nina warner art work: Auld Lang Syne

As usual, December gets taken up with holiday energy, celebrations and time spent navigating family and friends through a Covid 19 scrim.

Painting - focused working time in either the field or the studio - continues to be an island of refuge despite the stressful holiday activities.

These are paintings done from Monday plein air days, Friday flower days and everything in between.

I'll start with the Annual New Years Day painting. This is a self-tradition I have done for many years now - going out and spending a few hours alone painting. It sets a goal for me and reinforces my continuing dedication to keep on working.

The rest are grouped basically by subject matter - starting with the Ocean:

View of Summerland, New Years Day, 6"x12" oil on panel

Goleta Slough, 6"x6" oil on panel

Low tide at Lorraines, 8"x10" oil on panel

Cliffs of Leadbetter, 8"x10" oil on panel

Gaviota coast beach,6"x12" oil on panel

Moving on to inland areas where there are always lovely things to paint:

Pool at White Rock, 8"x10" oil on panel

Old oak, San Marcos, 8"x10" oil on panel

Buildings are always a challenge -

old beach house, Avila Bay, 12"x12" cradled panel

Lighthouse buildings, 8"x10" oil on panel

And animals have been a particularly difficult challenge -

Winston, UCSB stables 8"x10" oil on panel

Manny, Moe and Jack, 9"x12" oil on panel

The usual Friday flower sessions have been a great practice and challenge for color mixing, form, value and composition. I was given a lovely small poinsettia for Christmas so naturally I thought I should paint it. These remind me of my childhood growing up in Los Angeles. They always 'bloomed' around the winter holidays.