Paintsites Blog: Holbrook-Palmer Park, Atherton, Thursday, May 31

If it were not for the fact that the date was posted in our Paintsites announcements we had every reason to believe that the May 31st paintsite was in December! One look at the well bundled up painters and you'll understand. Nevertheless, the opportunity to view and paint the architecture and beautiful landscape of Holbrook Palmer Park made it well worth enduring the cool temperatures.

Holbrook-Palmer Park is the home of two unique examples of rural estate architecture and has been declared a Heritage Site by the California Historical Society. The estate was originally owned by Charles Holbrook, a noted SF businessman and philanthropist, and was later inherited by his daughter Olive Holbrook-Palmer who willed the 'Elmwood Estate' (it's original name) to the City of Atherton in the 1960's.

The two buildings of note are the Water Tower built in 1883 and the Gen Merrill Carriage House built in 1897. The Water Tower was built in the Second Empire architectural style to match the style of the original Holbrook residence which burnt down in 1958. It was constructed to store groundwater to supply the nearby buildings, fields and gardens. The beautifully maintained structure houses a large redwood tank on the top floor, is framed in channel siding and is embellished with a French Mansard roof (definitely not a typical water tower design). The carriage house, on the other hand, was designed in the less discreet Colonial Revival style and features a carriage room, stables, tack rooms, a hay loft and a bunkhouse. For more information on Holbrook Palmer Park please refer the following links:

http://www.holbrookpalmerparkfoundation.com/index.html
https://www.nps.gov/nr/feature/places/16000663.htm

June paintsites: See the SCVWS website or the June newsletters for details.

• Thursday, June 7: Oak Meadow Park, Los Gatos

• Saturday, June 9: Weekend Paintsite: Frederick’s Field, Almaden Valley, must sign up in advance

• Thursday, June 14: Frederick’s Field, Almaden Valley, must sign up in advance

• Thursday, June 21: Gamble Garden, Palo Alto

• Thursday, June 28: Hike and Sketch or Sit & Paint - Uvas Canyon CP, Morgan Hill

Not to be missed Shows & Exhibits by Paintsites Regulars:

• Tanvi Buch currently has a one woman show at the Red Berry Coffee Bar, 145 Main St., Los Altos. In May she'll have 16 watercolors displayed on the ground floor. In June, the exhibit will move to the second floor. Do go see Tanvi's artwork and buy a cup of coffee to support a local business that supports local artists.

• Annie Haines was awarded an Associate Artist Award by the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the California Art Club for her "Point Reyes Lighthouse" watercolor. The painting is currently on exhibit in the CAC "Art Between the Lines" show at the Peninsula Museum of Art. The Museum is located at 1777 California Dr., Burlingame. The show runs thru July 8, 2018. Annie's painting is also featured in the May-June issue of Fine Art Connoisseur.