Spanish Olives -a still life painting in oil

oil 8x6 inches magnify/purchase info I'm fascinated by how shape and color change inside a jar. This is #5 in the Strada Challenge, 31 paintings in 31 days, all painted from life.

Patio Seating -a plein air painting from my backyard

oil 8x8 inches magnify/purchase info When finding a subject outdoors I look for light and shadow. It was a clear morning, when light is strong and clean. I got excited about the shadow moving across the chair. The basket holds limes from our tree. Did you know that fully ripe limes are yellow? This is #4 in the Strada Challenge: 31 paintings in 31 days.

Overcast, Abalone Point -a plein air painting from Crystal Cove, Laguna Beach, CA

oil 9x12 inches magnify/purchase info Third day of the Strada Challenge I had the pleasure of joining the PAM (Plein Air Mission) painters down at Laguna Beach. Painting can be a very solitary endeavor, so getting together with like minds was refreshing! Thanks to Bob Francis who invited me.

Camellias -a plein air painting from my backyard

oil 8x8 inches magnify/purchase info Right up against my studio wall grows this camellia bush in all it's glory. It was here when we moved in more than a year ago. It always reminds me of my mother. I think we had camellias when we lived in Santa Ana from the time I was two until I was twelve. I can see her bringing in a few and floating them in a shallow bowl. If purchased, this painting ships after Feb. 1.

Valencias -a plein air painting of oranges

oil 8x8 inches magnify/purchase info This is the first painting for the Strada Easel Challenge: 31 paintings in the 31 days of January. Probably hundreds of artists have signed up for this. Each day we post on Facebook #stradaeasel. There's a chance to win a Strada Easel at the end of the month. In addition to the goal of painting every day, I have set some personal goals: paint 50% of them outdoors (didn't know we'd have this much rain!), paint what is around me, paint things I've wanted to paint for a long time but never have gotten around to it. So far I have 17 paintings. Eventually they'll all be posted here on my blog for sale. Please note, if you purchase, shipping will be after February 1. About this painting: I set up in our backyard and painted one of our orange trees-something I've wanted to do for a long time. The next day I added a few more oranges in shadow on the left for balance. It's still heavy on the right, but hey! our juicy oranges are heavy! Long post! If you have read this entire post, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Pear & Grapes -a still life painting in oil

oil 6x6 magnify/purchase info A simple painting, and one of my favorite color combinations. Next post, painting number one in the Strada Easel Challenge.

Primary Things -a still life painting in oil -sold

oil 6x6 inches magnify/purchase info One of my October paintings. Thank you to my friend, Lorry for this cute little blue vase. It was pretty difficult to paint, but it's going to come in handy when I need a bit of blue in a painting. On January 1 I started painting every day as part of the Strada Easel Challenge on Facebook. 31 paintings in 31 days. Very soon I'll start posting those paintings here for sale. If you're on Facebook, you can send me a friend request (Karen Laster Werner), and get a sneek peek of the 11 paintings so far.

Cherry Jar -sold

oil 6x6 inches magnify/purchase info Still catching up. I painted this one in October! Have you ever looked closely at stuff inside a glass jar? The changes in shapes and colors intrigues me. I should paint more stuff inside jars.