Friday, October 11, 2013

If you visit my blog

Just a reminder...
Be sure that when you scroll down all the posts, at the bottom of the page be sure to click on
'Older Posts" to see all the pictures and information posted since I began the blog in 2010-they would be easy to miss...Thanks, Wendy

Take Time For Wine

This painting was something I did a few weeks ago just for fun, but it really turned out okay. I had so much fun painting something different, it was effortless, it just flowed. I will do it again, I learned so much just creating this. I wasn't going to use it at the exhibit on Sunday, but Judy like it better than my other option, My Blue Kitty, so here it is.

Born and raised in the Napa Valley, my link to the wine industry is a huge part of me and my life. My parents owned property off of Zinfandel Lane in St. Helena, California, and where our home and my swing set once set is now the location of a very prestigious winery, Raymond Cellars. My parents had acres and acres which were then walnut orchards, there were very few wineries then.

Prohibition was a period of nearly fourteen years of U.S. history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor was made illegal. It led to the first and only time an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was repealed. Grapes and vineyards were removed from 1920-1933, and farmers turned to alternative crops for their living during the mid 1950's. The intention was to reduce the consumption of alcohol by eliminating businesses that manufactured, distributed and sold it. Considered by many as a failed social and political experiment, the era changed the way many Americans view alcoholic beverages, enhancing the realization that federal government control cannot always take the place of personal responsibility.

On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment, making alcohol once again legal. This was the first and only time in U.S. history that an Amendment has been repealed.

Today, the Napa Valley is home to hundreds of wineries, and the 30 miles which stretch from the town of Napa to Calistoga are covered with vineyards, and of course, tourists!

I love painting anything associated with the wine industry, but so often these paintings are still life paintings with a bottle of wine, a glass and a cluster of grapes. These are nice, and I've painted them several times before, but I wanted my work to feel alive, and show the passion and love I have for the subject matter. There is a lot of emotion in pouring wine, it’s not just sitting there with grapes and fruit, it’s about the visual beauty, the smell , the taste, the aroma, the anticipation, and the color. When I worked at Christian Brothers Winery in public relations in the 1980's I encouraged visitors to the winery to 'see, swirl, smell sip and savor' every drink. We called this the 5 S's of wine drinking, but I recommended 6 S's-(swallow). That 6th "S" completed the experience.

"A relationship is like a glass of fine wine - if you don't fill it with passion, treat it with respect or savour the love - it will run out."

These photos appeared in myvinespot.com, a wine appreciation blog, and was the inspiration for my painting.

Decisions, decisions. Should I have Chardonnay, Zinfandel, or a deep dark full bodied Cabernet? With this painting you can have all 3! To be completely candid, I did make improvements and changes which did not get photographed, but if this doesn't sell at the showcase on Sunday I will post photos of the completed project.