Country Elegance

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Back in the saddle so to speak an had a hankering for some red. So, I chose the elegant and grand Victorian landmark that graces highway 128 out in the Anderson Valley. This is the route we most often take to get to 'civilization' and love passing by this fabulous sight in all its pastoral and colorful glory. One day I hope to find out the square footage of this place as in this painting I have only included about half of it! It's near the close of a lovely summer day and now that it's November, sweet memories of summer are lingering just beneath the surface.

Amble Through the Vineyard

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If you don't know this about my husband and me, we have bought many dilapidated structures over the years and spruced them up. I have the vision for the final results and he has the ability to demolish and re-build. We've made a great team and have worked really hard on each project. We're just about ready though to slow down and smell the roses. In the meantime, I switched places with him and took the wrecking ball to a painting I posted a few weeks ago! I up and tore down the cottage in the vineyard and re-aligned the plantings so that now it is easy to get out into the wide open spaces. I feel like walking right into my own painting and that is a fun feeling. It's still a real place out in the Anderson Valley and I could take you there if you have a hankering to see it.

Good Evening

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As I meander or race through the Anderson Valley, I always have time for taking a photo or two or ten. This lighting condition requires me to paint from a photo as it is so fleeting, besides staring into the sun isn't all that comfortable. This is that time of day that gives me an ache inside, maybe because I'm a helpless romantic and love how everything is soft, warm and glowing. I love the layers of vineyards, fields and meadows backed by tree studded hills and mountains. Large oaks and redwoods frame many of the scenes and the occasional barn lets you know that people are around and tending to all this beauty. 

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.

Country Sundown

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Here is yet another view of the multi-faceted Anderson Valley. I marvel each and every time I go in or out of town as I meander (or race) through this loveliest of  Northern California corridors. The seasons change more dramatically out there than they do on the coast, so that is one of the fun things to experience. Otherwise, visually feasting at various times of the day reveals the wonder of hills, valleys, oaks, vines, redwoods, rivers, sheep and goats. Besides all of those, the barns, wineries, Victorians and ramshackle dwellings of all kinds bring such delight to this easel and camera toting girl!

Tuckered Out

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Meandering through the Anderson Valley again, I pass by this 'lawn ornament' on a regular basis. It adorns this property in every season but this happens to be a lovely day in November. This is when the vines are yellow and red, the trees are screaming YELLOW and that crisp, glorious feeling is in the air. I'm so happy that these folks chose something so aesthetic to share with the world and love staring at this rusty old truck as I zip by on my way to the big city.