Karen Wilkerson fine art blog

Sheep at Mission Ranch

2012-01-16T13:37:00.001-08:00

This painting was juried into the Outdoor Painters Society show to be held in Dallas at Southwest Gallery. The show will open April 7th. If you are in the Dallas area, it would be worth your time to drop by. There are a lot of great plein air pieces.

Bon Chat

2011-12-21T14:45:00.001-08:00

This painting is from a photo I took in the small French village of Chevieu. We were invited to paint in the beautiful garden of one of the local families. This little girl lives across the street. She and her mother came over to visit, and the little girl was very drawn to the kitten. She was so gentle petting it. You can just see the contentment in the cat's eyes.

The Proposal

2011-12-03T11:01:00.000-08:00

My daughter recently became engaged. Her fiancé hid the ring in a plastic Easter egg and left it in some tall grass close to where he was fishing at his parent's fishing camp in El Campo. Since it was the day before Easter, she thought maybe it was one left over from last year. When she picked it up, he went down on one knees and she knew she had found a very special egg. My husband and I had been given a heads up and were there to help celebrate along with his parents and sister. Of course, I had to take lots of photos. They are using the painting for their "Save the Date".

The Water's Fine

2011-11-16T17:33:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed watching the children on the beach. The little girl was so timid about getting into the water, even though the boy was having a great time. I am enjoying painting on small canvases.

Alone Time

2011-11-11T08:35:00.000-08:00

The painting was accepted into the Randy Higbee Gallery fall show in Costa Mesa, CA. The opening is Dec. 3. The paintings will hang until the end of December. They were only able to accept 50% of all the submissions, so I am pleased to be in the show. All of the paintings are 6x6 and are all framed in King of Frame frames. It makes for a good looking show. If you need some frames, they have a good selection of terrific, affordable frames.

La Jolla Cove

2011-09-29T14:35:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I spent August in Carmel painting. However, after looking at all the paintings I did there, I felt each one needed a little "tweek". So this is a beach scene from La Jolla last summer. Even though the sky is a relatively small part of the painting, I wanted to make it interesting. I used a variation of color from left to right. I love doing these small outdoor scenes.

After a hard day of painting

2011-09-27T14:11:00.000-07:00

After painting Chateau Julien Winery we had to sample the wares. It looks like we were really thirsty, doesn't it? These are some painting buddies who were able to join me in Carmel for a week.

Chateau Julien Winery

2011-09-26T11:54:00.000-07:00

I spent the month of August in Carmel, California in order to do a lot of plein air painting. So you will see a lot of beach scenes and wineries on my blog. I was captivated by the light on the turret. I tried to emphasize how the shadow is harder closer to what is casting it and then gets softer as it goes away. Also, I wanted to show how all the green from the vineyard reflected into the shadow of the wall. I'm not sure this shows up enough, so I may concentrate on it more if I do a larger painting.

Santa Fe Arroyo

2011-07-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

I was trying to get all the colors you see with the wonderful Santa Fe light.

Villa Escondido

2011-06-26T19:36:00.000-07:00

This is a friend's house in Austin, Texas. However, it could just as easily be a villa in Italy or Spain. I love the red tile roofs and stuccoed walls.

Catalina Island

2011-02-05T11:49:00.000-08:00

I did this small outdoor painting a couple of years ago. I have not been good at keeping my blog current. I thought I would go ahead and post some of my favorites and then post my most recent.

It is easy to see why Catalina is called the Enchanted Isle. Plus, I love being somewhere with no traffic. It is easy to walk almost anywhere on the island. There are great views of the ocean from just about any vantage point.

House at Mayfield Park

2009-10-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Mayfield Park is located right in the heart of Austin. It once was a weekend retreat for the Mayfield- Gutsch family. The estate was presented by Mary Mayfield Gutsch to the city of Austin in 1971 and has been enjoyed by Austinite families ever since. It has two acres of beautiful towering palms, water lily ponds and brilliant peacocks roam the grounds. Also there are 21 acres of walking trails and wildlife habitat. I can only imagine the wonderful times a family would have had in this setting. What a generous gift to our city.

Window at Laguna Gloria

2009-10-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

Laguna Gloria is a restored 1916 Italian style villa that was once the home of the Texas legend, Clara Driscoll. The building overlooks Lake Austin and is a very imposing structure. It now houses an art museum and an art school. I initially intended to paint the whole building. However, while walking around the lovely grounds, I was taken with this arched cut glass window and decided on a more intimate view of the structure. It is a fun place to paint and I plan to return there often.

Wind Blown Cypress

2009-08-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

These Monterey Cypress are located on 17 mile drive near Carmel, California. This is such a beautiful place, every view could envoke a painting. I was interested in the way the wind has twisted the trees and made such interesting shapes. Also, I liked the reflected light on the trunks.

For a print or giclee of this piece contact www.NewErahd.com , or if you are interested in the 16" x 20" original contact the artist.

Morning Walk on Carmel Beach

2009-07-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

I did this plein air painting last year while I was in Carmel. It is one of my favorite places. I am going to go paint there again next month. I plan to paint there everyday for a month. Sounds like heaven to me. I am awed by the beauty of the coast line and the whole area. It will be interesting to compare the paintings I did last year with the ones this year.

Day Lilies

2009-07-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

These flowers are some of my favorites, because they have such a short life and are therefore rare and to be enjoyed immediately. It is fun to see the way new flowers replace the old every few days. It reminds me to appreciate the present, but also to look forward to what is next.

Cypress Creek

2009-07-12T09:06:00.000-07:00

This may be the last plein air painting I do in Austin this summer. It is ridiculously hot here. Even in the shade early in the morning it is hard to concentrate because of the heat. I guess I am just a sissy.
I liked the contrast of the complimently colors of the orange in the rocks and tree and the blue in the water. This piece will be in the Plein Air Austin show at the Corridor of Arts downtown in the old Chase Bank building. The address is 700 Lavaca. There are 37 artists in the show and a lot of good work. Plein Air Austin is a group of artists who have regular scheduled paint outs together several times a month.

A Friendlier GPS

2009-07-11T16:23:00.000-07:00

This is from a photograph I took on a recent visit to San Fransico. We were staying at the Omni downtown. When we walked out in the morning the doorman was giving directions to a passerby. I just liked the the way he was being so helpful and the interchange that was taking place.
I posted this earlier with the typo GPA , but my daughter was quick to point it out to me. It probably would have gone unnoticed forever by me.

Free Rider

2009-07-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

I was sketching at Food Head, which is a little outdoor cafe close to the UT campus when this girl rode up on her bicycle. We were all charmed by the maltese she had in her basket. I was able to shoot some photos of her as she rode off. It just shows, it pays to have a camera with you at all times.

Afternoon in Hyde Park

2009-07-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

This is an older area of Austin that has some wonderful historic homes. I thought this house located right across from the park had a very welcoming feeling to it.

2009-07-01T14:34:00.000-07:00

Ranch at Sunset
11" x 14"

This was done at our ranch near Evant, Texas.
This is one of the larger plein air pieces I have done. It was a challenge because everthing was changing so quickly. I knew this about sunsets, so I was set up and ready to go before sunset. I went ahead and painted in the ground plane and so when the clouds got that orange glow that was all I had left to put in.

Gifts of Spring

2009-06-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

This is my very first posting on my blog. I hope you enjoy it.
I enjoyed the contrast of the bright flower against the dull vase and bird's nest. I used a strong light to get more contrast and shadows.