DRAWING on OBSERVATIONS

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The art direction asked to include a specific piece of architecture, a weathervane that hinted at the name of the winery, and a landscape of California hills and vineyards.

This was my first go at it.

First attempt

Okay, the designer liked it, the client liked it, but it wasn’t quite right for the label. They wanted less texture, less brush strokes, less saturated colors, made to look a little old, more atmosphere in the distance…and while you’re at it, loose the weathervane.

I started from scratch and painted this….

I am honored that Bridlewood Estate Winery has my work represent their Central Coast Syrah and Central Coast Chardonnay.

A shipment of a case of Sarah 2006…(to answer Bill’s question from yesterday: I paid for it.) Cool that they have an engraved version of my illustration on the box.

How cool is that?

Ask your local wine shop to order some for you, Bridlewood describes the Syrah as opening with aromas of smoke, cedar, and chocolate leading to bright cherry fruit framed with spicy oak. As it evolves, a nose of dark fruits and violets gives way to dark chocolate. On the palate, this wine shows rich flavors of blackberry, dark cherry and sweet brown spice with a hint of mocha. Full of soft, chewy tannins, this wine has a long, clean finish.

…and you get my illustration as a bonus.

Post Wine Week Note: I’ll be taking a sabbatical next week. I will resume Drawing On Observations Monday, September 21st with an all new portrait of the day doodle. Due to spam issues all comments will be held for moderation until then.

Cheers!

Other wine related musings

Wine label posts

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It’s not every day an art director calls and asks you to paint an ethereal California landscape in a red pallet.

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What could be more fun?

Finished Illustration

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Life can be serendipitous. It’s good to have a plan, but often what unfolds has no resemblance to your grand scheme. Continuing from yesterday, I’m going to take this short week to feature more wine label work and the serendipitous way it came to me.

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It wasn’t by design or hard work, but had it’s seeds in my seeking a little rest and relaxation.

We spent a weeks vacation in San Francisco and Napa Valley and I was floored by the beauty of the region. I had been busy with commissioned illustrations and hadn’t painted a landscape in far too long.

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This was before I had a weblog, so I thought I would do a few quick sketches for fun, post them on my illustration site, and tell family and friends what we did on our summer vacation with an email and a link…. more travel log than portfolio piece really. Within a month I got my first call to paint a landscape for a California wine label. Gotta love Google.

finished illustration

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A while back I was commissioned by Timothy Harris Design to paint this wine label for Livingston Cellars, an E&J Gallo Brand. I was honored to learn that it was selected in the Professional Illustration category of Creative Quarterly 16 as a runner up.

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I fell in love with painting landscapes as a young art student when I was fortunate enough to study abroad in the Parsons In Paris program.

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Six weeks of lugging my French easel around Paris and the South of France painting every day en plein air was an invaluable life experience.

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So, getting an assignment that basically calls on me to paint a landscape, with or without floating car, is a real pleasure, and having it recognized by Creative Quarterly is especially gratifying.

Finished illustration

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5″ x 7″ Oil on canvas

If an idle mind and hands are the devils workshop, then my grandmother Alice Burke should be canonized as a saint. This weekend marks her 95th Birthday and this oil sketch of her busy hands is my gift to her.

Born Alice Kopidlowski the same year that World War I broke out. She lost her father at an early age and had to drop out of school in the third grade to work in a button factory. She met my grandfather during The Great Depression and they eloped in 1932. She made up for the lack of formal education with hard work and determination. At 95 she still reads a newspaper cover to cover every day. In her day she could sew a dress without a pattern, make a slip cover for a worn couch, wallpaper a room, change a broken window, cook a great meal, make toys out of household items to amuse her grandchildren, boost a kids ego by purposefully loosing a thousand consecutive games of checkers without ever seeming board.

Growing up I never saw her sit and eat a meal until everyone was fed. She couldn’t go away on vacation without hotels offering her employment. At 95 her failing legs have made her do what her nature never allowed, sit down. But her lack of mobility doesn’t stop her from doing for others. In her night stand she keeps a pad to record the foot size of every family member and friend, and hardly a get together passes without a gift of crocheted slippers.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

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Sunday Morning

I was pleased to learn this week that I had a piece accepted to this years Communication Arts Illustration Competition.

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Julie Borg is a wonderful designer that I’ve been working with for a few years. I enjoy hearing from her because I get to paint in a loose style. This piece was done for a series of CD covers, Sunday Morning Music Series. The songs are inspirational, so I was trying to capture a Sunday morning ritual with an inspirational light. For those of you who know me, you may recognize my dining … Continue Reading