"Gold" Country

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In California, gold is plentiful. All summer and into the fall the hills are ablaze with that hue whether or not the shiny stuff is to be found in any of the creeks and rivers. A friend from Portland told me how much she misses that color because it brings a measure of warmth and excitement. Ok, so I DO love Ireland (and Oregon) but there is something as wonderful about gazing at golden hills as at the kelly green ones.

Warm and Wonderful

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Came home near midnight last night after the memorial service AND seeing my Mom admitted to UC Davis Medical Center, besides a quick trip to Tahoe in between for a reunion of old friends. Whirlwind is the right word and now I'm a bit bushed but no worse for wear. Mom should be ok once they do surgery on her back to loosen up the nerves that are causing lack of feeling in her hands and feet..........prayers are appreciated. Yep, grateful for all that I am able to do even in the midst of chaos. 

 Here then is a serene image of the Little River Inn at the magic hour and oh how I love this sight after a long trip. Cresting the hill just to the south at just the right time of evening, this local landmark glows like nobody's business. May this serve to calm and delight.

Alexander Valley Sojourn

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Wineries are ideal places to visit and paint because they typically provide wonderful subject matter along with lovely restrooms for people like me with peanut sized bladders. This scene was painted on location recently at the deLorimier Winery in the Alexander Valley just outside Geyserville and I just made a turn here and a turn there until I ended up there. I then looked for a shady place to sit down in hopes that from the shade I could see something paintable. It was probably 100 degrees outside or more, so even though I liked some scenes in sunny places, I could not bear to be there for more than 30 seconds. Just going back and forth to my car was an undertaking in endurance!

Impressions from Pacific Star

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Elaine and I went up to the Pacific Star Winery and had an absolutely idyllic few hours basking in the HOT sunshine. I know that this is hard for you to believe, but it was probably 70 degrees there and very little wind, so we sat in the coolest spot possible. We had a little picnic and I couldn't resist pulling out my paints and try to figure out a way to compose one of the most glorious sights on the north coast. It's not that I haven't painted it before, but it certainly is a challenge each time to decide what should be the most important element. This time I liked the odd looking giant rocks on the right and I'm hoping that they ring your bell too.

West Side of Town

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Here we are in Fort Bragg's west side, not far from my studio. When I'm out and about visiting Laura and it happens to be the "Magic Hour", I race out into the middle of the street and try to snag a shot before the sun goes down or a car comes by. I need all the peach colored sky I can get today because we are socked in with some kind of high cloud cover so it was fun to work from a sunny photo. This is another one of those 15 minute windows of time at the end of the day when everything is lit up by the slipping sun, when even the electrical wires are lit up and beautiful.

Amber Oaks, Emerald Vines

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After going to the Little River Inn for breakfast with my Dad and his pal, I spent another chunk of the day priming panels my favorite orange color. I do this so that when I skip a tidbit here and there, that a warm color shows through rather than stark white. I love how it influences the sky color because my paint is thin in that area and the skies always seem to glow as a result of the toning color beneath. With all this orange going on, I automatically gravitated toward an image I have painted in the past and wanted to do it in miniature. This is a French style barn someplace out in the Napa Valley that I discovered on one of my wanderings. This lighting condition lasts about 15 minutes, making it very hard to paint on location and though I paint pretty quickly could NEVER really complete a painting in that small amount of time.

Here are my panels, all primed and ready to be painted on. On the windowsill is a fun little solar "Happy Face Flower" that Suzi Long gave to me one day when I visited her.

Glistening Sea

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I drove around last evening looking for a spot that I could park and paint from the comfort of my car. Yep, it's been windy again and much too treacherous to set up outside. Out on Todd's Point south of Fort Bragg there is a lavish, newly built Victorian house that sits right on the edge of the cliff. What attracted me to this scene though was the roadway leading to the arbor and house and the way the heather and lavender were all back-lit. The icing on the cake was the blinding white gleam on the ocean, and it was hard to look straight into the sun without wearing sunglasses! I took them off to mix colors, so it was on again, off again throughout my delightful little excursion in the front seat of my parked car.

Lazy Days of June

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This is the pastoral view from Handley Cellars in the Anderson Valley. Looking across to the vineyards, fields and mountains, we take a little up and down journey through colors, textures and lively shapes. This is early summer as the grapes are budding, the sheep are grazing and the vine tender is in a hammock lazing. Lemonade awaits on the porch and the kids are coming around for dinner before long, but they'll be good and tired after their day at the river. We love these kind of days, just reveling in being alive and breathing in that summer air that is full of hope and joy.

Lingering Glow

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This is my reaction to drizzly fog. I'd painted a larger version of this scene with a palette knife some time ago and was quite honestly sad to sell it. I guess I'm just a push-over for this dreamy almost-evening light. It makes my mother in law melancholy, but does the opposite to me. It gives me that frantic, I have to take 1,000 photos kind of feeling, or if I sit still, it carries me into deep places of the heart. Driving around Mendocino during the 'magic hour' is one of the most pleasurable experiences of a lifetime, that's for sure and for certain.

Murder She Wrote Rerun

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Got in my car today in hopes that I could park in such a spot that I could see "Jessica Fletcher's" house again. This is quite the popular local landmark, and my earlier painting seems to be following suit. This time I've included a bit of the neighborhood, complete with snippets of lavender fog that's been wafting about most of the day today. It's such a joy to be on location, if just in my car and looking out the window!

Ocean Peek

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I've definitely been on a Mendocino kick lately. It's close to home and also to my heart, so it's been fun to take you out and about in my tiny little town by the sea. Here is Calpella Street all dressed up for Springtime and my dear friend Michele was blessed to live on this street a while back. Her house is 2nd from the right and Dave and Marion live next door. At the bottom of the hill and just out of view is the little house we live in and maybe I'll get around to painting it one of these days!

Mendocino Dreamin'

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Now here's a combination of 1892 and 2012 for ya as the cars give it away. One day about 24 years ago, I showed some postcards of my artwork to the innkeeper at our B&B in England and one of them showed several of these same buildings on Main Street in Mendocino. When she got to that one, she said, "I don't much like this one, I don't like all the modern buildings." Needless to say I was dumbstruck as we here in California think that these relics are pretty special and OLD. I had no answer for her, but I present them to you in all their sunlit glory along with a little gleaming modern metal.

September Sunset

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Here's another offering from my corner of the coast, just a few short steps from yesterday's vantage point. This is Ukiah Street looking due west and into the glorious blue beyond. It is such a privilege to live within eye-shot of such exquisite beauty and something I never take for granted. Observing me with my easel or camera is like watching a kid in a candy shop- all wide eyed and frantic. It's a tad risky to be following me in my car because I'm apt to slam on the breaks if I see something riveting. I assure you though that I do look in the rear view mirror before I stop...................

Misty Mendocino

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Here's my town again, all dressed up for summer but this time the fog is winning out over the sun. I know it's summer because of the profusion of wild roses blooming, so I thought I'd clue you in on the same reality! Selling sweatshirts is a booming business here as very few people realize that the temps can drop 50 degrees once you  cross the coastal range and hit the coast. We call it "God's air conditioning" around here and sometimes enjoy the cozy quality that enshrouds our village. 

Another Time

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This Mendocino as it was in bygone days. Calm and quiet and bordering on 'sleepy'. A bunch of old wooden houses in a row, saying hello to a sunny summer morning while all the inhabitants are out walking along the headlands or to the market. Such a great place to live and to contemplate creative endeavors. That's the reason that so many of us artsy-fartsy types live here.

Tuscan Glory

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On one of my visits to Tuscany, our host took a couple of us on a wild ride in his VW van to check out some nearby painting locations. I think he'd had a bit to drink and it happened to be a rainy day, so it was a less than pleasant going up and down some roads that were meant for 4 wheel drive. However, he showed us the tiny hamlet of Poppiano and we forgave him for scaring us! I'd have to say that this spot is one of my favorite on earth. On a day when the weather was pleasant, I sat outside near this vineyard and painted while listening to the distant sounds of church bells, bleating sheep and children playing. It was one of life's most precious moments and I feel grateful to have had such an experience. I have taken many photos in and around this little enclave and love 'visiting' over and over again as I put some of that same awe inspired emotion into my paintings.

Tuscany Awaits

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I've been to a tiny village called Montespertoli a couple of times, a spot just south of Florence. I've stayed in the same farmhouse, or agritourisimo location called Le Mandrie Di Ripalta. This scene is one typically encountered while driving by car up and down the glorious hills and valleys of that region. I didn't have to fake anything as this is just what I saw on one of my gallivants. I'm honestly not sure if I could find it again, but maybe you want to join me one day and give it a try!

Beachy and Beautiful

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Being a Northern California girl, it was late in life that I discovered one of Southern Cal's most amazing sights. It was because of another artist's painting that I found out about this place and promptly bought a print as a memento. My dear friend Colleen remarked that it looked like the cottage where the movie "Beaches" was filmed, and sure enough it was. We ventured out to this hidden enclave and took about 100 photos in twenty minutes time. It is north of Laguna and south of Newport Beach and hidden from the highway, so you'd never see it if you didn't know about it. It's a beach cottage community that's been there for about 100 years and has gone through many changes over time though at present is part of the State Park system. All I can say is that it is a painter's dream-scape and I'll keep painting it so that I can keep that perfect summer vacation feeling alive in my heart and yours.