A small painting of vineyards

Winter Twilight in the Vines • 14" x 11" • © 2010 Karen Lynn Ingalls

You can see this scene in the Valley of the Moon, as you drive down Highway 12 from Santa Rosa to Sonoma, not too far past Glen Ellen. I photographed it last year, after I had stopped off at Arrowood Winery, where I had had a show. I've changed things a bit (I have an artistic license, and I use it), taking out winery buildings and a road. It was mustard season, and just past sunset, so the sky had that lovely pale yellow glow....

Painting mustard

The Calistoga Art Center holds a show of mustard art as part of Calistoga's Mud, Mustard, and Music Festival - both events part of the larger Napa Valley Mustard Festival. Mustard and the Mountain, my entry the winter before last, won the People's Choice Award for Best Yellows.

I drove all over the valley, photographing beautiful views, searching for the best one - but, really, it was no contest. The best, most glorious view of mustard, in my opinion, was just north of Calistoga on Highway 29 - this scene of mustard and vines beneath Mt. St. Helena, the old volcano that gave the valley its wonderful, rich soil.