Wine Country Winter by Donna Schaffer

Foggy Vineyard View by Donna Schaffer

​Exhibit Dates: March 1st — March 28th, 2020

​Reception: Saturday, March 7, 2020 from 6 – 8 pm: Meet the artists and celebrate this show.  Refreshments will be served. ​

Local artist, Donna Schaffer, presents Wine Country Winter, a collection of paintings that express the special beauty that Sonoma wine country takes on in its winter phase.  Painted in oil, these works depict the swaths of fog that grace the region’s valleys like misty veils.   As the sky takes on a leading role during the winter season, color pops up in the form of stunning red-orange sunsets and sunrises.  Responding to a sense of mystery, the viewer is seduced by the quiet peacefulness of the foggy scenes.  “I’ve lived in Sonoma County twenty-five years and our “neighborhood” is gorgeous all year round and I want to share that beauty,” said Schaffer.
Art has been a main thread throughout Schaffer’s life.   It wove through her advertising and photojournalism experience and culminated when she landed in Sonoma wine country.  “How could I not be a painter,” noted Schaffer, as she contemplated the area’s jaw-dropping natural beauty.  Schaffer has been a member of the Upstairs Art Gallery for seventeen years and exhibited throughout the region, including five years as an Art Trails artist.

Winter Sunrise by Donna Schaffer

​The Small Works Showcase on the stairway features Short Stories by Phyllis Rapp, a collection of small mixed media paintings depicting a range of subjects, from garden flowers to exotic animals and fish.  Rapp’s magic brush brings excitement to each piece by the creative mix of amazing acrylic pours, color washes and intricate patterns. 

Goldfish by Phyllis Rapp, mixed media