Weekend at Árdíri!

This is the Ardiri Team: Karen, Linda, John, (me), Gail and Justin. They all did a fabulous job putting on a very successful grand opening for Árdíri Winery and Vineyards! It was a very busy weekend.
It was busy for me as well. I sold quite a few minis. Even the mayor of Hillsboro (below) took a painting home for his wife.


I finished up the painting: "Árdíri 2009 Oregon Harvest" during the show, and Gail Lizak, one of my top collectors, added the piece to her personal Vranes art collection. When I say that Gail and John are my two best collectors, it's true! Between the two of them they have more than 60 paintings!

"Árdíri 2009 Oregon Harvest" 24 x 30, thick acrylic on canvas

This is the painting that is featured on the wine label of their newest release, "Chehalem Gold." I brought it to the Grand Opening and John Compagno added it to his art collection. It is one of my favorite vineyard scenes, depicting Árdíri in Autumn.

"Ardiri Fall" 30 x 40, thick Acrylic on canvas

closeup of the thick palette knife texture!

Inside the Árdíri House are a few of the vineyard paintings I did for John. Above is a series of 24 x 24 paintings: "Summer, Fall, Grapes, Winter, Spring"

"Oregon Vintage", 48 x 48, thick acrylic on canvas

Memorial Day Weekend -- Árdíri's Grand Opening!

For Memorial Day weekend, my husband Matt and I drove up from Southern Oregon to Árdíri--a winery and vineyard located in the Willamette Valley outside Portland, Oregon. Art collectors John Compagno and Gail Lizak invited us to participate in the Grand Opening of their newly remodeled Winery.
To Matt's delight, he was immediately put in charge of hoisting a huge red balloon into the air. You could see this giant beacon from miles away. It's not often something can make my huge 6' 6" husband look small!
The 15 acres of vineyards are planted primarily in Pinot noir. The narrow spacing vineyard is one of the most densely-planted in Oregon; this spacing allows for rich and complex characteristics that come through in the wines.

The setting couldn't have been more picturesque! The view of Mt. Hood was positively breathtaking! I couldn't wait to break out my paints and start painting!

6" x 6" mini original paintings on canvas!

One of my new collectors sent me the most thoughtful card! This is what she had to say about her two mini paintings:

Dear Jen,

Thank you for taking the time to make everything perfect! I'm crazy about my new minis. They are beautiful on so many levels! I'm hoping to add to my collection during the winter auction. In time I'd like to purchase an even larger masterpiece. Thank you for making my home beautiful!

Love,

Lisa

My Painting "Ardiri Fall" on Wine Label

Two of my very best art collectors, John Campagno and Gail Lizak own Ardíri Winery and Vineyard--a 15 acre vineyard located in the Chehalem Mountains, Willamette Valley, Oregon.

You can find more information about their beautiful Winery on their website: (http://www.ardiriwine.com).

Ardíri is Sicilian for “taking a risk” and can also mean “being consumed by fire“. Árdíri thus defines the concerted efforts to personally nurture vineyards in the Carneros appellation of Napa Valley and the Chehalem Mountains appellation of Willamette Valley. The vineyards’ unique Pinot noir clones have generated a traditional harvest of quality fruit that have been blended in French oak to form a striking and complex vintage especially complementary to meals.

Though I myself am a non-drinker, I find the art of wine making very interesting. The process is highly complex; an art form in and of itself.

The latest vintage, Chehalem Gold, is slated to be formally released on Memorial Day Weekend 2010. It is a white wine blend 50% Pinot gris and 50% Pinot blanc. My painting, Ardíri Fall is featured on the label. John and Gail have invited me to participate in the grand opening coming up Memorial Day Weekend, May 28th through 31st. They've done some extensive remodeling to the winery, and I'm excited to see it. I will be setting up my easel and painting on site. Ardíri has a spectacular view of Mt. Hood that I can't wait to capture.

"Tuscan Meadow" -- 36 x 60

This is the Higginson Family! They also happen to be dear friends of ours. It always means so much more when friends want to collect my work. The Higginsons already have quite a Vranes collection going...but this is their biggest piece yet! They just moved into a new home, and had a large wall to fill in the living room. Kristi was looking for a scene with red to go above their red couch, and Spencer wanted something "Italian" because he served an LDS mission in Italy. They both agreed that "Tuscan Meadow" was the perfect piece. They were right!