April Raber

Plein Air Oil Paintings

Fine Art en Plein Air Official web site for artist April Raber

Site index for California Plein Air Landscape Oil Painting by April Raber

April Raber's plein air paintings depict California rural scenes and oceanscapes around Laguna Beach, Dana Point, Trabuco Canyon, and Newport Beach's Backbay. April's paintings are rendered in the style reminiscent of early California plein air impressionistic painters. The web site is organized into several virtual galleries, including Seascapes, Landscapes, Floral, Still Life, Backbay, Industrial Heritage Collection (railroad art), and the Mission Collection.

Backbay Gallery

Backbay Egret
Painting of Newport Beach's backbay wildlife preserve on a misty summer evening.
Format : 11" x 14" Oil painting on board

Backbay Moonrise
A bright full moon rises over Newport Beach's backbay wildlife
preserve on a partially overcast evening
Format : 12" x 16" Oil painting on board

Half Moon Over Backbay
Format : 16" x 20" Oil painting on board
An egret stands watch over the tide receding under a half moon over Backbay.

Sierra Spring
Format: 12" x 12" Oil painting on board
One of a series of shallow pool paintings done in the Sierra
mountains. The perspective is looking directly into the water,
and seeing the clouds above reflected in the pool below.
This painting was selected by the California Art Club to hang in
their summer invitational exhibit in 2003.

floral and still life

Pink Poppy
Format : 11' X 14" Oil on board

Bouquet
Format : 11" x 14" Oil painting on canvas

Orchid 4
Format : 11" x 14" Oil painting on canvas

Apples
Format : 9" x 12" Oil on canvas

Landscape Gallery - a collection of plein air paintings depicting the open landscape of California and the West.

Carpinteria View
Format : 8" x 10" Oil painting on board
Traditional oil painted on-site along the
coast near Carpinteria, California

Dana Point South
Format : 11" x 14" Oil painting on board

Irvine Ranch
Format : 16" x 20" Oil painting on board
Rural area of the Irvine Ranch in Orange County, California

Winter
Format : 24" x 30" Oil painting on board

Mission Collection - a collection of plein air paintings depicting early California missions.

Mission Arches
Format : 11" x 14" Oil painting on board
This painting was done on-site in the courtyard of Mission San Juan Capistrano
on a beautiful Southern California afternoon.

Mission San Juan Capistrano
Format : 11" x 14" Oil painting on board

Mission Garden
Format : 9" x 12" Oil painting on canvas
Interior courtyard of the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano

Los Rios View
Format : 11" x 14" Oil painting on board
The Los Rios district near Mission San Juan Capistrano
see Los Rios web site

Mission Hollyhocks
Format: 9" x 12" Oil painting on canvas

Shows- Current and Previous A representative piece of April Raber's art from each of the upcoming and recent shows and exhibits.

East Ely Yard
Current view of the Nevada Northern Railway yard in East Ely, Nevada.
Accepted into the Oil Painters of America 14th Annual Juried
Exhibition of Traditional Oils, Chicago, IL May 2005

South Laguna
To be displayed at the Balboa Island Art Walk Saturday, May 7th 2005 on Newport Beach
Balboa Island. Over 100 artists will be represented at this one-day event.

Breakfast
Format: 14" x 14" Oil painting on board
Third Place Overall , Paint San Clemente 2004
The San Clemente event required painting original scenes
in and around San Clemente. This paining depicts a Sunday
brunch on the pier under the morning haze.

Forgotten Shadows
Format : 18" x 12" Oil painting on board
Honorable Mention, Two-hour on-site paint-out.
This painting was done as part of the Paint San Clemente event in
2004. It was painted in a single two-hour session. It depicts the old
theater building in north San Clemente, a wonderful, but forgotten building.

Pink Poppy 11" x 14" Oil on Canvas
A still-life floral scene completed in my studio
the day before the Balboa Art Walk

Sierra Springs 20 x 20 Oil on Canvas
One of a series of shallow pool paintings done in the Sierra
mountains. The perspective is looking directly into the water,
and seeing the clouds above reflected in the pool below.
This painting was selected by the California Art Club to hang in
their summer invitational exhibit in 2003.

California Art Club
Woman's Club of Pasadena

Back Bay Egret 20 x 20 Oil on Canvas

Soka University
Summer Festival, 2003

Trabuco Canyon 12" x 16" Oil painting on board

Laguna North Gallery
380 North Pacific Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, California

Spring Sky 20 x 24 Oil on Canvas

Sandstone Gallery
384 North Pacific Coast Highway
Laguna Beach, California

About the Artist

April Raber is a resident of Orange County, California. She was born in Hawaii and was raised in Florida,. She is the oldest of 10 children. Art has been April's passion since an early age, broadening her vista from her mother's intense interest in design and architecture. Throughout her school years she excelled in art receiving several commissions in high school for full wall murals. During her senior year she received the prestigious May-Cohen Art Scholarship, which enabled her to begin her fine art degree at Brigham Young University.

Shortly after receiving her bachelor's degree April began showing paintings at some of the largest galleries in the West, including Clark-Leaming, Tivoli and Voris. Early in her career she encountered and overcame two bouts with cancer. These encounters left a deep impression on her work reflecting not only on the frail nature of existence on Earth, but also our struggle with the perception of opposition. It was during this period that she created the controversial “dream” series, renditions of pivotal scenes from the subconscious, these paintings, often autobiographical, deal with emerging self-awareness and growth from the perspective of a woman’s psyche. Many of these are held in private and corporate collections..

Twenty years later, cancer well in remission, April is painting on-site in and around Laguna Beach, California and from her home studio. Also look for more of her work capturing Central Nevada rural scenes. One of her Central Nevada scenes was accepted to the Oil Painters of America 14th annual Juried Exhibition of Traditional Oils. April's primary media is to use traditional artist's oil colors on primed canvas mounted to wood panels.

April is elated with the possibilities presented by the canyons and coastline in Southern California. “To capture nature with the fluidity of moving paint is what keeps me constantly pushing for the experience of amazement. The act of painting is serendipity itself.” The plein air series, represented on this site and several venues in Southern California, are in the same spirit as the classic Southern California plein air paintings of the early 1900's.

A selection of April Raber's earlier work can be seen at http;//www.gallery1.us. April Raber's current plein air collection can be viewed online at http://www.aprilr.com. and at the Laguna North Gallery in Laguna Beach, California.