The Cellar

I requested and was granted permission to have access to the Montinore Estate winery in Forest Grove, Oregon. I began exploring and photographing the grounds and facilities in February, capturing images and memorizing details I felt were interesting and representative.

The scene that impressed me most was the cellar. I can still feel the impact and emotion the cellar had on me. There was a sense of foreboding in this place. Suffice to say, it was a place of mystery, spirit, age, and of life itself. I had to capture that mood on canvas. The Cellar, was a laborious painting and required about four months to complete.

Summer Daze, was the second piece in the body of work. I wanted to capture a scene less foreboding and more classical than, The Cellar. I purposely softened the edges and suggested components with less realism and more impressionism. I want the viewer to feel as though they are in a momentary daze, to experience a sense of calm and peace during an otherwise busy and hectic time in vineyards.