Just A Bite

oil 8x8 inches Purchase info here. Such a beautiful and luscious fruit! I could use some watermelon and sunshine right now, how 'bout you?

Juicy Big & Little

oil 10x10 inches Purchase info here.

Nectarines On Greens

oil 8x8 inches Purchase info here. How 'bout some color to brighten your day? I hope these nectarines find you well and content with the temporary slower pace of life. I'm finding more time to paint, read, and do projects around the house. If you're interested, I recently posted six time lapse videos of my latest painting (16x20) on my Instagram page. Just do a search on IG for karenwernerart. Stay well, my friends!

SOLD Apples & Poms-Some Gallery News

In & Out Apples 6x6 SOLD Vanessa Rothe Fine Art

Backyard Poms 8x8 SOLD Vanessa Rothe Fine Art. I'm very pleased to announce the recent sale of these two small pieces at Vanessa Rothe Fine Art. Thank you, Vanessa! Vanessa's gallery is as beautiful as they come. Located at 418 Ocean Avenue in Laguna Beach, it's a quaint cottage chock full of California, Russian and French Impressionism as well as contemporary realism. In November, Vanessa approached me about carrying my small works. I'm so grateful! Below is a sneak peak at a few paintings on their way to the gallery soon. Be sure to visit when you're in Laguna Beach. For more info on Vanessa Rothe Fine Art, click here. Thank YOU for following my work by reading my blog posts. Stay healthy!

Sunny In Blue 8x8

Backyard Still Life

Lemon Glow

oil 6x8 inches Purchase info here. Does this look like an orange slice? Nope. It's the beautiful warm yellow glow of a Meyer lemon. When tree ripened, they are definetely not a grocery store lemon yellow. IN OTHER NEWS: I still have openings in my March 21-22 Workshop. Learn how to simplify and put life and light into your paintings! Email me for more info karenwernerart@gmail.com

Honey Bear & Lemon

oil 6x8 inches Purchase info here. I enjoy trying to capture translucency. Sometimes I have more difficulty coming up with a title than I do executing the painting. I could title this "Throat Soothers." By the way, Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Coffee & Cream SOLD

oil 6x6 inches Purchase info here.

Green Apple With Mums -SOLD

oil 8x8 inches Purchase info here.

Lemons Sing Backup

oil 6x8 inches Purchase info here. I have a few spaces left in my UPCOMING WORKSHOPS: March 21-22 and April 25-26. These are held in my studio in Upland, CA. For more info email me at: karenwernerart@gmail.com

Backyard Apples

oil 6x8 inches Purchase info here. Painting number one from September's 30 paintings in 30 days for the Strada Easel Challenge. I didn't win an easel, but September gave me lots of practice and self-discipline! We don't know what kind of apple tree we have, but who cares! It produced hundreds of sweet, juicy apples last fall.

Once A Marine, Always A Marine -a plein air painting from Los Rios Historic District, San Juan Capistrano

oil 9x12 Purchase info here. When I visit San Juan Capistrano, I'm always drawn to this little old house. I have painted it once before. My father and son were both Marines. I love the fact that so many old retired Marines, proud of their service and their country, still fly the USMC flag. I painted this when the afternoon light was behind the house, and shone through the canna lillies. It was a lot of fun trying to capture that light and the character of the house.

Signs At Capistrano- a plein air painting from the Historic Los Rios District

oil 11x14 Purchase info here. In August I joined the PAM Painters for a painting day in San Juan Capistrano. This is the first of two paintings I did on location that day. I was drawn to the light and shadow, the rustic old building, and the sign post almost hidden in the planter.

A Fruity Wine

oil 10x10 Purchase info here. You might wonder why I include wine bottles in my still life so often. They provide a strong vertical anchor to the design, taking the scene up and breaking up the top horizontal edge of the picture plane. The labels often echo the colors in fruit, creating unity and color harmony. The green bottles are often very very dark so they add value contrast. Wine is festive, and adds to the upbeat feel of the work. There you have it! IN OTHER NEWS: I'm really looking forward to demonstrating in Huntington Beach on Wednesday! For more info, see my December 30th post.

Loose Fruit

oil 8x8 inches Purchase info here.

Little Bird's Cherry

oil 4x6 Purchase info here. I'm so far behind in my blog posts!! I painted this little one back in July. I hope you had a great Christmas or Hannukah, and have high hopes for the new year! DEMO COMING: January 8, Huntington Beach Art League, Senior Center in the Park, 18041 Goldenwest Street, Huntington Beach, CA. 7:00pm. I'll paint a still life from life, talk about my process and I'll donate a small oil toward the raffle. Open to the public.

Backlit

oil 6x8 Purchase info here. With this painting I played with the effects of backlighting on semi-transluscent objects, their edges and reflected color. The painting is better in person, as alizarin crimson (dark red areas) does not photograph well. IN OTHER NEWS: In Claremont, CA I currently have work at the following venues: Studio C (on Bonita) carries a few of my petite unframed gems. Square i Gallery (on Harvard) has 4 paintings in it's December 11x11 Show. Integrated Bodywork (on Indian Hill) has 16 available paintings hanging through the end of January. In Laguna Beach The Vanessa Rothe Gallery currently has 4 available. In all your holiday shopping, I hope you'll consider making purchases from artists like me who create one of a kind fine art not found in stores!

Sand & Sun

oil 9x12 inches Purchase info here. Temperatures are dropping, three days of rain are coming along with snow in our local mountains. Boy, does this scene look inviting!!! Here's what happens when painting figures in plein air: The chosen subject was two adults in chairs and their little girl standing with a BIG bow in her hair. I took a pic of the figures, because I knew thay'd move. The girl went down to the water of course. I drew the two chairs. The third adult arrived! Drew in the third chair. Took more pics. Drew the two women. They ALL got up and left for about an hour. Drew the man from my pic. Started painting the chairs, then figures from memory. They came back and put up the umbrella. Added the umbrella, changed the skin tones under the umbrella to tones in shade. Painted the umbrella, shadows under the chairs, sunlit sand and water. Whew! It was a lot of fun to paint such a fluid situation and I was really lucky that the subject kept getting better!

Laguna Palms

oil 9x12 inches Purchase info here. Painted on location, this is another piece I painted during the Jim McVicker workshop in June. The sun came out for us that afternoon, giving stark contrast between the lit background and trees in deep shadow.

Laguna Coves SOLD

oil 9x12 inches Purchase info here. In June I took a plein air painting workshop taught by Jim McVicker. It was a wonderful experience, and this is my favorite of the four paintings I completed. The days were cloudy ("June Gloom", we call it) with the sun trying to burn through by afternoon. It's a difficult type of atmosphere to capture. With Jim's expert coaching, I think I got it. IN OTHER NEWS: I just hung 16 paintings in Claremont at INTEGRATIVE BODYWORK. 114 N. Indian Hill Blvd, Front Suite, Claremont, CA. Thank you to Suzannce Snijder van Wissenkerke for the opportunity. So if you're near Claremont, stop in and browse, or plan to stop in on CLAREMONT ARTWALK NIGHT, DECEMBER 7, 6-9pm. Refreshments served. My work will hang through January.

Bottle & Glass

oil 12x9 inches Purchase info here. A painting from May. Some of my favorite subjects are here; wine bottles and glass. The small white flowers are fun too. When I paint small flowers, I know it's futile (and not at all fun) to try and paint each petal. Instead, I squint way down to see each blossom as just a basic shape. I usually paint the greens first, leaving the blossom shapes unpainted. I then paint the shadow side of the blossoms the right shape, value and color. Last, I paint the light side of the blossoms the right shape, value and color. I also focus on varying the size, shape, and placement of each blossom. A random look gives flowers a natural appearance.