Since I haven’t posted a newsletter since August, I thought it would be a good idea to send one out to wish everyone, even after the terrible year we have experienced, a safe and as-happy-as-possible Christmas or whichever holiday you and your family celebrates.

With San Mateo County’s and almost all of California having a stay-at-home order in place, Christmas for us is going to be very quiet with just a simple dinner for two. We were going to have a “drive-by” gift exchange with Karen’s family from Sacramento, but that is now not possible and has been postponed. It will have to be Zoom get-togethers with them and my family. At least we are lucky that so far both our families have been able to remain healthy, something we are extremely grateful for.

Some New Work

Because live music has basically been cancelled almost everywhere, I haven’t played banjo either solo or with a band since March. But, this has provided lots of time to paint! I have five or six pieces underway and almost finished including the one below, a view of the ocean and headlands from the northern side of Mendocino Headlands State Park. I’m hoping to work on it today and finish it very soon. (I realize this is a terrible image — the shadow on the right side is from my maulstick that hangs from a hook screwed into my easel.)

Here is another recently finished oil. It is from a photo that I took on a back road in the northern part of Sonoma County on my way up to our house in Weed. It was quite a long time ago, but I remember that it was late Spring and very hot and hopefully that feeling comes through in the painting.

Galleries

Starting in January I will have space reserved to display (and sell!) paintings as a member of the Coastal Arts League collective in Half Moon Bay. Once the stay-at-home orders have been lifted, hopefully soon, please be sure to stop by the gallery at 300 Main Street, Half Moon Bay, and take a look around! The gallery is normally open daily 11am to 4pm during the winter.

Finally, as a reminder, the Prentice Gallery in Mendocino shows my work along with a great number other fine artists and craftspeople. Everything is available online as well as in person. It is another really exceptional gallery to explore in a truly wonderful part of Northern California. If you are in the area when travel is again safe, be sure to put it on your list of places to visit.

Merry Christmas, belated Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa blessings and, if you choose, “Festivus for the rest of us.” Above all, have a safe and happy remainder of the year, wear masks, social distance and, at the first opportunity, get vaccinated!

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy these newsletters. If you are reading them on social media and would like to get them by email, please go to santhony.com to sign up as well as see some of my latest work, leave comments and read previous posts.