The Art of Angling: Karen Winters

FALL AT CONVICT LAKE FALL AT CONVICT LAKE
FALL AT CONVICT LAKE, OIL, 16 INCHES BY 12 INCHES

Growing up in the town of Northridge in Southern California’s San Fernando Valley, Karen Winters watched as the region’s open fields, rolling hills, horse ranches, and orange groves were replaced by dense housing developments, strip malls, and congested roadways. Dismayed by this transformation of picturesque rural America into ugly urban sprawl, she committed her life to celebrating the beauty of nature, pursued primarily through her art, photography, and work as a journalist and filmmaker, in hopes she can influence others to revere and preserve the natural world.

Winters attended UCLA, where she majored in political science, minored in art history, and acquired a MA in journalism. She then worked in advertising, broadcast news, and documentary filmmaking, winning many awards while doing so.

Throughout her early occupations, she remained devoted to her long-standing interest in art, which began in childhood. Wherever her travels took her, she carried a sketchbook and a camera to record her observations. Eventually, such renderings of nature and life became her central focus, and her career transitioned to that of an artist, still going strong in its fifteenth year.

Her paintings are inspired by the natural world, whether in watercolors, oils, acrylics, or pastels. She says that “I am most interested in capturing the quality of light as it defines a landscape, a still life, or a floral portrait. I would characterize my style as borrowing from the best of Impressionism and Realism, influenced by such early California impressionists as George Inness, Edgar Payne, and J. Bond Francisco, among others.

“My artistic travels have taken me all over California and the Western states, to places well known and obscure. I hope that capturing these pristine scenes will motivate others to appreciate them and work to spare them from overdevelopment.” At home in La Cañada Flintridge, Karen and her videographer husband, Glenn, are ardent gardeners, their yard a splendorous display of organic fruits and vegetables and masses of flowers.

In their frequent travels together, they like to hike in special places, always with a camera, and in the case of Karen, with her plein air outdoor painting gear. Early on, with their son and daughter in tow, “unexpected turns and detours have led to magnificent vistas and sights we wouldn’t have seen and appreciated otherwise — pronghorns in Yellowstone, a stormy sunset in the Owens Valley, elk at the Grand Canyon. We had a family catch phrase: ‘We are always at the right place at the right time.’”

Across many years, Karen has painted a rich array of landscapes (the eastern Sierra has been one of her most popular locations), seascapes, waterscapes (many should be familiar to fly fishers), animals, still lifes, and portraits. Her paintings have been widely exhibited in museums, are in numerous public and private collections, and have received many awards. Her work can be viewed at www.karenwinters.com.