5 reasons why I love being a part of Napa Valley Open Studios

Selection of Mixed Media and Still Life paintings by Karen Lynn Ingalls

1. I get to show EVERYTHING I want. So, if I want to show some mixed media work, or little still life pieces in addition to the landscape paintings people are expecting (see above), I can. I love it.



Three paintings by Karen Lynn Ingalls from 2009 Napa Valley Open Studios

2. I'm part of a larger community - Open Studios artists of the Napa Valley - some of whom are friends of mine, and many others whom I know. I love being able to send visitors on to see the work of other artists I know they will enjoy, and it's always great when someone comes in and tells me that another artist, who sent them, said hello.

3. Arts Council Napa Valley - www.artscouncilnapavalley.org - does an incredible job of supporting and promoting the artists. Each year the catalog and website get better and better (how do they manage that?), and the wonderful staff at the Arts Council - Michelle, Kathy, Kristina, and Kate, and Kristine the website guru - really pull out the stops to find new opportunities for us.



Three paintings by Karen Lynn Ingalls from 2009 Napa Valley Open Studios

4. I get to meet the most wonderful people! I love the opportunity to meet people who want to look at my artwork. And when they really, really love what I do - well, who doesn't appreciate that? It's fun to get to hear which paintings are people's favorites, and what draws them to my work. I enjoy answering questions about my process, or how I came to be doing what I do, or whatever else it is people are interested in. And when people come from a distance, specifically to see me - well, who wouldn't appreciate that?



Six small paintings by Karen Lynn Ingalls from 2009 Napa Valley Open Studios

5. I've been showing my work at Graeser Winery - www.graeserwinery.com - this year and last. Last year, they liked me enough to ask me to be their Artist in Residence, so I have work up year round, and do other things now and then (such as a series of photographs of the winery and the vines in each season). This year, the second Saturday of Open Studios was also the day of their Harvest Party. What a hoot! People were having a great time. I'm looking forward to next year.

A little about me and websites

I've begun this blog partly as an interim step to a major redesign of my old website. So, in lieu of an "About the Artist" page, here's my bio:

I live and paint in the mountains west of Calistoga, under the watchful eye of my dog, Zoe. I began drawing as soon as I could hold a crayon (preferably magenta colored). Somewhere my mother still has a drawing of an anatomically correct nude woman I drew at the age of three.... My focus on figure drawing and painting took a little turn when I began painting endangered landscapes - places threatened by development - in conjunction with working to save those places. Ultimately recognizing that much of rural California is threatened by development, I now primarily paint rural landscapes - the land, trees, vineyards, water, and the skies that I love.

My artwork has been exhibited on both west and east coasts, in places ranging from the Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, California, to New York City's Lincoln Center. Articles about my work have appeared in the Calistoga Tribune, the Weekly Calistogan, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, the Salinas Californian, the Monterey Herald, and the Monterey County Coast Weekly, among others. I have also been interviewed about my artwork on radio stations KVYN, in Napa, and KAZU in Pacific Grove.

My work can be seen currently in the Sacramento offices of State Senator Pat Wiggins; at Graeser Winery in Calistoga, California; at the Sonoma County Central Library and the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California (look for the life-sized painted statues of Peanuts comic strip characters - here is my Charlie Brown, along with some statues by other artists); at the Silver Grape and North Star in Calistoga, California; and on the web right here.

To see a little more of what I've done on the web, here are links to:
• my Napa Valley Open Studios artist's profile page
• Endangered Landscapes - a mini-gallery of selections from a larger show, presented online by the Elkhorn Slough Foundation
• my old website
• Napa Valley Art Camp, the instructional blog I keep for my students

In the studio

I will hold this year's Open Studio at Graeser Winery (255 Petrified Forest Road, Calistoga, California - on the web at www.graeserwinery.com), as I did last year. It's a beautiful place - driving up there is like stepping back in time - and the newly remodeled tasting room and gallery area is a wonderful spot for looking at artwork (and, perhaps, savoring a lovely glass of wine).


My actual studio is about five miles from the winery, in part of a lovely old barn in Franz Valley. I have natural light and a view - I work in heaven. How lucky can I get? It's not set up for visitors (there is no bathroom), but for one working artist, it is a soul-satisfying place to be.