Vineyard in the Tuscan Hills

Introducing my latest watercolor painting: Vineyard in the Tuscan Hills. These days I look forward to painting vineyards. I really hope I can visit Tuscany (and Provence) one day. If painting a place from there makes my heart soar, just think what going there will be like! I can't wait!

Red Hat Ladies in Miniatures for Villa Montalvo!

Introducing the Red Hat Ladies in Miniature Paintings with Collage. I'm painting this series to sell at the Yuletide Event at Villa Montalvo in Saratoga this coming weekend. I took photos of the ladies dressed in their finest when they came to the Yuletide last year (and at the summer luncheons). Now I'll frame each of these in 5x7 frames and make greeting cards from them. What fun.

Villa Montalvo Calenders 2011 are in!

Look! The Villa Montalvo Calendars are in! They have 2 different backgrounds to choose from, patterned and plain colors. You see them at Gallery Saratoga. I love the way they turned out. I think I'll work on another calendar of some kind for next year too.

Making Lavender Sachets

I love sewing, smelling lavender and painting so combining these three activities into one tiny bundle delights me to no end. Here you can see some of the steps it takes for me to make my lavender sachets. I grow the lavender in my front yard from two plants and my next door neighbor also is giving me her lavender now. Then I harvest it and let it dry in pillow cases and roll the cases to release the seeds. After I paint the paintings I take a photo of them and then copy them onto printer fabric. The fabric is then ironed and cut and sewn onto pouches. Then I clean up the lavender by sifting it etc. and scoop it into the pouches. There you have it: 72 pouches of lavender and 2 days later! I'll be selling these lavender pouches at my 4 upcoming shows in October, November and December. One of the shows will be at Villa Montalvo at their Yuletide celebration in November. Come on by! There's one with your name on it!

Villa Montalvo Stables

Today, 9/18/2010... Finished!!! Thankyou Deborah for your suggestion on finishing touches. And now (drum roll please Rich, on to the calendar!)

And now I'm almost finished, but what else does it need ?(beside my signature).

and then...Stables with more color and tree. Halfway there?...

The next day 9-17-2010...Stables with some color...

9-16-2010: Here is my preliminary pen and ink drawing for the Villa Montalvo Stables. I didn't even know it was at Montalvo until someone at the summer luncheons suggested I'd like to paint it. I found it off the last parking lot nestled in the woods. Now it is used as a ceramics studio and for other things, but I can imagine it as it use to be, with the horses nearby ready to retire for the day. Tomorrow I hope to watercolor it and then... I will have all the paintings I need to finish my calendar!! I love the challenge of completing a project. So rewarding.

A Window and Camellias at Villa Montalvo

I saw this while walking around the Villa and thought it was so pretty I just had to paint it.

Villa Montalvo Domed Resting Spot

I'm getting closer and closer to finishing the paintings for my calendar! Here is a pretty little resting spot at Villa Montalvo. One day last winter I parked in the lot and then was so surprised to see this dome when I looked up. This one probably will be December in the calendar. Two more to go!

Villa Montalvo in the Springtime

Villa Montalvo in the Springtime. I just finished this one today but I drew it out while sitting at the beach a few months ago.

Villa Montalvo Wedding Day

Here is a commission I just finished for someone I met at the Montalvo Summer Luncheons. It was fun to paint from the actual photos of this wedding, especially the people. This painting will also be in the calender.

Villa Montalvo Wedding Spot

Villa Montalvo looks good from every angle and that's why I think it's a great place to paint. Here is the back of the Villa where they have weddings. I thought I'd be finished with this and sell it during the summer luncheons, but I just finished it today (a day after the last luncheon day), so now I'll sell it at the Montalvo Yuletide in November.

I have 7 paintings completed and 5 other paintings from Montalvo drawn out and ready to be painted. Altogether I'll have 12 paintings of the Villa and grounds so hopefully I'll be able to make a calendar! (I love calenders and collect them so it will be fun to make one of my own.)

Villa Montalvo Gift Shop at the Summer Luncheons 2010

Charlene and Christine selling art at Villa Montalvo

Montalvo Summer Gift Shop

Ladies at the Montalvo Summer Luncheons

Hi again! I was pretty busy this summer and couldn't get to my blog, but now it's time to give you an update on some of the things that kept me so busy. Every Wednesday in July and August I was a vendor at Villa Montalvo for their summer luncheon series. This is the first time they tried having a gift shop while the ladies lunched and had a fashion show. For three of the eight weeks I shared a booth with my artist friend, Christine (check out her blog at http://www.christinesarts.blogspot.com/). Across from me was a fantastic jeweler, Cynthia Sasakia. At the other tables were Big Paws Oils and Vinegar, Narsai David's Specialty Foods and the Montalvo Service Group. By the time the 8 weeks were over I became much more familiar with all the setting up and packing away you have to do with a temporary store. So much work, but the funny thing is, now I think I'll miss that routine. It was a great experience and I will consider doing it again next year.

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.

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.