Comstock House Historic Home Tour

Over the weekend, I had the occasion to tour Comstock House, the historic 106 year old home of Jeff and Candice Elliott. We were a small group of artists, who were offered not only a tour but also time to sketch and paint. The house was designed by locally well known architect, Brainerd Jones, and the property is currently being restored and scheduled for completion in 2012.

As I drove past the address on a hunt for parking, it was difficult to see the house as it is mostly obscured by trees. But when I walked onto the property, I saw the Craftsman style house with its unusually asymmetrical roof and facade covered in shingles. Full-blooming dogwood trees and shrubs were scattered about and colorful flowers surrounded the porch area, guarded by two small stone lions stoically protecting the entryway.

 

When I entered the old house I felt time slip back a century. Redwood beams and paneling fill the house. Leaded glass decorates the windows along the staircase. Art deco chandeliers with gas candlesticks, and grape-shaped glass housing electric bulbs adorn the stairs landing. I was completely taken by the warm wooden consoles of vintage radios and TV’s scattered throughout the house. At 10 am, Jeff and Candice greeted us in the foyer and began telling stories. The open floor plan let us all gather around our two hosts to listen.

The original owner James Wyatt Oats was a murderer who fled the east coast from his crime, settling in Santa Rosa. He was later acquitted as his older brother William bribed the prosecutor who just happened to be the victim’s father. William was also a commander in the confederate army at Gettysburg. He most famously led the 15th Alabama regiment that lost the Battle of Little Round Top.

Nellie Comstock purchased the house in 1916 for $10,000 and members of her family lived there over the next 74 years. In a complete reversal from the house’s previous owners, Nellie’s father was the head of the anti-slavery group that funded famed abolitionist John Brown.

After the tour, I stood beside the piano and drew a cozy corner of the room with its vintage console radio. I just love the streamlined art deco design. While I was drawing, Jeff told me the history of the mirror hanging above the radio, which turned out to be a picture frame engraved with the artist’s name and painting title. The frame, Jeff said, is from a missing painting by the British artist J. B. Payne titled “In the Village of Cheddar”, which no one has ever heard of nor seen the original. Now there’s an important mystery to be solved!

A warm thanks goes to Jeff and Candice Elliott for the tour and allowing us to sketch and paint their delightful, historic home.

 

Irving Street, San Francisco

Today I took advantage of a space between jobs and headed down to San Francisco to draw. I chose the Inner Sunset location for its street cars and eclectic buildings which are great subjects to sketch. But more importantly, I lived there for almost ten years before moving to Healdsburg in 2000 so it has a nostalgic feel to it.

The damp air from the morning’s residual fog and cold, enhanced by an on-shore breeze, kept my skin at attention. Yes, it’s June, but this is San Francisco. I chose to draw Irving St. looking east towards Ninth Ave. because my wife and I had our wedding rehearsal dinner at Villa Romana Italian Restaurant. I have fond memories of that dinner with a gathering of friends and family that rarely get a chance to see one another.

But halfway through my drawing I stopped because the cold was coming right through my jacket. I decided to pack up my gear and warm up in Art’s Cafe across the street. The cafe has counter seating for about twelve along a narrow corridor. I sat myself somewhere in the middle and ordered a short stack of pancakes and coffee.

While waiting for my order to arrive, I browsed the old postcards placed beneath the glass of the counter. That’s when a postcard of the Acropolis in Athens caught my eye. I pulled out a copy of my book, “The Artist on the Road: Impressions of Greece” from my messenger bag and compared a drawing I did of the Acropolis while in Greece. Both vantage points were almost identical. How cool it is that I should sit down in this spot!

After having been warmed with good food and coffee, I grabbed my messenger bag and headed back out into the cold.

Tuesday Night Concert on the Plaza

Nothing says summer around Healdsburg more than Tuesday night’s concert down on the Plaza. People gather on blankets in the grass and share fruit, local wine, bread, and cheese with family members and the newly made friends sitting close by.

But yesterday’s weather attempted to dampen the fun as clouds rolled overhead threatening rain and kept everyone bundled up in jackets for warmth. The crowd was noticeably thinner too as people chose to stay indoors. But in spite of the strange weather, yesterday’s band, Roy Rogers and the Delta Rhythm Kings kept people dancing on their toes and forgetting about the cold.

 

The Future Farmers Twilight Parade

The Healdsburg Future Farmers Twilight Parade happens on the Thursday before Memorial Weekend and every year the whole town shows up to mingle, nibble, and share a bottle of wine with a neighbor. This year was no exception as a huge number of people crowded the downtown area. This is serious for locals. Serious fun, that is. On the day of the parade, lawn chairs start appearing as early as six am to stake claim to the most desirable places to view the show. Throughout the day, vintage cars and trucks carrying livestock and partially assembled floats can be seen whizzing around town showing off and preparing for the evening’s event.

This year my wife and I chose the easy way out and instead of claiming our turf earlier in the day with lawn chairs, we went to a friend’s house who lives on the street where the parade passes by. This is a great opportunity because not only do we not have to worry about finding a good place to sit but we are also invited to share in a pot luck and surrounded by great company. At 6 pm the fun begins as jazz bands, floats, pet parades, jugglers, acrobats, and oh yeah, veiled women on horseback make their way through the city streets to the cheers and roar of the crowds.

After nibbling on sausages, meatballs, fruit, cheese, and crackers I reached for my art supplies so I could do what a sketch artist does, draw. But a lack of still objects made the event difficult to capture on paper. I attempted several drawings only to have the subject move shortly after I had started. Then a string of similar vintage cars made their way through the parade and I added a little more to my drawing as each vehicle passed by. After I finally completed a drawing, I decided to rejoin the group and get a glass of my friend’s homemade wine, Barking Dog Petite Sirah.

 

Healdsburg’s Memorial Bridge

I always enjoy driving across the Healdsburg’s Memorial Bridge as I come into town. Even though I live on the north end of Healdsburg, I sometimes exit highway 101 two stops early just to drive across the bridge and see what’s happening in town. The bridge is both an historic landmark and a gateway into town for those heading north. Starting this summer, the first phase of construction will begin to rehabilitate the historic 1921 bridge. I’m happy that the bridge is going to be saved since there was so much talk about replacing it.

What I remember most about this bridge happened about 10 years ago when a powerful, wet storm blew in over the course of several days. One day in particular the rain was coming down in cats, dogs, even horses. We had heard through the grapevine that the Russian River had reached flood stage in Healdsburg and it had exceeded its banks in some areas on the south end of town. When the rain abruptly ended, I suggested to my wife Marilyn that we take a drive down to Memorial Bridge and check out the water level around the bridge. When we got there the river was so high that it was just a few feet from the bottom of the bridge. There was a line of cars driving across and checking out the raging Russian River along with us. We drove over, with our fingers crossed along with everyone else. But the bridge held strong and I feel certain it will carry us across the river for many storms into the future.

****The Healdsburg Museum’s curator, Holly Hoods contacted me about adding this painting to the Memorial Bridge exhibit at the Healdsburg Museum. I said yes, of course. But I did have to pull the painting out of my sketchbook (thankfully it was spiral bound) which I don’t normally like to do, and then framed it. This show will be up through August 14, 2011. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am – 4 pm. 221 Matheson Street, Healdsburg.

Opening Day of Healdsburg’s Farmers Market

 

Every year I look forward to the first Saturday in May because that’s when the Healdsburg Farmers Market opens. It’s the first outdoor event of the year that signals summer has arrived.

The Market is held one block east of the downtown square and that Saturday morning, my friend Phil and I arrived at eight-thirty to sketch the vendors setting up their booths. Phil shares my enthusiasm of plein air sketching and we often get together to draw around town. I pulled out my sketching supplies as trucks backed into their spaces and unloaded boxes of colorful produce. Umbrellas began popping up one by one, canopying the market in a rainbow of colors. At nine o’clock the market bell rang, followed by a flurry of activity as the market opened for business. Then a traditional bluegrass band, The Mountain River Valley Boys, began to play.

Throughout the morning, shoppers arrived wearing summer hats and carrying hand baskets loaded with dinner goodies as they meandered the aisles. As with most small towns, this farmer’s market is both a marketplace and a social event where locals catch up with friends. While moving to a new location to draw, I bumped into several friends including Louise at the Healdsburg Historic Home Tours table, and Jenine, who was selling heads of lettuce and fresh eggs from her own backyard chickens. Jenine opened a carton of eggs, showing off their unique colors of beige, yellow, brown, and green-grey.

Carrie Brown, who owns the Jimtown Store, was at the market with her old Ford F-250 truck. The Jimtown Store is both a store and a cafe and is well known in Sonoma County. Located just outside of Healdsburg, the store has been profiled in many magazines, newspapers and TV shows, including Guy Fieri’s recent profile of “Pork” on the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. Which when I think about it, is kind of funny because the Jimtown Store is neither a diner, drive-in, nor most importantly, a dive.

 

Doctor’s Office

 

While siting in the waiting room of a doctor’s office, I had a chance to do a quick sketch. I found the room amusing because it looks like a typical, old fashioned doctor’s office. All the furniture is wicker, including the magazine rack on the floor. A poinsettia left over from Christmas graces the business card table while enjoying the afternoon sun through the blinds. The only thing missing was macramé hanging on the wall.