Michele-Schlumberger Vineyards

This is a fantastic place with delicious wines and very nice and friendly staff. The light is extraordinary and the vineyards amazingly colorful. 16"x20" oil on canvas, framed, $650. Copyright 2009

First Color of Fall

This is my favorite time of the year in the vineyards with the greens changing to reds, burgundies, oranges, and reds. 12"x16" oil on canvas, framed, $325. Copyright 2009

Ready for Pruning

Occidental, Yellow House

Besides Tomales, I really like to paint in the small town of Occidental. The buildings are old and interesting, many turn of the century. I like this one because of the shadows it has in the morning. Copyright 2009.

Cow Palace

This cow barn is on a back street behind Tomales. It looks so cozy under the big eucalyptus trees. I liked the added palm tree. The cows have it good here. 16"x20" oil on canvas.

McMurray Ranch Barn

The McMurray Vineyards are private, but a small group of us got to paint there this year. They're very good to us when we are there, serving us their wonderful wine with our lunches. The shadows were the attractions for this plein air painting. 16"x20" oil on canvas.

Pedroncelli Vineyards

I painted this from the very top of the Pedroncelli Vineyards. The views from there are spectacular in all directions. I liked this one because of the trail leading down into the vineyards and the mixed colors of fall coming on. 16"x20" oil on canvas.

Vistas from Paradise Ridge Winery

The view from this winery looks all the way across the Santa Rosa plain towards Bodega. I love the foggy distance that always disappears in the afternoon. 16"x20" oil on cradled gesso board.

Rest Stop

Back again to the little village of Tomales. This time I focused on Main Street and the passers-through having some refreshments. You'll find bicyclists and motorcyclists here regularly. 20"x16" oil on canvas.

Estero Near Valley Ford

If it's not too windy this is a beautiful place to paint with the Estero snaking through the valley towards the coast. I'd like to live in the little farmhouse in the painting. 18"x24", oil on canvas, framed, $950

Tomales Neighborhood

Friday has become Tomales Day. The more I paint there, the more I see and want to paint. Tomales is a village that seems far from everything, but it's just 20 minutes to a town. I love the rooftop shapes, along with the picket fence. 8"x16", oil on canvas.

Under the Birches

This cute little cottage was tucked away in a huge commercial rose garden. I thought the curvy birches were very appealing against the house. 18"x14" oil on canvas.

Grapes and Apples

Apples and grapes grow in abundance in the Sebastopol area, which is the home of the Gravenstein apple. The view from this vineyard/orchard of Mt. St. Helena caps off the site. 16"x20" oil on canvas, framed, $550.

Wildflowers at The Sea Ranch

In spring the cliffs at The Sea Ranch are alive with these colorful flowers. The old gray fences go well with them. A favorite place to paint and stay. 18"x24" oil on canvas, framed, $650.

Three Palms

Another painting from the wonderful town of Tomales, CA. Red and green always grab my attention, and so do water towers. 11"x14" oil on canvas, framed, $275.

Cotati Pastures

Last Monday our painting group went to one of the members studios for a paint out, critique, and pot luck after. This view is of their back pastures and the neighbor's structures. 14"x11", oil on canvas, $350.

Twists and Turns

This coastal paradise has many cypresses that are wind blown with trunks bleached by the sun. Each tree is an individual, so it's like painting portraits of them. 24"x24"x2" gallery wrapped oil on canvas, $1,500

View from Baker Beach

The yacht club at Baker Beach has the best views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. The city had just enough fog to make it interesting, but not obscured.

Catchin' Some Rays

While at Bodega Bay I spotted these geese sunning themselves. Thought the value contrasts were terrific, so I quick took a picture and rushed home to paint them, since I was pretty sure they wouldn't hold the pose for an hour or more. Pastel, 12"x16", matted and framed, $425.

Kendall Jackson Gardens

Kendall Jackson Winery has wonderful gardens. They grow a huge variety of tomatoes for the September Tomato Festival each year, plus many veggies and herbs. This is one of my favorite places to paint. 11"x14" oil, framed, $225.

In Back of Town

A friend and I paint in and around Tomales, CA, often when the weather is okay. I spotted this cozy backside of town one street up from Main Street and couldn't resist all of the angles of roof tops and the various greens of the foliage.

Charley

This was Charley. My friend asked me to paint him. She had recently had to put him down because of cancer, but she wanted to remember him when he was healthy and cheerful. This is a pastel, 14"x16".

Artichokes and Barn

A group went to Lynmar Vineyards last Wednesday and I couldn't resist painting this barn. That's Mount St. Helena in the background. The lighting was just right which created some dramatic value changes. 16"x20", oil on stretched canvas, $425.

Beginnings of Spring

Last Monday our Monday Morning Painters group went to this private vineyard estate. I had planned to paint the rolling hills with the vineyards, but this image grabbed me. It was windy and cold, and worth it. 8"x16", oil on stretched canvas, $275

Vines and Blue Mountains

While driving through vineyard areas I stuck my camera out of the window for this shot. I like the simplicity of the composition -- diagonals, a few verticals, and a touch of red/orange with all of the summer green. 8"x10" oil on canvas, framed, $125+$10 s/h.

Along Bennett Valley Road

This was just a little spot along the road that my painter friend spotted. The diagonals and little buildings made it interesting and occupied looking. I thought the colors of the late spring grasses as they were turning were a nice complement to the greens. Oil on stretched canvas, 16"x20", $450, framed.

A Day at the Beach

Duncan's Landing north of Bodega Bay has great ocean views, both looking east and west. I like looking down at the bathers from the cliffs above. The water is very cold in this area, but on a hot day it doesn't stop anyone. It's also a good place to picnic. Oil on stretched canvas, 30"x22", framed, $850.

Kunde from the Kenwood Inn

While painting at the Kenwood Inn I noticed across the highway this view of Kunde Vineyards. The dark shadows under the oaks especially caught my eye, plus the vivid vineyards. This is oil on stretched canvas, 14"x18", framed, priced at $325.

Palace of Fine Arts

San Francisco is a wonderful city to paint, especially on a sunny warm day. This was one of those days. I picked this view of the building for the reflections, sculpted people on the building, and architecture. It is 30"x22", oil on stretched canvas, framed. Price $875.

Gualala Beach

While on my painting trip to Gualala, we went to the beach where I found this cozy little spot to paint. This is done with a pallette knife, which I think captures the ruggedness of the cliffs and rocks. It's 8"x10", oil on stretched canvas, and framed. Price $125+$10 s/h.

Clock Tower

The Oil Painters of America sponsored a paint out in Petaluma put on by one of its members. It turned out to be a gorgeous day and we all toiled from 9am to 4:30pm. There was some nice work produced. I picked this spot because of the clock tower and the umbrellas pointing the eye up to it. It is an oil on canvas, 20"x16", framed. Price $350+$10 s/h.

Spring Lake Park Colors

Spring Lake Park in Santa Rosa is always gorgeous and always different, depending on the weather and time of day. This piece was done in fall and I was glad to capture some fishermen in there boat. This is a 16"x20" oil on canvas board, framed, and is $425+$10 s/h.

Incoming Fog (study)

A friend and I took a little two day trip to Gualala and The Sea Ranch on the Sonoma/Mendocino coast and found this exciting spot to paint. This is an 8"x10" oil pochade on canvas, framed. The wind is often so strong in this area that the trees are permanently bent east, and the fog comes in nearly every day in the afternoon. It makes for some interesting scenes. Price $125+$10 s/h.

Rolling Vineyards

I often paint in Healdsburg, CA, with its vineyards and wineries, and it's rolling hills landscape. The colors seem more intense there. The only problem is sometimes I drive around for too long because the next area is even more beautiful than the last. It makes it easier to procrastinate.

While out scouting for a place to paint that was dramatic I came across this. I loved the way the shadows went across the hill shading part of the vineyard. I did this with a pallette knife, trying to capture the feeling quickly. It's an 8"x10" canvas, framed with a floater frame. Price $125+$10 s/h.

Back Roads of Penngrove

When I came around a corner this nice little view was there just asking to be painted. I love the strong lights and darks and the shadows across the road. This is another small piece, 10"x8".

It's so easy to drive around for ages looking for the perfect scene to paint, especially in this Sonoma County area. I get on overload a lot and someday I'm afraid I'll drive off the road while trying to compose a picture. Price $125+$10 s/h.

Oak Studded Hillside

This piece is 5"x7" oil, framed, another in my daily series of small, hopefully expressive, pallette knife pieces. I was attracted by the shadowy tree areas with the quiet and warm area on the left. I love the pallette knife.

I found this spot by driving up the large steep hill in Armstrong Woods. There are also vast views from way up there and, in spring when we've had enough rain that previous winter, there's a place called Bullfrog Pond surrounded with some sort of pink trees -- very dramatic. Price $99+$10 s/h.

Luther Burbank Home and Gardens

I've been trying to paint a very small and quick pallette knife painting each day to loosen up. This is a 5"x7", oil on canvas, framed, that I liked because of the complimentary colors and multiple shapes. It's in a section of the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, always a colorful place.

I've done a larger version of this, but actually prefer this little gem because it's not so realistic. Oh, to do large looser paintings. Price $99+$10 s/h.

Mustard and Vines, Sonoma

A painter friend phoned me to paint one day saying she had found a great spot behind an old post office. Sure enough, this is the image from her spot. We had to hurry to finish our pieces since the huge mail truck was arriving in about an hour and a half and there was NO room for us with the truck there. It sure helped to keep things loose. This 12"x16" oil on RayMar canvas board, framed, is $425+$10 s/h.

Mustard and Oaks

I belong to Monday Morning Painters where we meet at paintable locations each Monday, weather permitting. This time of year the mustard is in full bloom and is very striking against the leafless oak trees. The sense of loneliness is strong here, especially with the twiggy bare tree in the right foreground. This 12"x16" oil on RayMar canvas board, framed, is $325+$10 s/h.