Flower Farm in Gilroy

Hot off the press! I just finished this painting last night. I took the photo while on a road trip to Los Angeles with my daughter, Katherine, this summer. I was snapping photos along the way when to my great and delighted surprise I saw this flower/seed farm at the 101 and 152 junction in Gilroy, California. Then I looked to my right and saw a sunflower farm! I've already drawn that one out on paper and I'm ready to paint it today. Both of these paintings will be ready to show for my artist's reception at Gallery Saratoga on Dec 12th. Come on by!

Villa Montalvo on a Throw Blanket

Take a look at this! My Villa Montalvo painting on a throw blanket! The throw is a large, 53"x 71" , thick, 100% cotton, made in the USA blanket. I've bought two throws like this in the past from gift shops and specialty stores and now I'm thrilled I can sell throws with my own paintings on them.

Fairy Land

I just finished the Fairy Land painting this morning while listening to some beautiful Celtic music sung by Heather Dale. (I highly recommend her music www.heatherdale.com) Why do I always want to stop at only drawing the pen and ink picture (see October 26th's entry). Color is the life and soul of the painting! I think I may be heading toward children's book illustrating one small step at at time.

Holiday Gift Bags

I just finished the first holiday boutique of the 'o9 holiday season. My kitchen table was converted to the manufacturing and packaging center complete with stations for making cards, magnets, lavender sachets and bookmarks. What an understanding family I have to let me take over the dining room for a while.
The Unique Boutique in Sunnyvale California is a wonderful little shop run by seniors. It was the first shop I sold anything in and I love the ladies that are in it.

Proteus Flowers

These South African Proteus flowers thrive in the Southern part of Australia too. I painted these flowers on a Get Well card while in Australia for my brother's friend who had a bike accident. I hear he's better now though still not 100%, 4 months later.

Fairy Land Drawing

This weekend while I was watching my daughter's soccer tournament in Fresno, I drew out a "Fairy Land". I'm at the point where I think the drawing is finished and don't want to wreck it by messing up on the painting, but I must press on. I got the idea for doing this when a patron at the Coffee Society asked if I could do a fairy painting and put it on a cup since his wife loves fairies. I've loved the idea of fairies since I clapped my hands for Tinkerbell to live, and she did! I'll post the painting when it's finished.

Cabin Pine Cones and Leaves

What can I say? When God makes the raw materials for a painting, and they fall from the trees to the ground in just the right position for a painting, can I really take the credit for it? I just want to praise the Creator who does all things well.

p.s. this little painting found a loving home and I'm happy it did.

Little Cabin in the Woods

My husband encouraged me to walk down the hill a bit and look at the cabin from a new angle since the trees were cleared and new pathways were available to us. I hadn't seen it look quite so picturesque before, though it does look very beautiful in the snow. My imagination took hold and I had to draw all the rocks and boulders with a pen before I painted it. I've been wanting to use this kind of style even more since I painted this picture.

Years ago Rich's great step-grandmother made a beautiful garden all around the cabin. I wanted this painting to sing out echoes of it's former glory.

Deer at the Cabin

Again, I love seeing deer in the woods...

Cabin View

This is the view from the back deck of our cabin in the Sierra foothills. We just had some trees removed so we can see the view of the next mountain range. I painted the same spot for Cabin Dreams, but it looks very different from that painting. This is the 2nd time I posted this painting (see April 19th). Since I had this painting already, I had the idea to build on it to make a collection of one of my favorite places.

Cabin Rest

What do you know. On the back deck of the cabin we have a hammock for dreaming, but on the side deck we have a hammock for resting. The hammock was actually blue and white stripes, but I wanted to paint it like Joseph's coat of many colors.

Cabin Dreams

At our cabin in the Sierra Nevada foothills, we have this peaceful spot off the back deck where we can nap as long as we want to. Heres to the lazy summer days at the cabin.

The Making of the Cabin Collection

Hi! In this entry I want to show you what it was like at the end of July, beginning of August for me. I took on this project of making an entirely new collection of paintings to hang at the gallery for August. I've been in the gallery since February and have had to provide from 5 to 8 new paintings each month (with a few I could carry over from a previous month.) So by the time August rolled around I ran out of new and slightly reused paintings! The only thing I could do was to paint like a madwoman... 7 paintings in 2 weeks! I drew on my old elementary school teaching skills to "assembly line" each step of the way. First, I drew them all out. Then I painted one background, and while that was drying I started another and then another and another....

In the second picture you see the framing process. Same assembly line mentality. You never know when you will use the skills you learned for another job on a totally different job. I remembered when I was teaching Sunday School and Vacation Bible School and had to prepare the crafts for 25 to 75 kids. This felt so much like that.

The last picture shows the paintings hung at the gallery. I finished 6 of the 7 paintings. One is still here in the studio waiting on me for inspiration. Since then 2 of the paintings found good homes. I'm glad I finished it since now I can bring six of them to another show I'll be attending in Roseville on October 17th. That'll be a piece of cake now that I have all the paintings I need for it.

Gallery Saratoga Garden Party and Art Show 8-09

We had a lovely garden party and art show hosted by Gallery Saratoga this August. A jazz band played while people looked at the art. I shared my booth with two other artist friends. Fun for all.

Villa Montalvo

After I finished taking photos, I walked to the middle of the grass, sat down, and drew out this picture. I had my paints all set out and ready to go, but I only had time to draw that day. Later I drew over my pencil lines with pen and ink and added more details to the picture. I decided to keep most of what I did Au plein air and not to correct it too much. I liked the spontaneous feel it gave to the painting. Oh, the pink tree in the front was painted using my artistic license...

No, I'm not getting paid by Villa Montalvo to promote them. I chose to do that all on my own. But I did discover they're having a holiday arts and crafts show on November 20, 21 and 22 this year and I applied to sell at a table there. This came about because I gave some cards I made of some of these paintings to someone who works with my husband, since she's a member of the Friends of Montalvo group, and that same day she emailed me about this show! What a pleasent coincidence!

Some of the people who saw these paintings said they remind them of story book illustrations. I had the idea to publish a small book of some kind with these paintings in it to sell at the show. What do you think? Any suggestions?

To finish the Wikipedia article, I'll post the part about what Villa Montalvo is doing today:

Villa Montalvo today

Today, Villa Montalvo is a private non-profit arts center called Montalvo Arts Center. The 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of hiking trails are maintained through a partnership with Santa Clara County. The park and arts center are open to the public. Funding support is provided by the Friends of Montalvo memberships, as well as foundation grants, other private donations, and earned income via ticket sales and rental fees. More than 600 volunteers donate thousands of hours annually to support the arts programs and maintenance of the villa and grounds.

Since 1939, the estate has hosted "artists-in-residence" who live and work on the property. Artists range from musicians, painters, actors, writers and architects. While in residence, the participants produce works and give performances. Since Montalvo started its artist-in-residence program, more than 600 artists from 20 countries have participated. In the fall of 2004, Montalvo opened Sally and Don Lucas Artists Programs which offers facilities and staff supportive of the creative process as well as state-of-the-art technology.

A small gallery, called the Project Space, as well as the box office, are located in the building between the mansion and the Carriage House Theater. Montalvo and its arts programs serve nearly 200,000 visitors each year.

Muses in the Fountain at Villa Montalvo

In the courtyard behind the Villa I found this beautiful fountain. I loved the way the sculptor created these three ladies. One can only imagine the story behind their emotions. I'm going on a fact finding mission to find out, but for now I'll post the painting my imagination came up with. The fountain itself had layers of dried minerals of all colors running down the forms of the ladies.
It wasn't too much of a stretch for me to imagine them in flowing watercolors.

Here again is what Wikipedia has to say about how the Villa was named. Does it mention who these mysterious ladies may be? Perhaps...

Phelan named Villa Montalvo in honor of the popular 16th century Spanish writer Garci Ordonez de Montalvo. Montalvo coined the name "California" in one of his fables. In it he described an island rich with gold and jewels, peopled by Amazons ruled by a queen named Califia. The Amazons in the fable rode griffins, mythical winged guardians of precious treasure. Griffins can be found throughout the arts center grounds, standing guard over Phelan's precious gift.

Did I mention that on the left and right of the ladies are winged creatures?

The Red Hat Ladies at Villa Montalvo

When we arrived at the Villa on that lovely day, we discovered there was a very fancy luncheon going on where all the guests were dressed in their finest. The grand piano was playing favorite songs in the background while the diners were eating both inside the Villa and on the veranda. My eye was captured by these ladies who were all wearing Red Hats. They were from the Red Hat Society, a group of women who celebrate their age (being over 50) and the particular wisdom that only comes from living long and learning from the many experiences life has to offer.

The original owner of this Villa, Senator Phelan, also entertained many famous people here in his day. Here's another timely quote from Wikipedia:
During his lifetime, Phelan hosted many celebrities and notables of the era as guests at Montalvo. Jack London, Ethel Barrymore, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Edwin Markham were among Phelan's many guests. Though not his only home, Villa Montalvo was one of Phelan's favorites and is where he died.
I close my eyes to picture one of the luncheons in his day and hear the grand piano playing in the background, and I'm glad we can still do the same today.

Columns in the Courtyard at Villa Montalvo

In my previous post I showed you my artist friends at Villa Montalvo. If you turn to see what they're sketching, you'll see this lovely pillared walkway. I particularly liked the way the shadows created the same beautiful patterns on the pillars.

Here is another portion of the Wikipedia article:

In 1911, James D. Phelan, a three-term mayor of San Francisco, California who would go on to be California's first popularly elected US Senator, purchased 160 acres (65 ha) in the Saratoga countryside and foothills.

Phelan began construction of the mansion in 1912. The initial supervising architect was William Curlett. When he died in 1914, his son, Alex Curlett, took over supervision along with partner Charles E. Gottschalk. The construction of the building was completed that same year.

Upon his death, Phelan bequeathed Montalvo thus:

"I would like the property at Saratoga, California, known as Villa Montalvo, to be maintained as a public park open under reasonable restrictions, the buildings and grounds immediately surrounding the same to be used as far as possible for the development of art, literature, music, and architecture by promising students."

Though I may never live in a mansion like this one, I'm so glad it's being shared with fellow artists and with the community. I'm thankful for Senator Phelan's gracious intent. I love the concerts and plays given at Villa Montalvo and I know it has inspired me to paint.

Villa Montalvo Artists

My friends settled in to sketch and paint Villa Montalvo from the side and I thought they made a beautiful picture. A gazebo behind them added to the beauty of the scene. While they were painting, I decided to walk around and take photos of the grounds. Thanks to my friends for the inspiration!

Villa Montalvo: Stairs to Heaven

After so many months I'm back to update the blog. I missed you all and I missed doing the blog! I'm going to start by showing you some paintings I'm currently working on called the Villa Montalvo Series. I've painted 6 and I have 4 small ones drawn out and ready to paint. Three are hanging in the Gallery Saratoga this month. Villa Montalvo is a beautiful set of buildings that use to be owned by a prominent Senator in the area. Here's what Wikipedia says:

Villa Montalvo is an Italian Mediterranean style mansion nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, in Saratoga, California, United States. It was constructed from 1912 to 1914 by California statesman and businessman James Duval Phelan. After Phelan's death, it was donated to the state as a park and then a cultural and arts center, as it exists today. It is a historic landmark and in 1978 was awarded inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

Myself and my two artist friends (two followers of my blog, guess who...) decided to paint and photograph the Villa one day. Soon after we got there we settled in and I turned around to see these wonderful stairs cut into the hill. I just knew I had to paint them. Later when I got home I saw the pink roses arching over the top of my photo. This was just the start of what would be a magically wonderful day.

Fleur: On the Front Porch

Fleur is a little store in Aptos, Ca. They sell wonderful things for the home and garden. I was even inspired by her front porch so I painted it in watercolor/pen and ink. This will be the first in a series of paintings I'll make cards and prints from. The owner, Nancy, actually has a beautiful standard poodle that stays with her in the store sometimes. This one on the porch is made of iron.

Gallery Flowers #2: Red, Orange and Yellow Lovelies

Fun, pure fun. I just had to paint the flowers at the gallery again. Someone brought in these red and yellow flowers (can anyone tell me their name?) and I painted while it was my turn to sit. It's great to just let the colors flow and play with the salt. Look at the colors in the photo of Hildy's lovely loon paintings and pink, yellow and orange seascape on the wall to the right of the desk. I let them inspire the background of the painting. And yes, that's really how I set up to paint this time.

Seascape Beach Resort Wedding Bluff #5

Hello my blogging friends! I've been back from Australia for about a month now and getting back into my routine, though it is summertime and I'm still going with the flow around here. I have many more great photos to show you of my trip, but they will come along later. I've been painting little paintings in between attending a wedding, a memorial service, framing for the gallery, family gatherings, cooking for groups of teenagers and hungry 20 somethings, watching fireworks at the beach, two road trips to L.A. with my actress daughter Katherine, tending to 2 sick dogs one week after another.... you get the idea.
Thought I'd show you one painting from that continuing series I have. How many ways can you paint one place? Well, this is #6 (#5 flopped) and I'm working on what may be my personal favorite, #7 (show you that soon.) Since it is a place for weddings I decided to throw roses on the path. Then I put the tree shadows all along it and the grass. I think the effect is interesting. It's like one of those seeing double paintings where it can look like shadows and petals on the sidewalk or a crumpled up red and white sheet. Oh the fun of painting.

Driving home from Churchill Island--Day 7

Here are some images that caught my eye on the drive home from Churchill Island. I was sorry to leave this haven for animals, but as you can see in the last photo, no U-Turns (any way you look at it.)

Churchill Isand-- Day 7

I love farms and farm animals! Rich, do you think we can retire on a very small farm? I loved visiting Churchill Island, a historical settlement by one of the first governors in the area.