Sam Maloof Gardens

Today I painted at the Sam Maloof Gardens in Upland, Ca. What a day! The Plein Air Artists of Riverside have been asked to paint the gardens every Thursday and Sat. for the next 6 weeks. The gardens are in full bloom. We will have an exhibit of the paintings from the gardens in Sept. at the new Sam Maloof Gallery which is on the property. Please click on the link to see and read more about this wonderful and talented master woodworker and his late wife who have put together this treasure for all of us to enjoy. Maloof Foundation This will be such an honor for our group to be able to show our work in their new gallery, stay tuned for dates and reception date.

When I first arrived at the garden I went into the gift shop to let them know I was there. The docent was very excited that we were back again. I walked around the whole garden and thought I had found a place to start painting. I went back to my car to get my gear and started down the path. I looked to my right and saw this curious path and wanted to see where it would lead. As I walked down the path I came to the most beautiful sight of color. The flowers were blooming, red, purple, yellow , orange, pink - just a terrific sight and I knew this would have to be my first painting from Sam Maloof. You could stop and paint any place on the grounds and come up with a beautiful painting, but what I liked most about this spot was looking up the path to a mystery setting with the beautiful mountains in the background.

It was quite cool when I arrived and I set up in the shade under this big tree. We were expecting it to warm up, but I was quite comfortable in my hoodie and left it on all day. After completing my first painting I walked over to talk to one of the other painters (Ginger Pena), and spotted this beautiful arrangement of Iris's. They were the most beautiful color of purple, more like a periwinkle. Just gorgeous. I am not sure I did them justice in this little 5 x 7 gem, but it did turn out to be a nice painting. I just know the color I was trying to get is not there, I would like to give it one more try before they are gone. When I got home I noticed the exact color of the iris's was in the larger painting. You can see it on the right side of the path. That is the color the iris's should be in the painting below. Well better luck next time. Enjoy the ART. Terry