Downtown Pleasanton retains many reminders of its history. During the Gold Rush the area was a mercantile stopover for miners seeking their fortune in the gold fields. The transcontinental railroads rolled into Pleasanton in 1869. The area became the agricultural center for the Amador Valley and home to the oldest horseracing track in the nation. Pleasanton was incorporated in 1894 with Main Street as a center for business and community activity. Main Street is now a pedestrian and artist-friendly, tree-lined street with buildings of many historic architectural styles.
It was touch and go if the rain was going to stop in time for our paintsite, but the timing turned out to be perfect – the rain stopped just in time for the freeway to be dry, and the sun popped out from time to time while we painted.
It is only one block from historic Main Street to the Firehouse Arts Center where the California Watercolor Association 49th National Exhibit was taking place. We toured this prestigious juried exhibit as a group and were very proud to see our own paintsite regular Tiangong Liu’s painting “Low Tide” be displayed with work by former weekend paintsites coordinator Uma Kelkar and famous artists such as Mike Reardon, Thomas Schaller, and Brenda Swenson.
For more information about downtown Pleasanton see:
http://www.pleasantondowntown.net/
https://www.pleasanton.org/history-of-pleasanton
Upcoming Paintsites. See the SCVWS
website or the February Newsletter for details.
Shows & Exhibits by Paintsite Regulars:
- Tiangong Liu's painting "Low Tide" has been accepted in the California Watercolor Association's 49th National Exhibition and will be displayed through Feb 16, 2019 at the Harrington Gallery, Firehouse Arts Center, 4444 Railroad Ave, Pleasanton. (Official website: https://www.californiawatercolor.org/index.php )
-
Artists and their artwork:
 |
| Brad's watercolor of the Johnston Bldg. on Main St. |
 |
| Brad, Helen, Candy and Lisha |
 |
| Helen's watercolor of Main St., Pleasanton |
 |
| Candy's watercolor of the 1896 Johnston Bldg. |
 |
| Lisha's watercolor shows a closer view of the historic Johnston Bldg. |
 |
| Annie |
 |
| Annie's painting of Paintsite artists at work |
 |
| Dick and Salinda with visiting family |
 |
| Dick's painting of downtown Pleasanton |
 |
| Salinda's painting of downtown |
 |
| Iris |
 |
| Jane |
 |
| Jane's watercolor sketch of a Main St. bicycle shop |
 |
| Susan B-G |
 |
Susan B-G's painting of seamster at work at
Estrella Designs |
 |
| Tanvi |
 |
Tanvi's watercolor of one of the oldest buildings in downtown
Pleasanton |
 |
| Marilyn's line drawing of Main St., Pleasanton |
 |
Paintsite artists carefully studying the
CWA Exhibit located at the Pleasanton Firehouse Art Center |
 |
| "Low Tide" by Tiangong Liu |
 |
| Lunch on the grounds of the Firehouse Art Center |
 |
| Paintsites Group photo on the railroad tracks |
Weekend Paintsites Blog
Santa Clara Fire Museum, Santa Clara, CA January 27, 2019
The Santa Clara Fire Museum, located at 1900 Walsh Avenue in
Santa Clara, houses firefighting artifacts and memorabilia that
firefighters have used since 1855. The museum is operated by volunteers
from the Saint Clare Hook & Ladder Historical Society, a 501(c)3
non-profit organization. The museum is open Sundays from noon to 5 PM.
 |
| Early photo of the fire station with their modern equipment |
 |
| Photo of a hose cart |
 |
| Alison's painting of the hose cart. |
Weekend blog addendum posted by Dick Zunkel
No comments:
Post a Comment