Mustard In The Canyon

oil 8x10 inches Purchase info here. In March I camped and painted en plein air at Moro Campground which is part of Crystal Cove State Park. Everything was blooming from our abundant rain this year. Speaking of rain...Yesterday's Artwalk on Balboa Island had plenty of rain and wind! What a challenge it was to keep my work and wood frames dry! Thank you to all who visited me; old friends, collectors, fellow painters and future painters who want to take one of my workshops. On a challenging day your interest in my work was VERY much appreciated!

View From The Bluffs -a plein air painting from San Clemente SOLD

oil 9x12 inches For a closer look and purchase info, click here. Second day, Emily and I found a shady overlook under the eucalyptus.

Snake River

oil 9x12 inches For a closer look and purchase info, click here. I painted this on location, but reworked it quite a bit in the studio when I got home. Thankfully, TSA left my paints alone in my suitcase, but this painting arrived home with a scrape down the center. Maybe they stuck something down into my panel carrier between the wet paintings or pulled the paintings out. There's no way to know. In any case, fortunately I had planned to finish this one at home anyway. It was a hot day on the river, and hopefully you get that feeling from the painting.

Turquoise Truck

oil 9x12 inches For a closer look and purchase info, click here. Painted in Wilder, Idaho along the Snake River.

Spring Hills -a plein air painting from Chino HIlls State Park

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase info Another March morning my friend Mary Jo and I went out to Chino Hills State Park. The poppies and lupine were putting on a spectacular show, we had heard. We hiked about a half mile on Aliso Canyon Trail and heard from other hikers that the poppy fields were 2 1/2 miles ahead. Okay, we'll paint right here, thank you very much. My pack is too heavy for that much walking. Sometimes you just have to paint what's around you. While painting, the day warmed up and the poppies were open, visible and plentiful on our drive out of the park. Perhaps our timing was a bit off, but we had a great time painting together and talking with the friendly hikers.

Big Bend -a plein air painting from Zion National Park

oil 12x9 inches magnify/purchase info Big Bend is one of my favorite spots within Zion. I paint small outdoors to finish in 2-3 hours because of changing light. But how to capture the vastness and scale of this scene on a 12x9 inch canvas? Zoom in. I'm thinking next time a larger panel painted over a couple of days at the same time each day. I took home a decent painting and twelve bug bites on my forehead.

In roughly the same spot the day before.

Anza Borrego -plein air paintings from the California Desert

Near the end of January we had scheduled camping trip to Anza Borrego State Park. I had painted there before, but this time the challenge would be squeezing in a painting on arrival day after driving and setting up camp, then again on departure day. With some planning it all worked out. Below are my four daily paintings. If you're interested in a purchase just email me: karenwernerart@gmail.com

DESERT DUSK 6x8 inches. Barely time enough to squeeze this one in. Late afternoon. The sun dropped behind that mountain and instantly the light was gone.

CAMPGROUND PALMS 10x8 inches A morning painting followed immediately by a wind storm. When your paper towel roll is rolling away you are done!

DESERT CHOLLA 9x12 For those of you not familiar with cactus, this is a particularly nasty plant full of fine and painful needles. But boy is is beautiful when the sun shines through. Difficult to capture in paint, but I had fun trying.

BOTANICAL BORREGO 9x12 inches Right outside the campground visitor center there's an informative nature walk. I liked the variety in this grouping, and I liked the nearby restroom too. Always a bonus.

My husband accompanied me on this trip. We enjoyed the many sculptures outside the little town of Borrego Springs, great Mexican Food in town, a hike up Palm Canyon and the REALLY dark quiet nights. So peaceful. I hope you've enjoyed this epic post.

Rocky Range Ranch -an oil painting from Colorado -SOLD

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase info I don't really know the name of this ranch. It's a made up title. :-) One of the drawbacks of painting from photos is the danger of just copying the photo. I can end up with a too accurate stiff rendering. I'm particularly happy with this one however, as it has some abstract qualities and expressive boldness.

Big Bear Lake From North Shore -a plein air painting from Big Bear Lake -SOLD.

oil 8x10 inches magnify/purchase info Last month I joined my daughter, granddaughter and friends for a scrapbooking weekend at Big Bear Craft Cottage. Each day I went out to paint and played with watercolors in the evening. If you quilt, craft, scrapbook, etc., check out Big Bear Craft Cottage. This painting was from the first day when my navigation led me to the wrong house! I sat waiting for others to arrive, but when they didn't show, I got Starbucks and went off to paint. I finally did get to the right house about dinnertime. Whew! More Big Bear paintings coming up next post. The watercolor sketch below is from the weekend before, camping at Idyllwild Pine Cove. These boulders were right in our campsite. With our kids and grandkids we enjoyed hiking, fishing, horseback riding, archery and the pool. The best part was just being together enjoying nature. A short lull in the action one afternoon allowed me to sit down and sketch a bit. I hope you're enjoying your summer!

Weeping Rock View -a plein air painting from Zion National Park

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase info On the second and last afternoon in Zion National Park I hiked the short distance up to Weeping Rock. My feeble attempt to describe it is this: At Weeping Rock you are on a ledge on the side of a mountain. The ledge is maybe 50ft long and 10 feet wide. The wall curves up and over your head with a curtain of water dripping off. The photo and my painting both show the view from the ledge. (If you enlarge the photo below, you can see the water droplets falling.) Spectacular atmosphere changing every ten minutes or so. Very challenging, but what a very special place to experience with my brushes in hand. For the painting, I was interested especially in the sweet spot where the mountains rise out of the valley floor so near each other. Also pictured are my four paintings for the trip laid out on my campsite table. The color represented is very accurate. It was a great trip.

Zion's Throne -a plein air oil painting from Zion National Park

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase Over the weekend I camped near one of my favorite spots on earth, Zion National Park. This was my fifth visit and my first time to paint there. For a painter, it's heaven. Hop on and off the free tram anywhere and choose your subject from spectacular views all around you. The changing light and weather conditions will certainly challenge you. Here you see "The Great White Throne" from River Walk Trail. It appeared violet in the distance. I had two days to paint. This is the first morning's effort. Five minutes after I finished clouds came overhead and very strong winds rushed through the canyon. The river sand flew everywhere...into my teeth and into my painting. You can see it here if you look closely. I hope I can brush it off when the paint dries.

IN OTHER NEWS: Spring Pickings is for sale at auction on Daily Paintworks. To view the auction, click HERE.

Up Canyon -a plein air painting of Moro Canyon, Laguna Beach.

oil 8x10 inches magnify/not for sale My favorite of the two painted at Moro Beach. And below, my favorite little dog, just waiting and keeping me safe. What a pleasant time I had, the nice stone bench and all. Ahhhh...can't wait to go back. This piece will be framed and available at the Balboa Art Walk, May 17th. IN OTHER NEWS: If you're near to Redlands, visit Stonewheel Olive Oil Company. Ten of my paintings are on display thanks to the owner, Alisa Chatman. Artist reception Thursday, May 7 6:30-8:30. 7 N. 5th St, Redlands. Come on out, enjoy the art and let Alisa fix you up with some specialty oils and vinegars. It's Redlands Market Night too!

Botanical Stroll -a plein air oil painting from Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Gardens SOLD

oil 9x2 inches magnify/purchase "Life is what happens while you are making other plans." Just got back from a family emergency in Idaho. Thankfully, everybody's doing fine now. Here's a painting I did a few weeks ago at the Botanical Gardens in Claremont. While starting I snapped a few shots of folks walking up the path. I added this couple last using my phone shot as reference. Most of these greens have thalo green in them. I've since removed that pigment from my palette. I decided it's a bit loud for me even when neutralized with some red. I prefer to mix my own greens from the primaries or pre-mix a green from Payne's Gray and Cad Lemon before I go out. Greens can be tricky. I like them natural, not loud. That being said, I am still pleased with the color harmony in this painting.

Desert Dragon

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase You'll find lots of these beautifully rusted sculptures in Galleta Meadows, not too far from Borrego Springs. You can drive or walk right up to them and all around them. The dragon's head was on one side of the road and his tail sections on the other. The tail looked just like a gigantic rattlesnake's rattle. I turned the RV to give me shade as I painted. The breeze was cool and my dog sat next to me in the passenger seat. It was a great last painting session. Then I headed into town for some really good tacos.

DEMONSTRATION IN ORANGE Next Monday night, March 9. See blog EVENTS for more info.

Cold Pond -a plein air painting at Prado Regional Park

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase Our camping weekend was cold and rainy, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway. Can you see the cold in my painting? It tried to rain on me, but the clouds didn't really let loose until that night. I was interested in the branches of this tree/bush/thing and also the light on the water. There were big storks out there, so I included a few. Have a great weekend, everyone!