Monday, June 4, 2007
Wedding of Raechel Shelfer & Edward Titus, June 2, 2007
Marin French Cheese Co., Petaluma, CA
When you paint from life, capturing a moment on canvas is very much like what a nature photographer tries to do... Get that moment of great lighting, get the composition just right, the subject is posed as if it was meant to be doing just what it is doing... When you take a great photo, you just know it when you see it. It does something for your heart, and you jump just a little inside. Wow!.. is often exclaimed. A great painting from life should do this too. Above is a photo I took this weekend of the wedding of Raechel Shelfer of Woodacre, at the Marin French Cheese Co. in Petaluma. Raechel's mother, Michelle, is one of my oldest friends in Marin County. I wanted to share this photo because there are moments when the hills of Marin catch light that make them look so spectactular. We have lots of "wow" moments in Marin, when the fog starts to roll in, and the sun still shines through in unique patterns of light on the land. The rolling hills of the western landscape can be so dramatic in these special moments, and I am so delighted Raechel was wed before the dazzling beauty of this place.
Session #1 today on Fairfax Fresh farm in Fairfax, CA. I am beginning a series of paintings for either the "Art on the Farm" exhibit that may take place this Fall in Pt. Reyes, or, these paintings may be donated to Taste of Marin; an evening of food and silent auctions organized by Marin Organic in August. I spent about an hour, blocking out the colors and shapes before I had to leave this peaceful Marin Organic lemon farm in the hills above Fairfax. Prior to this, I had a lovely tour of the property with Patti Elliot, who was about to harvest the trees I was painting from, and take them to Mill Valley to be used by a Gelato maker. Yum! Every where I turned, there was an extraordinary scene I could have chosen to paint: multiple views of Mt. Tam framed by Pacific Oaks, rusty red rooster and hen friends against the pale yellow hay, flowers cascading down the hillside to a birdbath, all below the yellow house and the oak tree with swings and hammock. The view from the driveway includes the GMC truck with the Fairfax Fresh logo on the side. It is surrounded by flowers and framed by oaks and lemon trees. Patti had some very nice small paintings she had done there herself, including one of the truck, and I absolutely see why- It is just an extraordinary place to paint and dwell.
