Painted Vineyards

Far Niente vineyards

noreply@blogger.com (ria hills) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 18:54:00 +0000

'Far Niente, Oakville, CA" 10" x 3.75" pastel painting

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Far Niente winery owns 5 vineyards. According to the description on their website this view is part of their John C. Sullenger Vineyard which covers 42 acres.
Their wine prices are a bit out of my range but I hear they make exceptional wine.

As far as the painting - I wanted to abstract this scene considering the limited view. I'm pleased with the feel of it.
My husband is away on business in northern Washington state and has been photographing vineyards for me. He's been taking some up-close shots which I can not get through Google street views. I'm very excited to see and paint them!

St. Helena Hwy, Napa

noreply@blogger.com (ria hills) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 02:14:00 +0000

'St. Helena Highway, Napa, California, US"
8.5" x 3.75" pastel painting

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As you can see I found these vineyards while "driving" on the highway in Napa, California. I took a few liberties in the painting by omitting a building in the background and also the support stakes for the plants. I didn't want to crowd the small painting surface with sticks so I decided to only place stakes in the front for suggestion. It seems to work.

I believe these vineyards are part of Silver Oak Cellars. One wine which I haven't tried yet, but I will.
Visit the winery here - http://www.silveroak.com/

All this virtual travel is giving me a thirst for touring all these beautiful spots. I can only get as close to the wineries and vineyards as Google lets me. I'm open to receiving up-close photos if you want to share them!

Via Scopeti, Italy

noreply@blogger.com (ria hills) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 15:55:00 +0000

'Via Scopeti, San Casciano in Val di Pesa Florence, Italia"
10" x 3" pastel painting

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I love the rows of cypress trees.

The buildings on the horizon and the vineyards are part of the Villa Mangiacane. The review at Google stated "At the heart of an estate that reigns over 300 hectares of vineyard, olive groves and majestic Tuscan forest, in the famed winemaking region of Chianto Classico."

The Chianti Classico region covers an area of approximate 100 square miles and lies between the larger cities of Florence and Siena. The soil and geography of this region can be quite varied, with altitudes ranging from 820 feet to 2000 feet, and rolling hills producing differing macroclimates. There are two main soil types in the region: a weathered sandstone known as albarese and a bluish-gray chalky marlstone known as galestro. The soil in the north is richer and more fertile with more galestro, with the soil gradually becoming harder and stonier with more albarese in the south. In the north, the Arno river can have an influence on the climate, keeping the temperatures slightly cooler, an influence that diminishes further south in the warmer Classico territory towards Castelnuovo Berardenga.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chianti)

purchasing info here

Henry Road in Napa

noreply@blogger.com (ria hills) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:56:00 +0000

"Henry Road"
Artesa Vineyards & Winery, Napa CA
7.50" x 9" pastel painting

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I lived in Berkeley, CA in the 70's and loved it. Driving through Napa Valley seemed magical . . . there were many places in California that felt magical. The terrain is so beautiful in spots. As far as I know it's the closest place in the US where one will experience a similar beauty to France and Italy. Someone I know who is french told me that and I agreed once I started driving around France in Google's 'street view'. Traveling has never been a huge priority for me but I recently started a list of places to go and France and Italy are at the top. Actually they are the only ones on the list!

here's a link to Artesa Winery - http://www.artesawinery.com/index1.html

purchasing info here

La Mare Wine Estate

noreply@blogger.com (ria hills) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 14:59:00 +0000

'La Rue de la Hougue Mauger' Saint Mary, United Kingdom
10.25" x 2.75" pastel painting

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Vineyards are my favorite landscape scenes. It's the rows of the plants that captures me and are a pleasure to paint. And this one is by the sea, another favorite place although I haven't been to the ocean in quite some time.
This piece was painted in response to the Virtual Paintout challenge. The reference image was found on Google maps on the island of Jersey which sits off the coast of Normandy, France and southern Great Britain. If you want to see a beautifully landscaped island with some amazing architecture, this is one to check out!

Visit La Mare Wine Estate's website.

purchasing info here