Central California Sierra Foothills Oil Painting “The Hay Barn” by Karen Winters
“The Hay Barn”
6 x 6 inches
Central California Sierra Foothills (western side)
Original Oil painting on plein air panel
SOLD
More Sierra Nevada paintings here
While attending a California Art Club paint out in the Sierra foothills a few years ago, I came upon this scene of an old hay barn framed by eucalyptus with wildflower hills in the background. I thought the setting was a perfect representation of some of my favorite California things. Eucalyptus, of course … wildflowers in the hills … and rural agriculture. This small study will be a starting point for a larger painting on the same theme.
La Canada La Crescenta View – Cherry Canyon Trail California Landscape painting
“Trail through the Foothills”
9 x 12 oil painting
See more La Canada area paintings here
The sunlight floods the Crescenta Canada Valley in the early morning. Oak trees and other chapparal scrub frame a view of tranquility. Down below, people are gearing up to get to work. Up here, it is a reminder of how the valley used to look before it was developed, back when the early California impressionists painted. it. Remnants of buckwheat provide a warm contrast to the cool blue shadows.
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White Cactus Flower Painting – Botanical Southwestern Oil Painting of Cereus cactus by Karen Winters
Come Hither
White Cactus Flowers on a Cereus Peruvianus cactus
Oil painting 16 x 20
This wonderful cactus plant was at least ten feet tall, and covered in flowers so large and radiant that it took my breath away. The blossoms were as wide across as my hand, easily.
Those tireless workers, bees, were swarming all over them, harvesting pollen. However I chose not to paint those busy folk on this occasion. I love bees but not everyone feels the same way and I wouldn’t want their presence to prevent the painting from finding a new home. Maybe if I paint the subject again – I took many photos of this proud beauty.
White flowers are never truly white because they pick up color from everything around them – the blue violet sky light in shadow, the warm light of the sun, and so on. The value range of white varies greatly, too. Painting this was like trying to solve a large jigsaw puzzle. A bit frustrating at times, but a lot of fun.
Western Sierra Wildflower Landscape Painting – Earth Rainbow by Karen Winters
“Earth Rainbow”
(Western Sierra Wildflower Oil Painting)
9 x 12 inches
SOLD
See more of my California wildflower paintings here
When morning light touches the wildflower strewn meadows of the Western foothills of the Sierra, the poppies and lupines seem to light up from within – the blue violets and golden yellows competing for the sun’s attention. In the distance the valley oaks are putting on their spring foliage. The leaves emerge as a sort of pinkish beige, then eventually green up as the weeks go on. This season of color is all too short, but glorious while it lasts. We’re hoping that all the rainfall will bring another good year to this special part of California.
Eaton Canyon painting – California landscape oil painting by Karen Winters
“The Canyon Calls”
(Eaton Canyon, Pasadena/Altadena area)
9 x 12 inches oil painting on canvas
SOLD
See more Pasadena area paintings here
Nourished by the waters gushing out of the San Gabriel Mountains, Eaton Canyon explodes into delirious bloom – the wild mustard in shades of yellow and purple duking it out with penstemon and purple nightshade. With each bend of the trail – through the nature center area or up in the wilder parts, new vistas are revealed. Watch out for rattlesnakes and poison oak, though. This is wild country – and only partly tamed by trailbuilders.
California poppy wildflower landscape oil painting – Golden Hills of Springtime – by Karen Winters
“Golden Hills of Springtime”
6 x 8 oil painting study
on linen panel
See more of my California wildflower paintings here
The foothills of the Sierra, when the weather is right, are draped in magical hues of gold, green, violet, white and orange. Amazingly, all at once. This living tapestry extends throughout the range, creating an almost mystical impression. Upon closer examination we see that California poppies grow in drifts next to white “popcorn” flowers. Fiddleheads – small yellow flowers – cover entire meadows – not to be confused with the fiddlehead appearance of opening ferns. Blue lupine provides a welcome complement. In this study I was making some changes to the actual appearance of the landforms, and experimenting with color harmony. With one small exception (a bit of ultramarine blue in the sky) this was painted with three primaries and white.
California Landscape Spring Oil Painting – Eaton Canyon Pasadena
“Gentle Springtime”
11 x 14 oil painting on hardboard panel
Eaton Canyon, near Pasadena, California
See more Pasadena paintings here
I started this plein air painting a few years ago and got distracted with other things and didn’t finish it up. Now that it’s almost springtime again, it seemed like a good time to revisit it and complete it. Since then, I’ve bought an artworks essentials EasyL which is much easier to transport, and doesn’t require a separate easelmate to hold things, like this Yarka did. I like the fact that I can raise the tripod with the Easy L so I’m not looking down at the painting. I’m tall and I always ended up with a backache at the end of the day from slightly bending over at the waist. A good friend of mine said that the Yarka is great for carrying pastels outdoors, however, so I might set it up with that. Almost every plein air painter I know has a collection of easels that they try, in search of the perfect one. The biggest advantage of this old Russian Yarka is that it’s light and sets up in about 1 minute. The down side is its height and lack of adaptability to carry wet panels of all sizes.
Can Spring Be Far Away? California Landscape Painting Oaks and Chapparal
“Can Spring Be Far Away?”
8 x 10 plein air oil painting on linen panel
San Gabriel Mountains, California native plants
Near La Canada Flintridge
These days the sycamores are beginning to show a little color. (Those trees in the background with white trunks.)
The buckwheat is putting on green growth (the shrubby bushes in the foreground) and the live oaks even look a little fresher around the edges, even though they never really lose their leaves like their deciduous friends. (Oaks are on the right side.)
Yup, the signs are all there that spring is on the way – which arrives earlier in California than most of the country, sorry about that. The joggers have abandoned their heavy sweatshirts, and a few souls are running in shorts.
California Landscape Wildflower Stream – Eucalyptus and Poppies impressionist original art
Wildflower Stream
6 x 8 inches
oil
Two California icons – eucalyptuses and California poppies, gathered together around a quiet stream. One historical account recalls that in the springtime the hills of Altadena (above Pasadena) were covered with soft green grass and poppies. Streams flowed out of the hills to merge with the San Gabriel River at its confluence.
California Landscape Plein Air Painting San Luis Obispo County – Nipomo
SOLD
Golden Hillside
(near Nipomo San Luis Obispo County)
9 x 12 plein air oil painting on linen panel
See more of my California Central Coast paintings here
This is a plein air painting that I did last springtime with the California Art Club in San Luis Obispo. We were at a historical location, the Dana Adobe, in Nipomo, and the weather was perfect. I got three paintings done that day. The next day a rainstorm moved in from the north. The fields of mustard liked it, but it wasn’t hospitable to painters. The day after this was painted we went to Moonstone Beach in Cambria (see earlier posts for those paintings.)
