Years ago I had the pleasure of singing for several years in an acapella choir. That's a choir of voices only-no instuments to accompany the voices. In order to stay on pitch, the director taught us to listen to the men singing bass. I sang alto but then got switched to soprano. In other words, I was a peach, then became a cherry. I wish you could see this painting in person.
In August of 2021 my husband and I camped in Morro Bay. The RV Campground graciously gave us a spot at the last minute when all of the state campgrounds closed abruptly and we lost our reservation. What a blessing this turned out to be! We were within walking distance of Morro Rock and the boats docked in the bay. A tiny hunk of Moro Rock is visible in the upper right corner. This is one of three plein air pieces still available from that trip.
Below is another plein air piece I did on a trip to Idaho in March. I love painting old structures, and the junk on the outside was especially enticing. I have family that lives in Kuna on this old family farm property. This is the original homestead house built on 80 acres in 1908. I surprised the current owner with the painting to thank her for letting me paint on her property, but more than that, I felt that she should have it. She had grown up there, and has wonderful memories of her parents and grandparents, and how proud they were of their farm purchased in 1965. They grew sweet and feed corn. Much of the farmland in Idaho is being developed into housing. I hope this parcel will stay in the family.
It has been a long while since my last post! I've been painting here and there, but also had Shingles for over a month, then asthmatic bronchitis. I'm feeling much better. Another development since my last post: Feedburner went dead, then Google stopped filling in, so as as result, if you're subscribed to my blog, you're no longer getting my latest work in your inbox. I'm slowly transferring over 300 subscriber addresses into a Google Group. UGH! So if you are reading this, I thank you for finding me!
I could take a lesson from these Tough Tomatoes. One plant, a "Sweet One Hundred" cherry tomato plant held on through winter last year, and I picked and painted these sweet little gems in April! So if you're going through challenging times, hang on, Little Tomato!
For a better picture of this painting, see me on Instagram: karenwernerart. Look thru my page to April.
Nesbitts No. 2 oil 8x16 inches
Purchase info here.
Here's a conglomeration of things in orange and blue. I always enjoy painting glass. It has been a very busy summer for me, making it difficult to get around to posting. But here I am finally! In the last few months I've had quite a few paintings sell before I could get them online. I've included some below if you're interested.
IN OTHER NEWS: I have a local solo show up for just one more week. The show is called "Out Of The Ordinary" and includes 17 still life paintings. Location: Studio C, Claremont CA. 260 W. Bonita. If you're local I hope you can stop by to see it. Closes on August 30.
Study For Discarded Roses 9x12 oil
Purchase info here.
In February I completed a commissioned master copy of Renoir's "Discarded Roses." The painting pictured here is a small study done in advance of the larger painting, 16x20 (below). This preliminary study allowed me to work out design and shapes, but most importantly color. I researched Renoir's palette, which turned out to be quite different from mine. It included lots of Viridian and Naples Yellow, both of which I generally avoid. I had to ignore my own color harmony sensibilities. I took a few subtle liberties with flower shapes. The collector was very happy with the finished painting.
This is the fourth in the series of Fall botanicals. The mums are from our garden and the grapes...are from the grocery store! Why grapes with flowers, you say? The grapes provide variety of shape.
IN OTHER NEWS: I'm happy to report that the following works have been juried into upcoming National Shows. Perhaps you can visit one of the shows.
At the end of fall I still had some string bean vines barely hanging on, and a few cherry tomotes too. I like the scattered look of this painting. Isn't it interesting that the human eye finds randomness more interesting than order? We like variety and surprise more than what is predictable. The background color is a cool gray even though it may appear blue or violet here in the image. This piece is custom framed in a narrow mahogany floater frame, ready to hang. If you'd like to see it in the frame, just email me.
