LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio is hosting a wine tasting event featuring the Lake County wine releases from Thorn Hill Vineyards, and artist reception with watercolors on silk and prints by John R. Clarke on Friday, Sept. 7, and Saturday, Sept. 8.

The event will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 7 and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 8.

Musical entertainment during the evening receptions will be acoustic guitarist Stephen Holland, with guests Travis Rinker and Jim Leonardis.

Artist John R. Clarke is known by many in Lake County as an anesthesiologist, but he’s also an artist who each year creates an original painting for the Lake County Wine Alliance to be auctioned off at the annual event as well as reproduced as poster prints for sale and publicity.

Clarke’s colorful paintings on silk celebrate scenes of people, animals and beauty on planet earth, many of which feature Lake County.

Clarke began his art career at age 5, making toys for his brothers and sisters. Being one of nine children in a family where toys were a rare luxury, he created his own array of playthings. Using discarded machinery, wood, electrical parts, nut shells and anything else at hand which could be transformed, he created dolls, trains, horses and other toys.

A talent for drawing and painting emerged in elementary school and Clarke’s teachers put him in charge of art projects to display these talents.

After a brief sojourn into music, his interests returned to the visual arts and he spent several years creating in oils, watercolor, pen and ink, and sculpture in stained glass.

Discovering silk as a medium afforded Clarke a combination of the previous options with improvements.

“I enjoy the behavior of the paints on silk as water color, but, with the brilliancy of oils,” he said. “The fabric can take on the look of stained glass without the sharp edges. I begin with the idea for an image and throw, brush, or scatter paint onto newly stretched silk with the rough image in mind. The more chaotic the arrangement the better. I overlay this chaos with the order of my image, just as one creates a garden by structuring the chaos of nature. One places certain flowers here, does some weeding there. I allow accidents to happen with both line and color to learn what may be possible despite my plan. When my mind and eyes see what they like, I stop.”

He added, “The Zen master Shunryu Suzuki said, ‘In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities but in the expert’s there are few.’ I try to keep this idea in mind when I paint in silk – new, fresh, endless possibilities. Not an expert controlling my image, its completion, or what it says to a viewer. I let the arrow fly from the bow. Where it goes it goes. The image and its creation come from my heart. I hope my eyes and hands have been good messengers.”
 
Signed poster prints of Clarke’s beautiful painting of Brassfield Estate for the 2012 Wine Alliance Auction event will be available for sale during the receptions and throughout the month.

Located in the diverse micro climate of the Red Hills, Thorn Hill Vineyards covers 50 gently sloping acres within a mountainous terrain where elevations range from 1,400 to 3,000 feet above sea level with cooling afternoon breezes.

Owners Jack and Amy Thorn searched more than a decade to find the perfect location for the Thorn’s family winery before choosing the Red Hills in Lake County.

The Thorns were attracted to the Red Hills Appellation because of its ideal conditions for growing Cabernet Sauvignon grapes – rich, shallow volcanic soils from neighboring Mt. Konocti produce compact berries with powerful flavor.

Three general soil types predominate: Glenview-Bottle Rock-Arrowhead, Konocti-Benridge, and Collayomi-Aiken. The shallow depth and rich mineral content of the soils create an ideal environment for growing premium grapes. The trace minerals apparent in the volcanic soils lend earthy or flinty notes that add complexity to the wine.

Red Hills appellation benefits from a unique diurnal temperature pattern, with hot days tempered by afternoon winds that can cool nighttime temperatures by as much as 50 degrees.

During the growing season daytime temperatures easily reach 90 degrees and above, but cool down each afternoon from breezes created by the sloping elevation changes around Mount Konocti and offshore winds from Clear Lake.

The hot days nudge grapes to achieve full flavor and optimal ripeness, whereas the cool nights help preserve the acidity of the grapes and enhance the balance and complexity of the fruit.

Winemaker Amy Thorn focuses on small production, single vineyard wines from properties that are the most distinctive in their appellation.

She personally oversees each varietal’s production and strives to create full bodied, intensely flavored, richly textured wines of structure, depth and balance that reflect the specific qualities of each vineyard site.

The grapes are harvested and sorted by hand, allowing them to go through primary and secondary (malolactic) fermentation. “The greatest gift you can give as a winemaker is to create a bottle of wine that is the purest expression of each varietal, a wine that is a combination of nature and nurture, resulting in a vintage which represents a union between the fruit of the vine, richness of the earth and the passion of the winemaker,” she said.

The $12.50 ($10/per person for studio club members) wine sampler with paired appetizers will feature Pinot Grigio with basil and Chevré scones, Sauvignon Blanc with papaya relish on rice crackers and Red Hills Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon with pork tenderloin and raspberry vinaigrette. Appetizers are by Cache Creek Catering.

There is no charge to those who wish to view the artwork and meet the artists without partaking of the food and wine. Reservations are not required.

Lake County Wine Studio is both a gallery for display of arts and a tasting room, wine bar and retail shop for the fine wines of Lake County.

Artists’ shows are held on a monthly basis with art and wine receptions held the first Friday and subsequent Saturday of each month.

The gallery is located at 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake. It is open Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The Clarke art show will be on display for the full month of September.

For more information call Lake County Wine Studio at 707-275-8030.