October Vines, 14 x 14 Plein Air Watercolor

October Vines, 14 x14 Plein Air Watercolor



The old vines on Piner Road in Sonoma have so much character.
These vines were just starting to change color in early October.
This was painted the same day as Bob's GranFondo bicycle event and just before the Riverbend painting of the Russian River posted in the most recent blog entry.

Riverbend, 11 x 14 Plein Air Watercolor

"Riverbend" 11 x 14 , plein air watercolor painted near Duncan's Mills along the Russian River.

Bob did Levi's GranFondo bicycle event in October and I was lucky enough to go to Duncan's Mills to the Christopher Queen Galleries. Contemporary painters and wonderful watercolors upstairs by Percy Grey and Lorenzo Latimer were inspiration for this piece. It was sunny along the coast, our best weather in Northern California is September and October. It was a such  pleasure to see green trees and flowing water.

Artists accepted to the California Watercolor 45th National Exhibit

 CWA web site October 15th  Number 48!
Thanks to Juror Eric Wiegardt  for accepting my painting.
It's a great honor to be in this exhibit with such accomplished northern California Artists as Joe Santos,  Nt Near, David Broad, Jane Hoffstetter, Iretta Hunter, Charotte Huntley, Qian Gao, Sally Cataldo, Sal Valencia and Myrna Wacknov.

45th National Accepted Artists 2014

Artists & Images

1	Abraham, Patricia	Hiding Places IV
2	Adkison, Melissa	Fuschia 2
3	Arkhipau, Genady	Wcop 85
4	Armitage, Ruth	Beneath the Surface
5	Athanas, Denise	Moonlight Nocturne III
6	Bailey,  Sally Bills	Puzzled
7	Baker, Sally	A Rose is a ...
8	Barron Leopardo, Joyce	Turning the Corner
9	Becker, Marnie	Silent Partner
10	Blake, Mary	Sand Pond Ripples
11	Bortnick, Eugene	Pike Place Musicians
12	Bowler, Pattie	Silly Faces
13	Brayton, Francesca	Crystal Cove Hill
14	Broad, David	Monterey
15	Brown, Niz	Peaches and Cream
16	Byrne, Kathy	Glass Floats
17	Caldwell, Nancy	Monarch Madness
18	Cataldo, Sally	Stillife and Landscape
19	Chang, Angela	Wiredsouth Gate Market
20	Cheney-Parr, Leslie	Wepham 4 Crests
21	Crookston, Nancy	Portrait of Margaret
22	Curiel, Taryn	Walking Through the City
23	Daily-Birnbaum, Elaine	Deliberations
24	Dixon, Colleen	Hoop Dancer II
25	Erfle, linda	Persimmons at Sunrise
26	Friedland, Michael	San Rafael Victorian
27	Gao, Qian	Florence Market
28	Garner, Steve	The Element of Chance
29	Grinstead, John	Just Picked
30	Grudsky, Dmitry	Street Musician
31	Harper, Susan	Hope
32	Hill, Marilyn	I thought it would be different
33	Hofstetter, Jane	Night Passage
34	Hu, Xiao Xing	Looking Attentively
35	Hunter, Iretta	Up Beat Blues
36	Huntley, Charlotte	Zzzits
37	James, John	Starting Anew
38	Katsenelson, Naum	Foggy Morning
39	Kempe, Barbara	Macawcophony
40	Kingdon, Ona	Coded Thoughts
41	Matthews, Sue	Sea Skyscrapers
42	McCormack, Geoffrey	Fresh Frozen Pacific
43	McIntyre, Robert	Morning Mist
44	Near, Nancy	Waiting in the Wings
45	Ng, Woon Lam	Market Place
46	O'Connor, Birgit	Rose Dream
47	Peterson, David	Merchant and Main St.
48	Purcell, Robin	After the Fire IV
49	Rogone, Anthony	Forks and Spoons
50	Rouse, Charles	Boat Yard Blues
51	Sakai, Kathy	Urban Decay
52	Salvador, Andre	What Color is your Blown Glass Ceiling
53	Santos, Joseph	Drill Rig
54	Shoemaker, Doug	San Diego Blue
55	Smith, Mark	Pueblos Blancos
56	Sorrentino, Vita	Dramaturg
57	St. Onge, Jan	Indigo Village
58	Staub, Carol	Rays Of Hope
59	Steinbach-Garcia, Teresa	Wild Almonds
60	Stephens, Ron	CTC Auto Ranch
61	Stermer-Cox, Margaret	Just SayinV8b
62	Stone, Hazel	Ditat Deus
63	Strier, Ellen	Waiting in Malibu
64	Suz Chiang, Tan	Relationship of City 8
65	Tang, Michael	Mott Street New York City
66	Valencia, Salvador	Race Day
67	Wacknov, Myrna	Evolution
68	Walsh, Marilyn	Store Window with Reflections
69	Walters, Steve	The Wooden Prince
70	Wear, Marilyn	Heading Downstream
71	Weckbach, Kevin	Blue Pike and Red Glass
72	Williams, Erin	Delicious Day
73	Wilson, Suzanne	Farmers Market Radishes Leeks Chard
74	Wright, Val	On Parade
75	Zymolka-Amrhein, Anita	Working Upstream

Huddled Oaks, Plein Air Watercolor

Huddled Oaks 11 x 14 Plein Air Watercolor

This was painted as practice for the Sonoma Plein Air Event last month near Chalk Hill. I hardly ever paint under cold and foggy conditions, but felt like I needed to practice in case the weather was cloudy.. I was attracted to the shapes and subtle colors of the oaks, especially the one on the far right bravely reaching across the top of the ridge.
As we are in a terrible drought, I couldn't help wondering about the survival technique of taking root at the top and ?driest part of a ridge. This scene also made me wonder if the other side of the ridge was wetter. Another idea in the painting was how simple I could make the vineyard and still have it read. I didn't want detail in the vines distracting from the trees.

Huddled Oaks (Detail)

Diablo Arts Magazine Cover and Walnut Creek Turns 100 Exhibit, Lesher Foundation Award

The neighboring city of Walnut Creek has a public arts program sponsored by the city and the Lesher Foundation. I was honored to be asked if my painting " Wild At Heart" could be used as the cover to promote the Walnut Creek Turns 100 Exhibit.

  























The  Bedford Gallery also chose to feature the uncropped version in the brochure for Walnut Creek turns 100.

At the reception I was happy to find out my painting won the Lesher Foundation Award.
On the following Monday I was invited to give a docent talk about my painting which was a great experience, I got to meet some very talented artists and address a lively group of about 40 docents..Thanks to Carrie Lederer and her staff for a wonderful, local experience! Because this exhibit is unjuried it is uneven, but there are some wonderful pieces included, you just have to find them.

Exhibition Details:
Walnut Creek Turns 100: Celebrating the City Through Art September 21 - November 16, 2014

Admission during Walnut Creek Turns 100 is free thanks to a generous grant from the Lesher Foundation