person who will be giving my art a new home. So I have seen the place where she will be hanging Flint Canyon Trail, and I agree she has found the perfect setting for it.
And speaking of meeting other art lovers, I will be painting publicly in two places this weekend, August 9 and 10. So if you happen to be in the area(s), please come by and say hello.
Saturday afternoon, arranged by Segil Fine Art in Monrovia, I will be the “artist in residence” from 2-4 pm at the Langham Huntington Hotel in San Marino, California (near Pasadena.) This is the same beautiful hotel where I painted on Mothers’ Day this year. I will be in the lobby of the tearoom, most likely painting a still life which they have thoughfully set up. I will also bring some smaller works with me.
On Sunday from 9am to 1 pm, I will be painting at the new Americana mall in Glendale, on Brand Avenue. It is a group paintout and I don’t know where I’ll be positioned yet, but I’ll be there! If you have met me at Descanso Gardens or one of the other places where I attempt to talk and paint at the same time, you know i enjoy meeting people, so don’t be shy. It turns out the plein air paintings have become so “hot” that you can practically find a paintout somewhere every weekend day. Good thing we have a lot of beautiful locations here!
I am counting down the days until our Descanso show opens – only about 2 weeks to go and I’m painting like crazy, here.
Tender Sea – Carpenteria – California Impressionist Seascape Oil Painting – Karen Winters
The Tender Sea – Carpinteria at dusk
6″ x 8″ oil
• SOLD
The subtle colors after sunset were the inspiration for this seascape study of Carpinteria. The delicate hues invoke a quiet contemplative mood. No crashing surf here, just the waves delicately touching the shore. California’s ever-present eucalyptuses frame the shoreline. Even tossed by salty wilds, they prevail.
Flint Canyon Trail, Autumn – Five Years of Blogging
Flint Canyon Trail – Autumn – La Canada Flintridge
16 x 20 oil on canvas
Celebrating five years of blogging
SOLD
Today marks 5 years of blogging from when I first opened an account on Live Journal. It’s been a lot of fun and I’ve enjoyed all the learning and friendships that have come out of it. Back in the day, there was no artwork on my blog. I didn’t feel like sharing my sketchbooks and journals, but eventually took the plunge.
In five years, I’ve seen the power of social networking to help people make connections, discover new techniques, teach each other and experience each others’ triumphs and tragedies, artistic and otherwise. I know that my life has been enriched by not only the daily discipline of making art and blogging but the encouragement I’ve received from so many of my readers. I hope that I’ve been able to pay that good will forward when I can.
One of the great things about blogging, as opposed to just building a static website, like mine, is the daily interactivity it allows. I know that if I ran into a dead end trying to answer a question or track down an art supply, that I could post a question and some kind soul would know the answer and help me out. So even though we may work alone, we are still part of a vital, supportive and interactive community.
Recently, I’ve taken another step – to get involved in the Facebook community. So if you’ve got an account look me up
http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=684809912
Santa Barbara Meadow – Karen Winters California Impressionist Oil Painting
Santa Barbara Meadow (at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden)
12 x 16 oil on canvas
Whenever we visit Santa Barbara, I try to make some time to visit their beautiful botanic garden which features native plants in natural settings. Last week my husband went to a seminar up in Santa Barbara and I tagged along to take pictures, visit the museum and the mission and of course, the botanic garden. It was late afternoon when I arrived there, but close to the solstice the days are long. Although the poppies were gone many other summer perennials were blooming, surrounded by sages and plants of every texture and description. The experience has persuaded me to turn part of our yard into a natives habitat – and then not worry so much about watering!
Granted, Santa Barbara’s coastal climate is most likely moister and more even in temperature than our inland valley, but I saw plants that I think would be at home with us.
This is one of the paintings I’ll likely be bringing to our show at Descanso starting August 23, unless it finds a home before then.
Foothill Pines – California Impressionist Oil Painting – Karen Winters
Foothill Pines
6 x 8 oil on canvas
• SOLD
A gentle road winds through California’s Gold Rush Country, where the oaky foothills give way to the first pines of the Sierras. The morning fog lifts in a slight breeze to reveal the radiant hills of mid summer. A moment of pure tranquility!
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Sunset Magic – California Impressionist Painting by Karen Winters
Sunset Magic
12 x 16 oil on canvas – California impressionist landscape
My latest larger sized landscape draws inspiration from the works of George Inness – a Hudson Valley painter who gradually evolved into an impressionistic style (even though he always rejected the term “impressionist” when it was applied to him.) I have been studying his work for the past few weeks, having seen some of his paintings at the Art Institute of Chicago, and then seeing Sun Shower, at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Inness had a unique way of combining realism and impressionism that I admire. And no doubt it was because of the era in which he worked – in the transitional period between the two movements.
Here’s how it looks a dark frame. I wouldn’t put a bright gold frame on a painting like this – the brightness would compete with the sunset.
Tuscan Hillside – Karen Winters Daily Painting
6 x 6 oil on canvas on board
Tuscan Hillside
I’m exploring the same theme, from a different angle.
I’m really tired today – must be the heat. Or, it could be resting up from yesterday’s trip to Santa Barbara, Montecito and Carpinteria. While my husband took a work-related seminar I made a whirlwind trip to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art to see some of their collection. Then, off to the Mission grounds and olive garden and the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden – all with camera in hand. Later in the day we headed south to Carpinteria where I shot photos of the salt marsh, beach scenes and a fabulous sunset. All told, I covered a lot of ground – uphill and down, then back to LA and up at 7 to get ready to paint with friends at 9. Yes, exhausting! The painting I started today is of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, and I think it’s going to turn out really well. Now I’ve got to let the under painting dry enough to work on the details in a few days.
I am now counting down the days until my show at Descanso Gardens begins – August 22. Unlike last year this time, I have plenty of paintings to draw from, including many that have never been shown before. But there are still prints and cards to get ready, plus working on publicity. Lot of work, not much time!
Tuscan Flavor 1 – Fennel and Mushroom
“Tuscan Flavor – Fennel and Mushroom”
6 in x 6 in
Remember how I said I was watching more food network and less politics for the moment? As part of that trend, I’ve enjoyed shopping for some vegetables I don’t usually prepare, among them, fennel. This delicate vegetable and its companion mushroom called for a quick portrait before their trek to the salad bowl, and I obliged.
This is the first in a series … more Tuscan Flavor still lives to come. Oooh, this means more shopping, doesn’t it?
