3/30/2015
Painting of Autumn Leaves in a Los Olivos, CA Vineyard
Autumn in the wine country of California is absolutely breathtaking. So many beautiful vineyards! Last fall, my husband Gerry and I took a ride up Pacific Coast Highway, past Santa Barbara, to the rural Santa Ynez Valley. After being so immersed in the world of fine art technology, it was quite a contrast for us to drink in the peaceful green scenery of Mother Nature. Reminds me of the frequent drives our family took years ago, and the wonderful picnics we enjoyed. Life was simpler, a lot slower, and perhaps more fun? Memo to self: more drives and picnics!
My photo at the gorgeous Fess Parker Winery and Vineyard in Los Olivos, CA
We stopped for photos at the Fess Parker Winery. This little drive to the Santa Ynez Valley was really for business … to photograph the wine country. I am excited to be working with Herzog Wine Cellars, here in Camarillo, creating paintings and drawings for display and sale. The first of the series (top of page) is based on photographs I took of a vineyard in Los Olivos, at the peak of autumn in the wine country of California.
Spring Buds on An Old Vine in Lodi, CA
The second painting is of an old vine in Central CA, part of a vineyard in Lodi, CA. I wanted to show the contrast of the little green buds popping out on the sturdy old vines. It seems like an impossible feat, but there they are reminding us of the miracles to appreciate in our natural environment.
It takes about three years for a grapevine to produce fruit, and a vine reaches “adulthood” around seven or eight years. A “mature” grapevine is 12–25 years old. “Old vines” are usually more than 25 years, and preferably more than 50 years old!
Read about the twenty-five acre Bechthold Vineyard, planted in 1886 by German immigrant Joseph Spenker, is the oldest continuously farmed vineyard in Lodi. The old vines are known for their Zinfandel wines.
Enjoy another of my landscape paintings … this one in Italy!
Cheers!
