Farmhouse Accommodations

 

On my recent trip to Oregon, my friends and I stayed at a property called The Farmhouse.  That's exactly what it was, a farmhouse dating back to the 1940's.  It was only 10 minutes away from the event we were attending but it was a great rural location.

I loved that huge tree that dominated the back yard.

There were three more huge trees framing the front of the house but we tended to spend most of our time at the back.  We enjoyed that back porch and the shade from that big tree. 

On one side of the house was a huge field of clover in full bloom.

On the other side of the house was a field occupied by one friendly horse.  

My friend Julie is an early riser and she captured this gorgeous sunrise one morning.  That's the barn where the horse lives.  

My friend Dave likes to take artistic shots so he composed this one while were enjoying a glass of wine on that back porch.  

It was a great place to stay while we were there for the International Pinot Noir Celebration.  

Scenes From the Farm

 

Last week I posted about Abbey Road Farm, a unique combination of farm and winery.  The location of the farm offered spectacular views in every direction.

It also offered a variety of farm animals.  Every thing from llamas to goats.  We also saw chickens, turkeys and even peacocks.  

In addition, there were lots of fruit trees and the fruit was getting read for a fall harvest.  

Here we have a pear tree.

And these apples were starting to blush with color.

It really is a spectacular place with plenty to see.  The great wine is just a bonus. 

Abbey Road Farm

 

On our last day in Oregon, we visited a place called Abbey Road Farm.  It's a place a little unique for the Oregon wine country.  It's a winery, a bed-and-breakfast, and a working farm all in one.  

The wine tasting room was attractively decorated.  

On one wall they had a map of the Willamette Valley and the 9 specific grape growing regions.  

There were plenty of seating areas where guests can enjoy a wine tasting selection.  We had a little lunch with our tasting.  

The place also hosts special events and weddings at this location.  The great hall is perfect for a big reception or party.

The grounds were perfect for photographing the bride and groom and anyone else who was there to celebrate.  

Next week I'll show you what else we found at Abbey Road Farm.

A Surprise Artistic Adventure

 

We arrived in Oregon last week the day before our event began so we had some time to do some exploring.  Dave had seen an ad on the back of guide for an art gallery belonging to an artist named Erin Hanson and the paintings shown looked beautiful so we decided to go there.  Dave put the address into the GPS and we set off in search of this gallery.  We kept getting further and further away from the city center until we arrived at a new industrial center where the gallery was located.  We commented to each other that it seemed like an unusual spot for a gallery.  Entering we could see that it clearly was a gallery and we proceeded to enjoy the paintings.

The artist has an impressionist style that was very appealing and each painting had its own natural appeal.  

I rounded a corner and found this example of an artwork guide showing an original oil painting, a 3D replica of the painting and a stretched canvas print of the same painting.  

I walked into another room that looked a bit like an office and was greeted by the gallery manager.  She told us a little about the artist, Erin Hanson and told us that this facility is her studio where she paints and where she creates reproductions of her paintings.  

Erin's unique style of painting is known as "Open Impressionism" and I must say, the works were very attractive.  

The gallery manager took us on tour of the facility.  I snapped this photo of her studio showing a painting she was currently working on.  We saw a dark room with the biggest scanner I've ever seen.  That is where the original oil painting is scanned.  In another room we saw a huge 3D printer where the 3D prints are placed on canvases.  In addition to that, we saw the shipping room where canvases are stretched, framed and packaged for shipping to clients all over the world.  It was quite an operation and I had never seen anything like it before.

At the end of the tour, she gave each of us a beautiful gift bag with one of her paintings on the side and filled with a variety of publications.  Two of the magazines were about her work specifically and the others were art magazines in which her works were featured.  

The artist has this studio where she works and a gallery in Carmel-by-the-Sea (California) and we learned that she will soon have a gallery in Scottsdale.  I will look forward to going there when it opens.  

What a nice surprise this was.  Not only did we get to see some wonderful works of art, we also got to learn how print replicas are made.  And we got to see the equipment it takes to do that work.  It was fascinating.