September 2007

One of my favorite moments to experience is getting away from it all, deep in the woods and losing myself in a painting. I just returned from Napa, CA today.  I had been there since Tuesday, where I rented a large house with 7 other folks. We spent most of the time enjoying great food and wine, but I broke away from the group on Thursday. I went up to Lake Berryessa and enjoyed a 6 mile round trip hike and did a painting of the lake. Not a soul was within miles, just me, the critters and the new brushes and paints I bought before the trip. I then went back down into the valley and painted a vineyard off the Silverado Trail. There are so many incredible views in Napa it can be hard to choose what to paint sometimes. I really liked how the perspective lines are established by the vineyards, and just about every scene around has the blue hills in the backgrounds that I love so much. Feeling full of accomplishment after my hike and producing 2 paintings, I joined back up with the group for a wonderful evening of Italian food and yes, more wine.