Umpqua Valley Winegrowers Association Chooses Sandi Whetzel's Painting, "...and Let There Be Wine!" to promote the 2011 Greatest of the Grape Event

"...and Let There Be Wine!" 30x24 acrylic ©Sandi Whetzel
Originally uploaded by sandiwhetzel
I envisioned the concept for this painting to reflect the fertile valleys, rivers and vineyards that abound in the Umpqua valleys here in Oregon. I imagined the huge goblet suspended in a rose-colored atmosphere. I enjoyed directing the heavenly wine streaming from the bottle down into the goblet. The force of the wine landing in the bowl of the goblet caused the flow of the wine to separate; swirling up both sides of the glass simultaneously and then rippling back down again as the wine continued to pour. This energetic movement of the wine resembles terrain with lush vegetation on both sides of the goblet. A river gently cuts through the wine and the vineyards on the three hills spring forth.

I had no idea what I would title the painting until it was finished. Then it reminded me of the firmament at the time of creation when God said, "and let there be light" and there was light, and it was good. After he separated the water from the firmament and brought forth land and vegetation he might have said, "... and Let There Be Wine!"

The painting was created to compete in a contest for a new logo for the Umpqua Valley Winegrowers Association. The Winegrowers liked the painting and the title so well that they decided to use the image and it's title for the theme of the 2011 "Greatest of the Grape" event. The image of my painting appears on posters all over the county. The organization ordered a high quality giclee reproduction of the painting to be auctioned off to the highest bidder at the event, March 5th. This is the second time that organization has used my art to promote their annual event. The first time was in 2006 when they chose my painting, "Uplifting Spirits" to illustrate their theme of "Over 100 Cork Poppin' Years."