New Exhibit

I paint with a group of amazing women artists and occasionally we hang exhibits together. 

After waiting 2-3 years for a show at the Orinda Library Gallery BASA's name finally came up.

We were due to hang on March 31st and then the pandemic hit.

So with Covid-19 on everyone's mind we decided to take what we have been working so hard on and give you a virtual show. How creative is that!

Here is the link: Click Me!

During this stressful time I hope our video gives you a moment to relax.

Stay well......Jeanette

New Art Show in Napa

My artist friends and I from BASA just hung a new show at the Napa Library.  We will be having a reception and Artists' Talk this Friday.  Check out the flyer for more information!  

I hope you can join us for a fun evening.

If you click on the above BASA link, you will be able to see some of the wonderful pieces of artwork.

Plein Air Painting in Napa

Song - Autumn Leaves by The Carlos Herrera Band

Woke up early on Saturday morning to head up to Napa to paint with some friends at Chimney Rock Winery.

Bay Area Studio Artists actually did paint outside!  Well, most of us did......

It was a lovely clear day and the winery was having a new release celebration.  They had a the Carlos Herrera Band playing in the courtyard and we painted while members ate, drank and enjoyed the music, art and sunshine.

This is the outside of the barrel room....

....and inside......

I took most of these photos before the crowds arrived.

Sharon Tama and Susan Bonebakker discussing their painting plan of action!

Sharon painted a lovely little courtyard painting of the trees and flowers while Sue painted the iron gate and flowers.

Marcy Wheeler hamming it up after selling her painting of the band.

Ellen Reintjes chose to do some creative iPad paintings!

Suzun Almquist had a beautiful little painting of the interior of the courtyard. Suzun, myself and Joanne all painted from behind the low courtyard wall looking in at the activity.

Here is Joanne Taeuffer packing up a little early as she had finished her "schmoozing" for the day!!!
Actually, Joanne is an incredible artist and lot's of fun to paint with but she just wasn't "feeling it" on Saturday.

And here I am getting my easel set up to paint.  I did paint the interior of the courtyard as well.  It was great to be surrounded by the vineyard, listen to the Cuban/Spanish music and paint.

 Some of the food servers found these little birds that had fallen from their nest.  They look about ready to fly!

"Beautiful day, good friends, great music and happy to be painting!" - Jeanette Crawford Baird

A Moment of Zen

Song - Painting Pictures - Adele

A morning of painting is usually like meditation for me. Especially if I can get into that "zone".

This morning I went to my favorite painting class and that was just what this girl needed.

Our teacher, Marcy Wheeler creates a wonderful supportive, fun environment that also encourages us to step outside our comfort zone.

Some are more willing than others.

Joanne Taeuffer (detail)

(I tend to be a little "pokey" in that department.)

Today, I brought in my Sergio Romo painting and although I thought it was close to being finished, there were several suggestions made that really improved the painting.  As soon as I add all of the raindrops, I will post it for you.

Everyone in the class is at a different level and each has their own personal style but each of us respects that style and each other.

At the end of class we all participate in a critique of our current work.

Patricia Dallacroce

I have been painting with Marcy for 6 1/2 years now.  She still amazes me with her insight into art, design and life!


Thank you to the Thursday morning painting group and especially Marcy!

If you live in the Bay Area and are interested in painting please check out Marcy's website at
http://marcywheeler.com/

Joanne Taeuffer -  http://joannetaeuffer.com/

Patricia Dallacroce - http://www.dallacroce.com/#home

And many other fine artists in the group!

“As long as one keeps searching, the answers come.” 

– Joan Baez

Heatwave

Song - Too Darn Hot by Ella Fitzgerald

Welcome to Summer!

Our  BASA group (Bay Area Studio Artists) participated in the Artist Market in Lafayette over the weekend. It was a scorcher to say the least!  Someone said it was breaking records in the area. Even though a few brave artists weathered out the heat, we had very few customers.

It was the kind of day that could of melted Joanne Taeuffer's yummy Banana Split!

Usually I paint during such events but it was too hot to get my supplies out.  So we visited with each other, wilting in our chairs. Luckily we had the shade of a big Oak tree but the heat from the pavement added to our discomfort. One woman across the way was trying to sell crocheted shawls!!! Good luck there! 

Marcy Wheeler's "Big Granny" in the background & Patricia Dallacroce's cityscape in the foreground

Even my chickens where looking for shade!

No sales for our little group except one!

I purchased a painting from Patricia Dallacroce and I just love it and so does Mr. B!  It hasn't been hung yet as I keep walking around the house trying to find the exact place for it to be at home! I am so excited.

Pat is a relatively new painter but she has an amazing eye and plenty of talent. Lately she has been painting San Francisco city scene's.  The color on this painting is so much better in real life than this photo shows.

Please check out her website here - http://www.dallacroce.com/

Catch her fresh work before her prices skyrocket - I mean....really!

Doesn't that car look real?

Just AMAZING!

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."  - Marcel Proust

In case you missed my Summer Solstice recipe this spring, here it is again!  Just in time for the longest day of the year!

SUMMER SOLSTICE MARTINI - Inspired by AZ88 

• 2 1/2 ounces raspberry vodka
• 1 ounce Cointreau
• 1 ounce Rose's lime juice
• 1/2 ounce cranberry juice
• 2 ounces orange juice 
• Place in an ice filled martini shaker and give it a good shake.  Pour into martini glass and add a slice of orange.  Enjoy! 

Moving Mountains

Song - Mountain Music by Alabama

Why are mountains so important?  

The snow cross on Mt. Tallac

Guide posts while traveling?  

Viewpoints?  

Sacred energy?

Different ecosystems? 

Recreation? 

Safety from enemies?

"More than any other natural phenomenon, mountains suggest the soaring of the human spirit and its expansion into new worlds." - Revd Phillip Parker

Mt. Tallac from across the lake

Living in California all of my life, I am used to hills, valleys and mountains.  It just comes with earthquake country.  Land is always shifting around here.

I have always lived at the base of Mt. Diablo.  It is considered a sacred mountain to California
Indian people. Just about every California Indian community who viewed Mount Diablo would, at
one time or another, make a pilgrimage to the summit area for ceremonies and the reason is that it was the creation point for the Miwok people or genesis for some California Indian people.

Walnut Creek is located at the base of Mt. Diablo

I am sure it has something to do with some kind of "home base" for me.  I know when I have been traveling and I catch a glimpse of Mt. Diablo in the skyline and I know I am close to home.

Also, weather seems to gravitate around mountains.  When it rains near my home, I look to Mt. Diablo for the hills to turn green or for those rare snow storms.  

Clouds seem to "snag" on it.  It's also one of the first areas to go "golden" as the grasses seem to dry up there first. 

Mountains reflect beautiful sunsets and moon glow.

Mt. Tallac from across the lake

But lately I have been thinking about Mt. Tallac, located in Lake Tahoe.  It is 9,735' above sea level and there is Washoe Indian folklore that goes with it.

I love the cross that is almost always showing.

Old postcard from the Tahoe flea market

The Washoe Indians felt that if there was no snow in the cross, it would mean that there would be a season of drought. 

Over 55 years ago, my grandparents bought a cabin at the base of Mt. Tallac on Forest Service land.

There have been many years of fun up at Lake Tahoe.  As kids, every summer we would climb part way up the mountain to little Floating Island Lake.  When I had my own children, they went to the lake as well.

Andy pushing off from shore on an "island"

Floating Island Lake has these incredible bog islands that detach from the shore and we would climb on them with a big pole and float around the lake on our own little island.  Over the years there are fewer islands but what sweet memories.

Oh yeah....back to mountains.....

Mr. B has climbed up Mt. Tallac at least once.  My older brother Dave, climbed it many times.  My younger brother Tim has climbed it while I waved at him through binoculars from the Baldwin Beach.  I have not had the pleasure of the climb, but I enjoy the majestic sight and beauty of this incredible mountain. It is on my "bucket list"!

Mt. Tallac from the beach

Mt. Tallac reflecing in the swamp

A great day to paint the mountain in the early morning.

View from Baldwin Beach

There is a beautiful meadow near the cabin.  My friends and I have spent days painting from this wonderful viewpoint.  I always dreamed that I would get married in this meadow but that was before practicality came into being.

The wildflowers in the Springtime

Marcy Wheeler painting in the meadow

It amazes me that there is a cross on the mountain almost all of spring & summer and it usually remains until the first snowfall of the next season.

The cross of snow on Mt. Tallac

My cousin Billy and brother Dave with Mt. Tallac in the background - love those old cars! circa 1957

"Every time I have some moment on a seashore, or in the mountains, or sometimes in a quiet forest, I think this is why the environment has to be preserved." – Bill Bradley

The Mountains are Calling

Sunset from Sunnyside Lodge

The mountains are calling and I MUST go.....

I am heading to the Sierra's for a few days with 5 girlfriends for our annual retreat.

Well, it's kind of a retreat, in that it is very relaxing. 

But it's not like a spiritual retreat in that there is a lot of good wine, story telling and laughter....well maybe that is my new idea of a spiritual retreat!!

We are heading for Lake Tahoe for a few days.  My old stomping grounds!  I feel it in my bones...you know that pull to be in the mountains. 

Half Dome

I came across this time lapse video on Pinterest yesterday.  It is photographed by Shawn Reeder in Yosemite over a two year period.  It is just mesmerizing to watch the clouds and stars and light pass over the mountains and landscape.  Beautiful soundtrack as well!

I hope you find some time in your day to enjoy the beauty that Shawn shares with us here.


Yosemite Range of Light by Shawn Reeder

It is funny that I never went to Yosemite as a child and yet it is so close.  My parents took me there for the first time on a day trip while I was home from college.

 

My mom went with her family when she was a teen.

Neither look too impressed.  (Love the outfit mom!)

I think Grandpa's car was giving him trouble so he wasn't too happy.

Ever since then I have gone once or twice a year. 

Sometimes I take plein air painting classes there from my mentor Marcy Wheeler.

Sometimes I go there with my girlfriends, or to take basket weaving classes from Julia Parker.

Splitting the reeds

Gathering the reeds

But my favorite time is going with Mr. B to relax and watch him fly fish. 

It is a thing of beauty.

The Awahnee Dining Room

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.  Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.  The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."  --John Muir