Early summer in Sonoma and Napa Valley is filled with the most gorgeous skies as the weather is mixed with plenty of rain and sunshine. Here are a few photos taken recently as I traverse the Valleys on a daily basis. My life is lived between the City of Sonoma and the City of St Helena, two very lovely places filled with art, both modern and historic. I work part-time at Arader Galleries in St Helena which is a true treasure trove of a gallery filled with the most exquisite pieces from the 1500’s to 1900’s. So many original pieces by John James Audubon, Mark Catesby, Maria Sibylla Merian–who was a woman who discovered metamorphosis in the 1600’s–and maps from all over the world. Today, I’d like to share with you a few recent paintings with summer color and some interesting places and things that I have seen.
The welcoming, winding, entrance to Far Niente Winery in Rutherford, Napa Valley. This property always has the most unusual trees, flowers, and other foliage.
The view from Under-Study marketplace, Saint Helena. This is a regular stop on my drive between Valleys as they have delicious high quality hot tea in addition to the most wonderful pastries and breads. For a recent party, I picked up their truffle stuffed chicken and it was divine.
One of my favorite birds is this black-necked stilt that I spotted wandering along a shoreline. I just adore the long pink legs and black + white feathers; such an elegant bird. They also have a lovely call and curious demeanor.
This kitty found himself a home at a hotel in Sonoma and was then adopted–that is what I call creativity in action. Really a strikingly handsome cat with his unique black and white markings.
The sweetest Sheltie dog whose portrait I was honored to paint recently.
Golden Retrievers are most definitely gorgeous dogs. This one so adored his owners that he hardly ever took his eyes off of them as he sat for this portrait on a rainy day in Sonoma. A very good sport!
Mark Rothko has always been a favorite artist of mine. I saw these two pieces at a museum recently and feel that his color fields in this later work are especially captivating.
This Mark Rothko piece reminds me of Spring and Summer in the Valleys.
Something is very fresh in the way that Rothko layered his colors and different paint mediums. Also, the size is most enveloping as you may stand very close and feel the vibrations of summer color. It is interesting to learn that this American painter eventually began to refuse to explain the meaning of his pieces in words, as he felt “silence is so accurate,” in that without an explanation, the viewer’s imagination was more open to its own interpretation. Fascinating!
