“Wine Country” 41″ x 65″ oil and metal leaf on canvas – $6,300 (framed)
Trees have been my favorite subjects to paint for years, followed by flowers and gardens, but sometimes I like to try something different just to stir up my creativity.
Although I have seen vineyards for years, they have always been in a distance and appealed to me for the pattern of their rows of plants. I have never painted them, but this summer I was in a private garden and was enchanted by a grape plant that had leaves of a variety of colors, including pink and red. I just had to paint it and use my new technique of oil and metal leaf.
It definitely was a challenge for me in several ways. The composition of the leaves and grapes presented a problem using the metal leaf around the leaves. It was totally different from painting around tree trunks and limbs. I finally decided to scatter the metal leaf near the grape leaves to act as an impression of other grapes in addition to the painted clusters.
The leaves were fun to paint because there were so many sizes and different colors even within the leaves as well. Then, the vines were a special gift to intertwine the leaves and add some movement to the composition.
I’m currently finishing two more grape paintings before I get back to my spring gardens and their own particular challenges.
