Original artwork description:

“Early Harvest" Impressionist Napa Valley California Wine Country Vineyard Landscape in Rust, Green by Mill Valley Artist Mary Anne McKernie_x000D_ _x000D_ Original (New) - Acrylic on canvas_x000D_ _x000D_ This artwork was begun as I drove through the Napa Valley and spotted some grapevines to which I was drawn. I had to stop and take a photograph._x000D_ _x000D_ I like the contrast of the orderliness of the rows and stakes that are part of vine cultivation with the wild irregularities of the vines themselves--the way the leaves grow in all directions and shooters poke out from above the vast sea of green._x000D_ _x000D_ My art is inspired by both natural and built environments, primarily of the Bay Area where I have resided for 45 years, but also by trips taken to countries in Europe and the Caribbean. My studio is in Mill Valley, California._x000D_ _x000D_ My use of color can be traced to years of interior design and color consulting. Observing that many wall paints looked dull and lifeless regardless of hue, I learned that those that seemed rich and complex—as if they glowed from within—were mixed using the full spectrum and without black. To replicate these pleasing and harmonious colors, I use a limited palette comprised of only the three primaries, two secondaries and white, and I mix my own chromatic blacks._x000D_ _x000D_ The scenes in my artwork are often desolate, devoid of people, distilled to the essential elements needed to convey a peacefulness that may exist for only a fleeting moment. And in that starkness is a certain drama.

Materials used:

Acrylic paint, canvas

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