My friend Lola Escarpa of Madrid was visiting for the holidays. She is a talented watercolor painter and we painted nearly every day while she was here. Three of her paintings were featured in my studio for the 1st Friday Art Walk. She sold all three!
Kuhr-Norris Studio & Gallery was hoppin' on the 1st Friday Art Walk in Guerneville. Art excites people!
My most favorite part of this wonderful winter holiday from school was that I had the opportunity to go out painting with some of my very favorite people in the world!
Downtown Guerneville, festively lit up for the holidays. The window of Kuhr-Norris Studio & Gallery (adorned in red lights) is visible in the top right corner.
Loved having time in my studio over my winter break from school!
During the month of December, the Kuhr-Norris Studio & Gallery is hosting a guest artist: Marilyn Livingston. Her works in fused glass are a vibrant showcase of light and color.
Had some days off from school this week, so I spent some time painting signs for the studio/gallery. In addition to the sign pictured here, I painted one to hang out the window to hopefully attract the attention of people walking around town.
There is a gorgeous road in Sonoma County called Coleman Valley. It runs from the town of Occidental to the coast, and there are many stretches which have sweeping views. Several days ago I had the opportunity to paint there. I did these two 5"x7" studies which I will use as inspiration for a larger studio piece. Staring at this view was a beautiful way to spend a morning!
This studio painting is based on a photo I took this summer while walking along the bluffs in the town of Mendicino. The blues of the sea were breath-taking.
This painting was completed in my studio. I used a reference photo that I took at Eastside Regional Park in Healdsburg, CA. The fall colors are spectacular there!
The Kuhr-Norris Studio & Gallery is located on the 2nd floor of a building on Main Street in Guerneville, CA. I have been surprised at how difficult it is to get visitors to the town to notice that we are here. This is disappointing, and we are trying to come up with creative solutions to this. One thing I do on weekends is put one of my paintings and one of Suzy's photos in the windows and illuminate both.
This is a plein air painting, done on a beautiful, hot day in Dry Creek Valley. My wife, Kimberly, painted with me that day, which made it extra fun.
This painting sold to Patte, who owns a massage business in Guerneville, CA. She has bought a cabin with land that goes down to the river and she is moving her business there. This painting will go live in that cabin. So nice that a painting of the Russian River will now go to a cabin by the river!
The Kuhr-Norris Studio & Gallery opened on July 4, 2014, and it has been a grand adventure so far. Suzy Kuhr and I have both sold pieces each month. This does not make me feel sure of anything in the long winter months ahead, but I am very grateful for the success we have had thus far. Since we both work full time, we don't have to panic about selling a lot. If we sell enough to pay the rent, we are happy!
"Still Waters" sold today! My friends, Marty and Z, who live in San Francisco, purchased it. I confess to being happy that people I know bought it as it is one of my favorites.
This painting was inspired by a plein air painting I did the last time my friend Lola was visiting from Madrid. We love to paint at the mouth of the Russian River! That day was so sandy that my painting was covered in sand!
For this painting, I tried something different: instead of painting the sides my usual orange-red color, I painted them black. The painting is based of the landscapes I have seen in Willamette Valley, Oregon, and also Dry Creek Valley, California.
The Kuhr-Norris Studio & Gallery participated in the 1st Friday Art Walk in Guerneville in August and it was a blast! Lots of people came to check out the place and art was sold!
This painting is special because it is of one of my very favorite places in the world, a place that feels sacred to me: the mouth of the Russian River, where it empties into the Pacific.
I was inspired to paint this by walking along the bluffs in the town of Mendocino this summer. The blues and greens of the water are profoundly beautiful. It has sold and is going to live in the offices of SAY (Social Advocates for Youth).
This small landscape sold on the 1st Friday Art Walk in August!
Inspired by landscapes seen in Dry Creek Valley and in Oregon, this is a small painting, 6" x 6" on stretched canvas.
Michele was the secretary at the middle school where I teach. She retired, and now she looks 10 years younger! Anyway, her sister Susan lives near Olivet Road, a beautiful area. Susan said that Lola and I could paint there this summer, so one day last month we went and painted this barn in her backyard. That day the colors of summer were perfect! This picture makes the colors look extra saturated; they are not so bright in the painting.
It is such a pleasure to have a spacious, light-filled studio in which to paint! I often dreamed of this, but did not think I would ever have it. I am working on several paintings--3 small ones, and one 24" x 36" painting of a vineyard which you see in the photo. This is a commission, and it has been such a fun painting to work on! The women who commissioned it live in town, so they often pass by the studio and say hello. Their enthusiasm for the painting is a wonderful motivation. It should be done soon!
In a wonderful and amazing turn of events, there is a new gallery in Guerneville, CA.....mine! My friend Suzy Kuhr, a phenomenal photographer who specializes in hand-developed, black & white photography, is sharing the space with me. We opened on July 4th, and will now be able to participate in all of the festive 1st Friday Art Walks! Our location is 16216 Main Street, Suite B (above the Lifvendahl Gallery). Although we each run our space individually, in town people know us as the "Kuhr-Norris Studio & Gallery."
