"Red wagons, red cars," said Diane Borsini-Burr, owner of Borsini-Burr Galleries in Half Moon Bay. "It was just the thing he was into at the time."
One day, she said, he was in a restaurant busy on a painting of red wine. Someone wanted to buy it. For Arvid, a new world opened up.
 Artist Thomas Arvid brings wine alive in paintings like this one, 'Red & White Table.' |
Arvid, lives with his wife and two young sons in Atlanta but he's known in Half Moon Bay: His work has been carried at Borsini-Burr Galleries since it opened.
Arvid's second visit to that gallery is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 28. From 5 to 8 p.m., the gallery will hold a reception with hors d'oeuvres and some surprises, including "some really rare pieces that haven't been available for at least four to five years," Borsini-Burr said.
When Arvid found art floating in a vintage, the fruits of the vine became fruits of the brush for him.
In 2001, in the annual International Artexpo in New York City, Arvid sold all of his work. Next year, wine dominated the show's art. He'd touched a nerve.
He likens painting to wine-making. "You can't make wine in a day, same thing with art," he is quoted as saying in his book. "You can't catch the subtleness, the contrasting elements, in one day ... My paintings are a long-term process."
He does that in his studio and in the field. "He spends a lot of time in the Napa valley, at wineries, to paint their wine," Borsini-Burr said.
He paints from above his subject. "He looks at wine the way you look at it, from the table, down," said Borsini-Burr. "People think they're photographs. But they're very much richer."
Bringing a well-established artist to this small area is rich too, she said, not just for the public.
First of all, because Arvid is "a real sweetheart." And, "Half Moon Bay is so beautiful, it's a real enticement to them to stay and look around. It's an opportunity to get away from their easels and enjoy."
Borsini-Burr Galleries, at 2225 and 235 Main St. in Half Moon Bay, can be reached at 712-2111.
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