Say, would this painting go well with a pinot?

This painting (with painting by Ann Martin Garland on right) was in fact finished in time for last night's 'Pairings' event at Arches Gallery. (see Arches link at right for more info). Gillian Handelman, a wine educator & writer 'MC'd' the event, in a fun & refreshing way, leading visitors through a tasting of delicious wines, paired with artwork, in the manner of popular food & wine pairings. It seemed like everyone had a great time, & I wouldn't be surprised if this became an annual event-- stay tuned!

The wine partner for 'blossom rain' was in fact a Davenport Russian River Pinot Noir, described as follows:
bright red fruit (pomegranate, raspberry & sweet cranberry) aromas & flavors flow out of the glass while shades of rose petal & fresh earth create a vibrant backdrop. this wine is all about purity of fruit, framed by a supple mouthfeel & fine-boned structure. Well-bred, & true to the fruit from whence it came.


...and this painting paired well with a Johannisberg Riesling:
the aromas & flavors of this wine lean toward apricot, slate & lime peel. deceptively simple at first, this wine pulls off a dizzying balancing act between its various elements, tugging your palate in one direction and ending in an entirely different one. a sneakily interesting wine-- the kind you come back to after you've tried all the others.


Thanks Michael & Mylette & Gillian for hosting this very fun evening!

(that's me with Michael Coy)

hello again...

Yes, I've been away from my post for a few days, and came back to a bit of a computer bog-down, but here is a glimpse of what's up:
top: recently, below: earlier.



Trying to finish this one up by later this week.
There are some changes I like; but some which are destined to change some more.
(4 x 5 feet, acrylic & collage on canvas)

this was the kind of day...

that makes people want to become landscape painters!

Here's one from 'Tony's side'...

...and check 'today in the garden' (link) to see sunny photos of botanical delights!

paintings and more paintings

Here's a picture of the studio today...

what the 'kids' are doing

a couple more students (from the painting class I'm teaching Fridays at SRJC) at work:

Nichole on her 3rd self portrait (click to enlarge)

Judy paints Gael.

garden page

Okay, you must have known this was coming.
I've created a separate page to corral all the garden photos that are no doubt going to be pouring in here, if spring actually decides to happen. I'll make a link for it over there on the right--
"today in the garden..." it's called.

another day, another bird

See yesterday's post to see this painting pre-bird... just waiting for something to happen...

back at work

If you scroll back in the blog, you will see the two pieces on the left at earlier stages.
The lemons (grown on our own tree) are my first fruits "from life" in a while. They were a very strong focal point, which needed something else strong to counter it, hence the bird. We'd been watching a nesting blue jay in our bamboo; now, just empty shells in the nest, so we're hoping those little ones flew away safely...


guess who?
(yesterday this little painting went on to a new home...)

green again

Tony has decided turnabout is fair play, so he's sneaking up on *me* with the camera; anyway, you can see I'm back to work on this green one, eerily reminiscent of our bedsheets...

...and speaking of Tony, he's begun input-ing his whole 'back catalog', with commentary, on his blog, now called (for reasons he'll have to explain) Trout Salad. Check it out! (see link)

Friday Painting Class

This was the students first day with a live model.