Castillo's Winery, Morgan Hill, October 27th, 2011

We were fortunate to be allowed to paint at this scenic winery in the Morgan Hill foothills, with a grand mansion, a medieval style cottage (Queen's Hamlet, Versailles)  a lake, vines, and views. We enjoyed our lunch together on a shaded balcony in comforable chairs overlooking the lake and the mountains.  And we also had beautiful weather for it.  As Chris E. said "aren't we lucky to live in California!" 

Rear of the grand mansion house, Sylvia Waddell

Castillo Winery,  Dick Zunkel

Castillo's, Brad Santos

Seems like everywhere we paint there are lots of happy, laughing people.   (Besides us that is.)    Two weeks ago it was the schoolchildren at Ardenwood.   At the most recent paint-site, Castillo's Hillside Shire Winery, our "audience" (a 5th-wheeler club out for a day of wine tasting in the Morgan Hill area) was considerably older but having an equally good time.   My take on it is that they all  experience such joy at seeing our paintings.   Chris thought it the wine.    She may have been correct as they seemed particularly jolly coming out of the Tasting Room, the subject of my painting.   Whatever, it was a great location and a great day of painting.   Brad

Chiminea on the back porch, Castillo's Winery,  Jenny Tero

Castillo's,  Anna Jacke

Mary Paquet

I settled on a landscape done from a beautiful loggia overlooking a pond that reflected two olive trees, my center of interest. I was remembering my wonderful day in Provence painting in an olive grove last summer. I recalled instructor Maggie Siner's planes of recession and applied those concepts. The pointed mountain in the background is a famous Morgan Hill landmark, El Toro, a fitting name for the steep topography of an extinct volcano.   Mary