Grand Canyon plein air oil painting by Karen Winters

Maricopa Point View
Grand Canyon Maricopa Point south rim plein air oil painting
8 x 10 inches
Oil on linen plein air panel
Available

See more Grand Canyon paintings here

http://www.karenwinters.com
http://www.karensblog.com

Just a few days ago we returned from a holiday trip to the Grand Canyon, one of the great natural wonders of the world. I had never seen it covered in winter snow, and I had planned ahead with all my plein air gear. It was near freezing that morning on the South Rim, which kept the snow crisp and fresh. Later in the day a cold wind moved in and I had to layer up even more. It’s surprising how cold you get when you aren’t hiking or moving around.

I set up my easel near Maricopa Point, on the South Rim, along the Rim Trail. In the distance you can see a bit of Wotan’s Throne, an enormous mesa that is adjacent to the north rim at Cape Royal. My husband shot some video of me working on this painting, which I’ll post when we get it edited.

Because I’m almost as passionate about nature and learning as I am about painting, I found it fascinating to know that the top layers of the Grand Canyon (from the Jurassic period) have already been eroded away, so the only fossils embedded in the rocks are from the pre-dinosaur era. One finds trilobites, ferns, dragonflies, etc. but no T-rex bones.

San Luis Obispo Creek Oil Painting

San Luis Obispo Creek
9 x 12 inch oil painting
Available.

(this view features a bridge over the creek. I chose an angle that did not show the cement walkways, as I prefer the natural look.)

Interested in this painting? See more of my California Central Coast paintings here

See more of my paintings on my website

San Luis Obispo Creek winds through the Central California city of San Luis Obispo, before emptying into the Pacific Ocean near Avila Beach. Numerous restaurants line the banks of the creek, and if you eat on one of their patios during the summer, you’ll be treated to the sounds of a chorus of frogs. Occasionally steelhead trout can be seen in the waters. An annual cleanup day keeps the creek in good condition, a source of pride for the community.

Sweet Springs Oil Painting – The Sweet Spot – Los Osos, California


SOLD

The Sweet Spot
Sweet Springs, Los Osos
14 x 11 oil painting on linen plein air panel

This painting is now in a private collection but I have other Central Coast paintings.
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See more of my paintings on my website

See more of my California Central Coast paintings here
See more of my Morro Bay and Morro Rock paintings here

More painting at the San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival. This lovely spot is Sweet Springs, a 24 acre nature sanctuary in Los Osos, California. Towering eucalyptus groves shelter a quiet pond where flocks of birds feed and rest from their migratory flights. I understand the grove is sometimes a shelter for Monarch butterflies, too.

Cambria Colors – Moonstone Beach Cambria oil painting San Simeon by Karen Winters

Cambria Colors
SOLD
12 x 16 oil painting on canvas
Cambria, Moonstone Beach, Leffingwell Landing area

See more of my California Central Coast paintings here
See more of my Cambria paintings here

Interested in this painting?
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See more of my paintings on my website

This was painted during the San Luis Obispo Plein Air festival, 2012 where I was one of a select group of invited artists.
The colors of the beach and ocean really are amazing.

Paso Robles Pathway – Central Coast California impressionist ranch oil painting


Paso Robles Pathway
8 x 10 oil on plein air panel
Painted for the 2012 San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival
SOLD

See more of my California Central Coast paintings here

Interested in this painting?
Click this link to write me.
See more of my paintings on my website

Not far from Paso Robles, in San Luis Obispo County, rural roads wind through some of the most beautiful countryside I’ve ever seen. This ranch was tucked into the hills and surrounded by big, beautiful oak trees. A few cattle were grazing in the distant pasture.
This painting bears the official stamp of the San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival, 2012, on the reverse side.

Six of my 2012 SLO paintings have already found new homes. If you’re interested in having one for your own, don’t wait. I’ve updated my website to include these new works, so you don’t have to wait for them to be posted here on my blog.

San Luis Obispo Flower Fields – California impressionist painting – Central Coast

San Luis Obispo Flower Fields
9 x 12
oil on linen plein air panel

SOLD

See more of my California Central Coast paintings here

This is one of the paintings that I did for the San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival, sponsored by the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art.

It was painted the first day of the paint out, bright and early Monday morning, along a rural road. A photographer for SLO City News saw me painting by the side of the road and spent some time taking pictures of the work in progress. It was a nice surprise to find out that it made the cover of the paper …

Sycamore Shimmer – California landscape tree oil painting by Karen Winters

Sycamore Shimmer
8 x 10 oil on linen plein air panel
SOLD

Interested in this painting?
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See more of my paintings on my website

See more of my sycamore paintings here
See more of my California Central Coast paintings here

This painting was painted for the 2012 San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival and hung in the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art.
The official festival stamp is on the back side. Sycamores are among our most beautiful California trees, and in the fall they are especially radiant as the colors change.

The active brushwork indicates the way the breeze stirs the leaves of the tree. The use of transparent color creates a luminosity that makes the leaves glow as though light was shining through them.

One Golden Moment San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival Invitational



One Golden Moment
12 x 16 oil on linen panel
Painted at the 2012 San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival
SOLD opening night

I returned a few days ago from a wonderful week long event at the San Luis Obispo Plein Air Festival. Over the next week or so, I’ll be posting the paintings I did there, many of which have already gone to new homes. Others, however, are still available.

This beautiful eucalyptus tree in Los Osos begged to be painted. Silhouetted in the late afternoon light, a field of flowers lay at its feet. The flowers are a seed crop, and I think they may have been marigolds.

If you are in the Southern California area this weekend, please visit me at the Pasadena Artwalk on El Molino Street on Saturday. I will have a booth quite near the Pasadena Playhouse, with a wide assortment of my current paintings. The address is El Molino Street, between Colorado Blvd and Green Street in the Playhouse district. The show opens between 10 and 11 (I’ll probably be set up early) and goes until 5 pm. This is a great opportunity to pick up a Christmas present – hope to see you there.

See more of my California Central Coast paintings here

San Simeon – Big Sur California Seascape oil painting by Karen Winters

“Cloudy Day at San Simeon” (Big Sur, California)
12 x 16 oil

See more of my California Central Coast paintings here

Interested in this painting?
Click this link to write me.
See more of my paintings on my website

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:

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.