Art Auction - Santa Rosa, CA

March 30, 2007
Last Friday we went to an art auction at the Vinyard Creek Hyatt in Santa Rosa. I didn't expect to see such an amazing collection of artists. One of the events at the auction included a demonstration by artist Simon Bull. I was instantly drawn to his piece called "Gallaxy"

That's the painting there behind my date, the wonderful "Mr. Winters". It's of a huge plum. Simon was a charming guest at our table at one point, telling us about his artist life in Monterey. I was also intrigued by his painting of a chard leaf, this one has stunning light effects when you look at it up close.

Simon Bull gave a painting demonstration while talking about the artistic process, he was very inspirational! You can see more works by Simon Bull HERE.

The whole experience was fabulous, beautiful day in Santa Rosa, the hotel was lovely, the staff was exceptional and the other people attending the event were just so wonderful. We had a chance to dine with them on Friday night at the restaurant of chef "John Ash". Other intriguing guests included a dynamic couple from San Francisco, local wine producer from Santa Rosa and his wife the art collector, the museum photographer, who was also as inspirational as the other artists. He was happy to tell us all about his process, his camera and being the gallery photographer.

And then I was surprised to see this painting which should be in a museum, a Renoir worth close to a half a million dollars.

And then, to my surprise, among all these classics, was Peter Max. I've always been a really big fan of his.

And then, another artist I was really surprised to see was Salvador Dali. I have been interested in his life ever since grade school, I thought he was just so weird.



I can't say enough about the delicious food and exceptional wines like Merus and Heitz Cellars Martha's Vineyard Cabernet. Other artists at this event included Dürer, Rembrandt, Goya, Toulouse-Lautrec, Whistler, Chagall, Miro, Erte, and last but certainly not least was Picasso. Contemporary names besides Mr. Max included Tarkay, LeKinff, Bull, Krasnyansky, Fanch, Medvedev, Kipniss, and Neiman.