Sunday blew my mind. I'm truly not kidding. There was a moment when I was biking down Market Street with other San Francisco Bike Coalitionstaff, volunteers, men, women, gay, lesbian, non-binary, old, young, black, white, hispanic, asian, indian, moms, dads, singles and community members…
Loud music was playing, Prince - “Raspberry Berret”, bubbles were flowing from an automatic bubble dispenser attached to the back of a hotpink, fuzzy bike and all of us were smiling, thousands of people cheered all around us and colored rectangles of confetti made the green bike path in front of us look like a Birthday Party. I felt truly free and happy in the realization that San Francisco protects all people and I really love this city (and especially riding my bike here!).
(Top Left)Brian Wiedenmeirer in Hat(Executive Director), Susan Gallentine pulling the float (Marketing Manager), (Bottom Left in Silver and White) Christoper White (Program Director), (Bottom Right) I’m on TV! That’s me in black with rainbow socks on CBS.I bought a hat from one of the vendors when we were waiting for the protest to clear.
The protected bike paths in San Francisco are green and have white posts to keep the cars out.
My teenager who works as a lifeguard attached a large rainbow flag to the back of his bike and biked from the Golden Gate Bridge to downtown for this moment… It was the 49th annual Pride Parade in San Francisco, but the 1st time I have ever experienced it. We rode our bikes down Market Street with tens of thousands of screaming, partying and wildly dressed people wrapped in rainbows… people truly happy and celebrating love in living color.
Everyone from our incredible Mayor London Breed, and all the politicians, Gavin Newsom, Nancy Pelosi… to the people of SFGlide, Apple, Salesforce, Sutter Health, Amazon, Facebook and so many more. It was televised and there are links to see the entire parade onlineif you missed it. I took some screenshots from the videos and will share them below.
Facebook had a double-decker party bus with lots of speakers.
I have lived in the Bay Area since 1995, when Senator Scott Wienerfirst went to San Francisco’s Pride Parade, yet this was my first year ever seeing the parade. Living a sheltered life in the suburbs of San Francisco for over 20 years, I moved into the city three years ago to seek a new life, work and overcome my fear of cities. I knew nothing. I didn’t know how to ride BARTor what it was. I didn’t know how to ride my bike in the city.
Fans cheering us on from the sidelines at Pride Parade, 2019
One time in 2017 when I was taking a UX Class at General Assembly, I biked down California Street with full traffic (not a smart move… Steep, no bike lanes and very busy). I was clueless, and I needed to learn The Wiggleand the ropes. SF Bike Coalitionwas a great organization for me to join and has helped me get to know the city, bike paths, its fellow members and volunteers, and sponsoring businesses, like Sports Basementand all the local cafes and bike shops that give discounts to Bike Coalition members.
London Breed Contingent with City Hall Rainbow Float (screenshot from CBS TV video)
I think I now have to say that going to the Pride Parade is an important milestone for any San Francisco resident, and everyone in the suburbs should attend Pride to understand how important inclusion and diversity is to the city of San Francisco. I was so excited when we passed the Apple and Salesforce contingents. I saw so many of my favorite brands, it made me happy and yes, “filled with Pride”.
Apple Computer Contingent on Market Street by the Ferry Building, Pride 2019
I met an entrepreneur and fashion founder of Bikeista.comShe had this sign, “Hippie Resistance!” with lots of flowers on her bike and a dress with an original 70’s pattern of wild mushrooms. She has the most amazing clothing for women who like to ride bikes but also be fashionable.
We also met Marcelo Donari, a hairstylist in San Francisco for 14 years, who now works as a stylist and wig designer for Hamilitonand Aladdin here in SF! We were so excited to meet him and see his bike, decorated with a giant rainbow pinwheel and rainbow bandanas. He offered to take us on a backstage tour! How cool is that?
We danced to a DJ and music was also provided by cyclists pulling speakers with tunes as we waited for a protest to be moved. I had bought two pairs of rainbow socks in Fisherman’s Wharf at “Find Your Feet” a few nights before for me and Blake. The colorful lights in the city at night are worth coming into town for if you don’t normally see Pride celebrations. Rainbows are everywhere…
We biked from Market and Spear to Market and 8th by the Civic Center where the main Pride celebration was happening. My sons were too tired at this point to want to go inside the gates, but we purchased horchata and watermelon and then biked passed the SF Bike Coalition offices, down Valencia, 17th and back on Folsom to Salesforce Tower.
Fans watching the parade from Market Street near Sam’s Diner
On our way back, one of my sons got a flat front tire and I was so happy to be able to patch it and blow it up. It was my first time showing my sons that I could fix a flat! It is truly empowering to be able to take them places in the city on my own by bicycle. I have also taught them to use buses and BART. We continued on to the Ferry Building where I put one of my twins on the boat to return to his father.
We were serenaded by a guitar player on the street and sat down to enjoy a strawberry-filled Clif Bar, a new flavor of TCHO Chocolate, and my Pride flag bearing son bought an ice cream before we continued our ride.
I am so grateful to have been able to ride the Clif Bar cruiser bike I won in their Mojo Bar contest several years ago.
I later worked as a contractor for Clif Bar in Emeryville and have attended their Summer Solstice Concerts at the Clif Family Winery, which I highly recommend visiting if you are in Napa Valley. They have amazing organic food, wine, and can help you find the best bike routes for a leisurely or more advanced ride around the vineyards. It’s hot in the Summer there too, unlike San Francisco most of the time. Though, a little known insider’s secret I will share is that when it’s foggy, the fog tends to blanket the Presidio and the Sunset, while the Mission and southern parts of the city can remain sunny and hot in the Summer.
Aidan biked back to the Golden Gate Bridge with me trailing the large Pride flag that Blake and I had purchased last Friday at Cliff’s Variety& Hardware in the Castro… His awesome SF Bike hoodie is available online to purchase here. We biked through Fisherman’s Wharf, Fort Mason, the Presidio, passed the new Korean War Memorial, the Veterans Cemetary and back to the baracks that face West to the Pacific Ocean. We didn’t realize our flag was upsidedown until the end of the day… Hope no one was offended.
Aidan insisted I take a photo of him at sunset with the Pride flag. I am super proud of these kids for being a part of this event with me. I know their school teaches respect and diversity for others, but I think you don’t really fully grasp what it means until you go to a major event in a city that defends Pride with all people, creativity and love.
I am still fundraising for the SF Bike Coalition via Climate Ride and you may find my donation page here if you would like to assist us in keeping cyclists safe with protected bike lanes and advocacy in San Francisco. The link to donate is here.
Life is moving along and the presence of motivation with execution of my desires is HIGH. Motivation to visit San Francisco and explore new places, motivation to revisit old friends and a gather them with new ones, motivation to find new, meaningful work and help others, motivation to provide the best life for my sons, and motivation to add true meaning to my paintings (rather than just recreate a moment in time plein air work). I am a logotherapist's dream. Go, girl!
So, I share with you the latest painting (above) that will be present at the Marin Open Studios 2013 opening Gala on April 27, 2013, from 5-8pm. This painting is something a bit new for me, but I am embracing the challenge. I have hit a turning point in my life, where I will soon be "leaning in" and raising my sons as a single mom(which is going to be a great thing, after too many years of waffling with the decision). I have also recently separated from a job where I really enjoyed the work. So much change at once is really exciting, and has lead me to come up with new ideas for my art. I have always wanted to create art that provides a vision or a statement, not just a representation of a moment in time. The problem for me is that when I have done this in the past, I have never liked the results. At Colby, I recall painting a still-life that was supposed to be all about the life of Sylvia Plath. I remember painting open medication bottles, a Bell Jar, and an open oven door, all in a kitchen setting... it was awful. I don't know what happened to that painting, but someone might have liked it. My attempts in undergraduate and graduate art programs to illustrate things that I was not drawing from directly were weak, in my opinion, and I believe this has kept me working as a plein air artist and one who copied from nature or photos in the studio. This painting (above) is a comment on my place in the world, and a new method of painting for me.
I have had a photograph of a cyclist crossing the bridge for months now, but I have been frustrated with my painting because I want to reach a point where I don't paint every single detail I see before me, and I focus on something I really want the painting to be about. "Crossing the Chasm" finally hits the mark for me, because the photo had so much more detail that I really liked, but it is not what I wanted to convey... so I left out the extra details, such as the lights on the bridge and the 45 mile per hour speed limit sign (I may eventually paint another one with these details, but I am happy with the results of this simpler version). The title comes from a book written in 1991 about marketing high tech to the mainstream market. I have been reinventing myself and taking training classes to improve my own design skills this month, and this marketing title intrigued me. I was also brought to the attention of an amazing book by a local educator, Charles Sheppard. "Save Your Drama for Your Mama" will assist businesses and individuals to learn leadership skills. The combination of learning so much about marketing, reading Sheppard's new book, revisiting Victor Frankl's classic, and being in the current place and time in my life to receive all this input, have launched me in a new direction with my painting and life. I painted the road green in order to speak to "green technologies" and green paths of transportation(such as cycling). I also added the long hair to the cyclist and tried to make it look like a female cyclist, when the image I was using was actually male. I am working on change and leading myself to greener pastures.
I love learning and growing... and here I go! Lean in! (check out Leanin.org for great, inspiring stories by women that have been appearing online along with the launch of the new book).
Update: May 19, 2015
It's amazing to look back on this post and see how differently my life has moved in two years. I pursued my interest in packaging design and have really enjoyed the work. Meanwhile, I have painted less, and been okay with it. I feel like I am in a great place of gathering inspiration and will be happy to integrate my fine art into the equation when I am ready. As you can see from the link on the left, I actually did go back and update the painting with the details. I added the 45 on the Bridge, the lights and the tiny circles from the bolts all along the base. I still own this painting and it is significant to me because I painted it when I was 45 years old and was seeking to separate myself from my sons' father. Although I have not been able to do so financially just yet due to the housing costs in Marin, I have been able to successfully co-parent with my sons' father for 2 years now. We share a house, and share our children, but we do not do things together as a family. It is still hard, but it is better for the kids because the time they have with one parent is more peaceful, with no arguing or frustrations. They have one person to guide them, and not conflicting messages. This works for us. Whatever you need to do to parent children is important, and I believe we have improved things immensely for our kids by finding a way to co-parent. I still miss having someone to really love, but I love myself more. I have the best dog in the world, and I love my kids and my friends. I feel better than I have in the past because I am not angry at my sons' father for not being able to be someone he is not. I don't see him as "my partner" or "my spouse", but simply, "the father of my sons" who is trying to do his best for them in his own way. There will be a time when I can move on and find a better match for myself, but for now, co-parenting has been really a blessing. Learning to work with people you don't always like or relate to is a very important lesson in life. We have to do it at work, and in business, so if I can do it at home it will only make me a better businesswoman and life partner for someone else someday. Life goes on. We keep the wheels rolling!
"City Bike: The Crepe House on Polk and Washington"(in progress) 18" x 24", oil on linen
Spent part of today adding details to the street signs, the awning and the bike rack. Added the details on the people inside the shop. Touched up a few windows. Is it done? Close, but not quite yet.
"Nob Hill Bikes: The Crepe House" Day 2/work in progress by C.Proppé
I took another couple hours to add details in front of the shop, including a bike rack with 7 "loops", and more reflections on the windows. There is an ornate, metal gate in front of one of the businesses, which I tried to suggest as well. Still lots more to come...
"Bike in the Butterfly Garden" 24" x 36", oil on canvas. Tod's Point, Old Greenwich, Connecticut
My painting of the vintage Columbia bicycle in the Butterfly Garden at Tod's Point (Greenwich Point) in Old Greenwich, Connecticut is now available to purchase and as prints at Fine Art Amercia. To read more about the location of this image, read my previous post, here.
"Vintage Bike at the Butterfly Garden", Tod's Point, Old Greenwich, CT
I'm adding color and fleshing out the lighting and details in this painting today. The Butterfly Garden is full of orange, purple and white flowers... they will be added as I complete the details of this painting. See my previous post for more about the location of this painting.
"Bike in the Butterfly Garden, Greenwich Point" 24" x 36" o/c
I've been visiting my home town in Connecticut, where I grew up and lived until 1990. Now, I return here in the summer with my sons to visit the grandparents, and family. It's a great opportunity for me to paint landscapes I don't usually see in California.
This painting is of the Butterfly Garden at Tod's Point, in Old Greenwich, CT. The history of the property here is that all of this area was owned by the Tod family. The town of Greenwich purchased the property in 1945 and created what exists today as a 147-acre multi-use park, locally know as "Tod's", "The Beach", or "Greenwich Point". Greenwich Point offers a variety of both active and passive recreational areas, natural areas, conservation areas, and gardens and groves. The Tod family sprawling home is no longer there, but the stone walls that cascaded down to Long Island Sound still remain. Amongst the steps and walls facing out to the sea, the Old Greenwich Garden Club have planted and maintained a butterfly garden. The bike I am painting is an old Columbia from the 60's. The painting will be for sale in Old Greenwich when it is finished. I plan to leave it here with my family to sell, hoping someone local will purchase it due to the local image depicted.
It was fun to see my paintings in "The Bicycle Works" yesterday, and hear some of the comments by the visitors. This photo shows a few of my paintings up high, with some great black and white paintings by John Hersey. I stopped by at about 5pm and there was a healthy crowd, both indoors and out back, enjoying food donated by Sol Food of San Rafael, and discussing the possibilities of this neighborhood cycling hub. The favorite thought was coffee... all the neighbors want coffee with their bikes. If you'd like to visit the new shop, or see my paintings through August, you can find it here:
"La Coppa Coffee Bikes", Downtown Mill Valley, California. 16" x 20".
• View Session 2 • View the start of this painting, in the workshop, with Christin Coy This painting is the 9th in a series of paintings, "Cycling Through Landscapes", that will be available for purchase in September, at the Mill Valley Depot Cafe & Bookstore. A percentage of the sales from paintings sold in September will go to The Bicycle Works, a new, co-op style, community bike shop, opening this Sunday, in San Anselmo, California. To read about this new shop, check out today's article in the Marin IJ. Some of the paintings from my new series will be on loan to the shop for the next few weeks. We hung part of the series up this evening at The Bicycle Works. Click photo to enlarge... Pictured in the photo, above-left, is Spokey Godfrey, Director. Come out tomorrow for the shop's Grand Opening Celebration, with food by Sol Food of San Rafael, and film "The Triplets of Belleville", provided by Tom Boss of "Film Night in the Park". The paintings give the shop a little color, in contrast to the black and white of the bikes on the stands. My painting from last year's, Mill Valley Paint Out, with bikes in the bike rack... next to a Breezer commute bike, by local cycling legend, Joe Breeze. Breezer Bikes plans to give a portion of sales from it's bikes at "The Bicycle Works" back to support the new shop and it's mission.
Monday, August 3, 2009 Day 1; "Burley Parade on Shaver Grade", near Phoenix Lake. 24" x 30". I have been wanting to paint Burley bike trailers into my paintings for a while now, but have had the hardest time coming up with a concept for this. We have pulled our twins in Burley trailers since they were under a year old. They are pretty much beyond Burley's now, at age 7, but we have a very fond appreciation for the great rides we were able to take, with the boys keeping quiet in the trailer, or falling asleep for much of the bike ride. We even pulled them with a tandem mt. bike with string lights all lit up at night. I hope someone will enjoy this painting with memories of transporting their kids as I have. It's a gamble to paint something new and different, but if you don't take the chance, you never grow... right?
"Sunset Cycle on Ridgecrest", Ridgecrest Blvd., Mt. Tamalpais State Park, Marin County, California."2 ft. x 4 ft.", o/c. Day 2; work in progress.
Fleshed out details on the mountains in background and foreground, as well as light on Bolinas Lagoon and some of the trees. Coming along. Still lots to do. Painting at the exact same state as above, but inside, with halogen lighting. Colors look much warmer with lights on the painting.
"Sunset Cycle on Ridgecrest", Ridgecrest Blvd., Mt. Tamalpais National State Park, Marin County, California."2 ft. x 4 ft.", o/c.
I am delighted to be moving into a large canvas today, and back to a landscape. I still have finishing details to do in two other paintings, but I wanted to start this one, as the sunset scene with rolling hills had got me really excited. The big paintings always are fun at a show, and stand out. Smaller, more detailed ones force the viewer to go up to the canvas and look at all the stuff in them, but my big paintings usually do not. The image of the rider is pulled from a shot I took at the Tour de Marin, in Sausalito. He was part of the peloton, going around the Stage in Sausalito for folks to take photos. The image of Tam is from a sunset shot, a week ago with my family. This painting makes me want to go for a ride!
"Saturday afternoon on Miller & Throckmorton", 16" x 20", o/c.
Final painting. Started at the Mill Valley Paint Off, 2009, completed in studio.
This is my painting from the Mill Valley Paint Out, 2009... after a second day in the studio. I had originally wanted to paint the scene with the street signs for "Miller" and "Throckmorton", as well as add the lip of the red awning from the Depot Cafe as a repoussoir element. I also added a woman driving a classic mint green convertible in the background, as well as the Cici Gelato bike. Cici sponsored the paint off this year, and sold gelato from Lytton Square during the judging of paintings, and I managed to capture a few shots of the bike and rider, leaving the Depot in his new, burgundy red clogs that matched the bike. I decided to go with the quirkiness that this paint off result produced, and include as many people and bikes as possible. It has a feeling of being a fun, friendly illustration, rather than a work of realism. Below is a detail of the Cici Gelato man and bike.DETAIL: Cici Gelato Bike from "Saturday afternoon in Mill Valley", 16" x 20", o/c.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Models, beside "Miller and Throckmorton Saturday"; 16" x 20", o/c. (Click image to enlarge).
The man and dog standing beside my painting showed up about 10 minutes before the end of the paint out, so I asked him to stand by the clock tower, and I painted him and his dog into the scene. It was fun. Most of the people always paint the red awnings of the Depot Cafe, and the last painting here, by Scott Grabowski, won first place and the people's choice award. Mill Valley just loves those awnings.
Above: 1st Place Award to Scott Grabowski
Pam Gould, of "More Marin", the blog... also visited the event and wrote us up on her blog! Here is the first press I know of about the event: (Mouse over the images to read the artist's names) "Paint Off in Mill Valley draws enthusastic crowd"
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 Work in progress... Produce stand owned by Gospel Flat Farm, as you enter the town of Bolinas, CA. Details of Bike and close up of stand, image 1 and 2 above... image 3 is the full sized canvas, 18" x 24".
I started 2 paintings in one day, today! Wow...! You know you have a deadline when you start 2 good sized, detailed paintings in a day. The paintings I started today are local shops in Marin County; The red awning of the Specialty Coffee shop in downtown Mill Valley, and the Gospel Flat Farmstand as you enter Bolinas, California. I now have a total of 6 paintings for the Mill Valley show, and I have about 5 more to go. I chose some large canvases, so the paintings should fill in the Depot Cafe walls with some good negative space around them. If I have 10 new paintings, I will be delighted. If I can finish 12, that will be even better... but quality versus quantity, always. Spoken in the voice of Ellen Degeneres, as Dory in "Finding Nemo"..."Just keep painting, just keep painting, just keep painting, painting, painting...". By the way, if you've read this far, this marks my 202nd post on my blog! I reached 200 posts with out even realizing it!
"Ride to the Coffee Shop", 16" x 20", o/c. Work in Progress... (Will detail 4 bikes in scene when complete).
Actually, the real reason for the 2 paintings in one day... I had a workshop this evening with artist, Christin Coy. It was a great session. Richard Lindenberg, who used to work for Sennelier Professional Oil Paints, was on hand to give a color mixing lesson. It was fantastic. I haven't mixed colors in a color wheel format in many years, but it was a great reminder, and I learned about "Chinese Orange", a color specifically commissioned by Cézanne. It's sort of a burnt umber, rust orange red color, but has a great transparency to it so it can be used to varnish, or when mixed with white, it is more opaque.Christin taught me to pre-stain my canvas with an acrylic color and water, to give it a warm undertone and get away from starting with the blank white of the canvas. The color I used was a warm sienna red color, which was perfect for the reds in the awning of the coffee shop.
Platform Bridge Road near Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Road. O/C 30" x 30", gallery wrap canvas, unframed. Available at Mill Valley Depot show, September 1, 2009. View painting in progress, in a previous post here. DETAIL of above painting.
"Dwarfed by Elephant Mt." 30" x 30", o/c, Day 1. Click Photo to enlarge.
Starting on my series of "Cycling Through Landscapes" for the Mill Valley Depot show, September 2009. I love this drive out towards Pt. Reyes, and the feeling of emense mountain awe you get when you round the bend on Platform Bridge Road headed towards Pt. Reyes-Petaluma Road, and see Elephant Mt. (Black Mt.) for the first time. The day I was out there to take this photo, I had pulled my car over and was taking pictures from the side of the road when this cyclist came by. I knew I wanted to paint this image right away. More details to come...
Detail: "Bike at the Cabin"; Original painting 12"x 16", o/c, 2009.
I have created paintings that inspired a commissioned copy of the original, sold painting. This time, I was asked to create 2 of the same painting; one for a client and one for her brother. The painting request was from a combination of photos taken at a summer cabin in Vermont, but the client did not have a photo with the lake behind the cabin... this was my job, to paint the lake in to make it look like the cabin was on the lake... which it is, but the photos were not taken to show this properly. I am glad to finally be done with the second version of this painting.
My June news is that I will be taking a summer workshop with Marin Landscape Painter, Christin Coy, beginning in July. I look forward to getting out of the house with my paints for 5 weeks, and hopefully, I will be able to use the time to work on my landscape paintings with bikes in them, for the Mill Valley Depot show in September. Please save the date for a September 1st, 6pm reception at the Mill Valley Depot.
I visited Mill Valley yesterday to measure the walls at the Depot Cafe & Bookstore, and plan out my show. I am looking forward to filling the space with Marin cycling related scenes. It should be a lot of fun for me, and hopefully too, for the great cycling enthusiasts in the Bay Area.
Saturday, July 19, 2008 "Bikes at the Depot", Lytton Square, Mill Valley, CA 2008 14" x 18", plein air, o/c. This was my first year entering the Mill Valley Paint Off, in Mill Valley, CA. I chose to paint from a location on Lytton Square, behind the Depot Bookstore & Cafe. It was a gorgeous day, and I fortunately chose this sunny spot with good protection from the wind. I overheard other painters saying they were cold. We painted from 10:30am to 2:30pm. I took one break, but was painting most of the time. The spectators were very friendly and it was a great event. I was wondering why Mill Valley is the only town in Marin that does this, as it is really fun and the artist's entry fees pretty much pay for the winners awards. I did not win anything this year, but I had some nice people come and tell me they voted for me, which was really nice. There will be a show in September, of all 35 artists in the Mill Valley City Hall Council Chambers as part of the First Tuesday Artwalk, September 2, 2008.
I truly enjoyed the day and it gave me an excuse to pick up some amazing flatbreads from Small Shed Flatbreads, on Madrona in Mill Valley. I have been wanting to eat there for a while now, as I have heard fantastic things about this little spot, where everything is organic and hand-crafted. It was a colorful place, with red chairs outside, a large, but friendly, white bull-dog, and a contrasting black dog tied in front. I was wondering if they were part of the design there, as the interior is also painted dark red, and the red, white and black worked nicely together. It was a pleasure to see that Helen Steele's paintings were on the walls. I met Helen and her daughter this year when volunteering for the Marin Open Studios. I really enjoyed Helen's work, which is a combination of abstract figurative shapes, broad and inviting brushwork and built up, 3d "encaustic" numbers protruding from the canvas. Encaustic technique is something I would like to try someday. It involves mixing beeswax with the paint. Once the paint is mixed with the wax, and is molten and ready to use, it is applied to the painting surface. Heated tools may be used to sculpt the wax once it has cooled. Before leaving Small Shed, I ordered 3 flatbreads half-baked to take home, including one called "Mad River (VT)" made with sweet-maple fennel sausage and carmelized onions... superb. I'll be back soon.
I forgot my camera today, but I will post some photos of the Depot from earlier in the week.
