Luther Burbank Home and Gardens

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Luther Burbank Home and Gardens is a city park in Santa Rosa, California that contains the former home, greenhouse, gardens, and grave of noted American horticulturist Luther Burbank. Born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, he spent most of his life in Santa Rosa. It was here that he did most of his plant-breeding experiments. Plum trees, a common crop back in the early 1900’s, were one of his specialties and he introduced over 800 new variety of plants in his lifetime.
This was sketched last weekend with my sketch group Ready, Set, Sketch! I used Ink and watercolor in a hand-made sketchbook.

Marilyn Getting Her Hair Cut

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My wife Marilyn getting her hair cut and colored this afternoon by Sharon at The Salon located in Windsor, Calif. Sharon does great work. I should know, she’s cut my hair for at least 10 years now.
 
Ink and watercolor in my handmade sketchbook.

The Arizona Desert

Arizona Desert North ScottsdaleDuring summer breaks from art school, I often visited my mom who lived in Scottsdale, Arizona. While there, my favorite activity (outside of eating Mexican food) was sketching the desert landscape on the north end of town.

To avoid the mid-day heat, my mom and I left the house before dawn, drove to Dynamite Boulevard, and then located dirt roads that would take us even further into the desert. With folding chairs and plenty of drinking water, we planted ourselves in a comfy spot, and as I drew, we would talk away the morning.

After sitting still for a time, lizards, roadrunners, and other critters would scurry past us, though we kept a sharp eye for the occasional snake or scorpion. Daytime temperatures often soared past 110°F (43°C), leaving precious few hours in which to draw before retreating to air conditioning. The afternoon heat gave way to lightning storms that drenched the desert floor with rain and left the familiar but unique desert smell of dirt, Creosote bushes, and other flora.

I’m not the only one who appreciates this part of the Arizona desert: Frank Lloyd Wright built his home and studio, Taliesin West only a few miles to the south from where this was drawn.

Sketched in pencil on a Grumbacher Omni sketchbook with natural tone pages.

Papa’s Pizza Café New Location

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Last month, Papa’s Pizza of Cloverdale, CA moved to a new location on the corner of Cloverdale Blvd and First St. The new cafe is beautifully decorated with stone walls and wood paneling. Adding to the fun, they’ve tapped many new microbrews such as Knee Deep Brewing’s Breaking Bud, The Waldos’ Special Ale, and Mojo Chocolate Milk Stout.They also have a nice selection of wine by the glass. But best of all, the pizza still tastes great, just like it always has.

Cabernet Vineyard at Chateau Montelena

Chateau Montelena Cabernet Vineyard

With the 40th anniversary of the Paris Tasting coming up next month I thought I’d post some of my sketches of Chateau Montelena. As the story goes, on May 24, 1976, a wine tasting took place in Paris that changed the world’s view of California wines forever. The 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars S.L.V. and the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay from California won first place in a blind tasting. I sketched this under a shady oak at the far end of the property looking back towards the Chateau.  This sketch is from my book Impressions of Wine Country available on Amazon.

Good Friends, Good Wine

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For those of you who live in the Bay Area, specifically Sonoma County, get a copy of today’s paper (Sunday April 17, 2016) and you’ll see the first installment of an ongoing series of stories about wine and grape growing. The Press Democrat will be publishing excerpts from my new book, “Impressions of Wine Country” over the next year!

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My book “Impressions of Wine Country” is, of course, available on Amazon.

Impressions of Wine Country