The Story

In the Spring of 2019, I had a vision of painting a series of winery doors. This inspiration came as a result of several art classes I had taken at the Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) over the course of 3 years.  The most prominent influence came from my drawing classes where I realized that the art that I created and was most proud of, came directly from my own personal feelings, experiences, imagination, and inspirations.  I looked back at the past 15 years of painting and noticed when I painted originals, they were expressions of my inner soul.  I suppose you can say that about anyone’s artwork, be it visual or audio art.  After years of painting other artists’ works and my own creations, I found my passion for my original artwork is to create artwork which illustrates my life experiences.  

I chose Wine Country Doors as a subject because I wanted to create a series of artwork and I didn’t want to paint pears or planes or cars or trains.  I enjoy people as subjects, but they are quite difficult (intellectually, emotionally, and skillfully) and I wanted to focus on still life subjects.  Landscape was much too broad of a subject and I could find myself getting bored over time.  Flowers would be nice, but that too can get tedious.  Most importantly, I wanted a subject which I could freely elaborate and express with.  

Doors are not only interesting subjects, but to me they also have somewhat of a symbolic meaning.  A door that is closed may be mysterious, uninviting, private, cold, scary, secure, well...closed.   A door that is open says “come on in”.  It is inviting and warm, but also can be mysterious and adventurous.  I invite you to think about how you feel when you encounter a closed door, and how different you feel when you encounter an open door.  In my series of doors, they will all be slightly open so as to invite you into my paintings and join me in my journey.  

I live in one of the most beautiful (and touristy) places of the world, Sonoma County - which borders Napa County.  I enjoy playing tourist with family and friends by visiting wineries in our area.  I most definitely savor the wines, but also greatly appreciate the opportunity to learn about the vast complexities of the wine industry - from the soil and the regions, to the barrels and the aging.  I embrace the social environment of brief encounters with people from all over the world.  Many of the wineries are over 100 years old and some are new up and coming.  The buildings are as interesting and unique as the wines themselves, and the landscape is breathtaking no matter where you go!  The doors….gorgeous and charming!  Each door is unique and many are majestic in size and stature!  

The main focal point of the Wine Country Door series is the door itself.  However, my goal is to bring in the experience (my experience) of the winery.  In my years of wine tasting, I can attest to the fact that each winery provides a unique encounter.  The visit may be noteworthy based on the wines, the people, the winery, the weather, the event - or it may be from my own personal response such as my mood, my personal feelings, the people around me, or the amount of wine I’ve already consumed!  Each winery subject is based on my own personal experience and I have visited each of these wineries in preparation for the paintings, sometimes more than once.  Such a tough sacrifice!!  

I have written a narrative for  each painting in an attempt to more fully share my experience with people.  You can view these writings in this About section.  I hope you enjoy my artwork and have an opportunity to visit these wonderful places.  

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I also want to share a little bit about the paintings and the process.  I use high quality canvas and only the highest quality oil paints by Sennelier.  I find this brand to be creamy in texture and vibrant in color.  I have used many different manufacturers over the years which offer some wonderful paints, but my favorite today is Sennelier.  I also use a limited palette and mix 99% of my own colors, including chromatic blacks.  For this series of paintings, I am sticking to these standards to create beautiful consistent artwork which are cohesive when presented collectively.  The original paintings have a 1.5"-2" painted sides.  However, the Giclee' Prints and Canvas Prints have digitally created sides.  You can only see the actual painted sides in the originals!  

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Thank you for your interest and stay connected for more Wine Country Door paintings, I have 3 more in progress which should be done by summer 2022!

Cheers!