On a bright October afternoon I headed out along the back roads from Sebastopol towards Lake Sonoma in order to collect photographic material for a series of paintings. Clouds were blowing across the sky and the sun was low, making bright warm spots between the cloud shadows. I drove slowly, stopping frequently to take pictures and becoming totally enthralled by the beauty of the scenery, and the light effects of the sun on the golden vineyards and the dark hills.    

The drive out to Dry Creek Valley is a favourite trip for my husband and me, but we usually go to the valley by a different route and return along Westside Road to home. This time I travelled in the opposite direction, taking Wohler Road and then Westside Road. Eventually I became disoriented and no longer recognized my surroundings and realized I must have missed a turn (or made a wrong turn) and I no longer knew where I was. I had only a few pictures left in my camera and decided to turn back when the film was finished, and watch carefully so that I would know how to return here. I was eager to get home and tell my husband of this absolutely wonderful place I had discovered. However, when I did turn to retrace my route, I immediately knew it was the road on which we always travelled! I had become so completely engrossed in the scenery and light of that special afternoon that the road had seemed totally unfamiliar, and I felt as if I had visited a magical place.    

Working on the paintings in my studio throughout the following winter, I had the joy of revisiting that magic place in my mind. My goal was to express that delight in the paintings.