An Ode to Wine

I tasted a wine that delighted me. Not too far from our studio, located atop the Santa Cruz mountains, is a gorgeous winery retreat that over looks the valley (Thomas Fogarty). I was tickled by their 2007 Estate Grown Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir. It has a unique element of spice and light tannins yet is so delicate and fruity. This pinot is truly recognizable and distinct, and we snatched up two bottles and will undeniably go back for more. Easily drinkable on its own - it was a beautiful find.

Thomas Fogarty Winery was started by a Stanford cardiovascular surgeon and has one of the most enormous and fantastic views of the valley. The drive to this spot is windy and serene. We had a picnic here and relished the gorgeous views of the vineyards, the valley and the bay.

Remember this wine! Thomas Fogarty 2007 Estate Grown Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir

Photons, waves and psychology, oh my! Color and your mural.

Color is complicated, there's no doubt about it. We all studied color and light waves in grade school. Color can change in virtually every situation, and what may look red at night may look magenta in the morning hours. Your upbringing and the country you were born in may influence your ability to see different colors.

Color is dependent on 3 participants: a light source, an object and an observer (you). If any one of these changes, the color may look different. Viewing conditions (daylight, incandescent lightbulb or fluorescent as well as the colors that surround the color you're judging) are all important when viewing color. However, when viewing images on a monitor, we must understand phosphors and what they mean to the color that appears.

What is a phosphor?

A phosphor is a chemical and mineral compound that emits light when struck by a beam of electrons. Your monitor contains thousands.

How can phosphors represent color differently?

The type of phosphors used, their age, characteristics of the monitor (ie brand, brightness, etc.) can influence the color that your monitor produces. Color can vary on screen by all these variables, and we match the prints to our own monitors.

Although color is different on every single monitor, this doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to receive a print that's far off the mark. Exact colors are extremely difficult to match when the color sources are different (print versus screen, etc.) so if you're trying to make an exact match, we do offer samples of any image that we offer on the website. Call us for details.