low tide at the salt marshes

12" x 12" daily acrylic painting

surface - gallery wrapped stretched canvas

SOLD

I've been wanting to paint the salt marshes on Cape Cod for quite a while but I never created the opportunity to take photos. Pastel painter Eileen Casey took the reference photo at Bass Hole in Yarmouth, Ma. Thank you for the use of the photo Eileen!

For this painting I used a new set of acrylics by Atelier. They are interactive paints that can be worked with like oils because of a painting medium which when applied "opens up" the paint to a wet state. There was a bit of learning curve.

Fun piece to work on and I'm definitely planning a trip to Cape Cod for more reference material!

Far Niente vineyards

'Far Niente, Oakville, CA"
10" x  3.75"  pastel painting (unframed)

Far Niente winery owns 5 vineyards. According to the description on their website this view is part of their John C. Sullenger Vineyard which covers 42 acres. Their wine prices are a bit out of my range but I hear they make exceptional wine.
As far as the painting - I wanted to abstract this scene considering the limited view. I'm pleased with the feel of it.
My husband is away on business in northern Washington state and has been photographing vineyards for me. He's been taking some up-close shots which I can not get through Google street views. I'm very excited to see and paint them!
Please visit my vineyards blog to view the scene in Google street views.

$100 with shipping and handling included in the US. Please email me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

St. Helena Hwy, Napa

'St. Helena Highway, Napa, California, US"
8.5" x  3.75"  pastel painting

 I found these vineyards while "driving" on the highway in Napa, California. I took a few liberties in the painting by omitting a building in the background and also the support stakes for the plants. I didn't want to crowd the small painting surface with sticks so I decided to only place stakes in the front for suggestion. It seems to work.

I believe these vineyards are part of Silver Oak Cellars. One wine which I haven't tried yet, but I will.
All this virtual travel is giving me a thirst for touring all these beautiful spots. I can only get as close to the wineries and vineyards as Google lets me. I'm open to receiving up-close photos if you want to share them!

You can see the Google street view and explore the area at my new blog.

Available at Preservation Framer

Via Scopeti, Italy

'Via Scopeti, San Casciano in Val di Pesa Florence, Italia"
 10" x  3" daily pastel painting

I love the rows of cypress trees! You can see the Google street view and explore the area at my new blog.

The buildings on the horizon and the vineyards are part of the Villa Mangiacane. The review at Google stated "At the heart of an estate that reigns over 300 hectares of vineyard, olive groves and majestic Tuscan forest, in the famed winemaking region of Chianto Classico."

Available at Preservation Framer

In other news: There's a temporary hold on the Alzheimer's portrait project. I need to get permission to photograph the residents. I have a meeting with someone next week at the nursing home to address this. 'Keeping my fingers crossed' as my mother always used to say.

Henry Rd. in Napa

"Henry Road"
Artesa Vineyards & Winery, Napa CA
7.50" x 9"  pastel painting

I lived in Berkeley, CA in the 70's and loved it. Driving through Napa Valley seemed magical . . . there were many places in California that felt magical. The terrain is so beautiful in spots. As far as I know it's the closest place in the US where one will experience a similar beauty to France and Italy. Someone I know who is french told me that and I agreed once I started driving around France in Google's 'street view'. Traveling has never been a huge priority for me but I recently started a list of places to go and France and Italy are at the top. Actually they are the only ones on the list!

Be sure to visit my new blog of Painted Vineyards! It's my new project and I include the Google 'street view' of the reference for the painting.

here's a link to Artesa Winery - http://www.artesawinery.com/index1.html

Available at Preservation Framer

La Grande Rue

7" x 7" daily pastel painting 

unframed

 Another painting to submit to Virtual Paintout. I had fun with the colors. I generally blend my pastels but I resisted on this one and tried to stay focused on the shapes and colors rather than details.
My favorite part of the painting is the sky holes.
I found this scene on the Island of Jersey with Google maps street view. The road is La Grande Rue and I believe that it's part of a vineyard.

$110 with shipping and handling included in the US. Please email me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

Netherlands canal

After the last post I thought I'd use google maps to travel through my country of birth - The Netherlands. Canals are everywhere in Holland. Scenes like this are common place and although the landscape is flat the countryside is beautiful! Once I established my shapes and put the reference photo aside  the painting literally blossomed. In the original image there were rows of crops but I wanted this painting to feel more like Holland so I added the flowers.

10.25" x 3.75" daily pastel painting

$110 with shipping and handling included in the US. Please email me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.

vineyard by the sea

'La Mare Wine Estate' Saint Mary, United Kingdom
10.25" x 2.75" daily pastel painting
unframed

Vineyards are my favorite landscape scenes. I suppose farms would come next. It's the rows of the plants that captures me. And this one is by the sea, another favorite place although I haven't been to the ocean in quite some time. It's only a little over 1/2 an hours drive but I'm lazy.
This piece was painted in response to the Virtual Paintout challenge. The reference image was found on Google maps on the island of Jersey which sits off the coast of Normandy, France and southern Great Britain. If you want to see a beautifully landscaped island with some amazing architecture, this is one to check out!

$110 with shipping and handling included in the US. Please email me for International shipping rates or other inquiries.