In the years following World War II and into the Cold War era, an edge of existential uncertainty clouded the collective American mind in a way that it hadn’t before. Then along came a sprightly, witty, self-assured but humble old lady who painted cheerful scenes...
Years ago, I was lured to Walla Walla, Washington, by its emerging national profile as a worthy wine region. It was a fine day trekking through vineyards with visionary producers and tasting mostly reds at L’Ecole No. 41, Pepper Bridge Winery, Seven Hills Winery, Dunham...
“I never like the way our buildings are photographed,” says Kevin Alter, founder of Alterstudio based in Austin, Texas. “Architectural photography is mostly trying to describe a form. You never get a sense of how a room is sculpted by the way light comes into...
Turquoise Canyon Executive Chair by Great Blue Heron Furniture Sitting in the lap of luxury might describe how one feels when lounging in this bright turquoise executive chair. Top-grade leather covers its cushion of faux down and high-density foam, allowing one to sink into comfort. Set...
You don’t have to live in California to know that America’s love affair with wine has blossomed into a serious relationship. We drank 805 million gallons of it in 2018, according to the Wine Institute of America, more than we’ve consumed in any year since...
In an era of same-day package deliveries and instantaneous texting, taking it slow seems counterintuitive. However, the region hugging California’s Central Coast delivers a sublime “relax-cation” where everyone agrees that going SLO (as in the initials of San Luis Obispo County) is vital for well-being....
LIVING PART-TIME ON A RANCH FOREVER changed the lives of art collectors Ray Harvey and his wife Kay. With a permanent residence in Tennessee, Harvey first fell in love with the West while hunting elk in Colorado. Consequently, the couple purchased a ranch near Chromo...
ARTIST JOSEPH McGURL CREATES PAINTINGS that are brilliant flights of his imagination. He doesn’t replicate nature’s landscapes; he inspires with masterful compositions that spring from decades of outdoor observations and experiences. Each painting tells an eloquent, emotional truth about the natural world. As Ralph Waldo...
DESPITE HAVING LIVED THE PAST FOUR DECADES in New York, John Alexander (b. 1945) still speaks with the gentle, rolling cadence of a well-heeled Southerner as he tells stories of his father, and of growing up in Beaumont, Texas. He recalls camping and fishing the...
IN SALT LAKE CITY, ARCHITECT HANK LOUIS designed a home inspired by the owners’ distinctive strengths. He joined two wings made from different materials; stretching from a central apex, they unfold in height and breadth. Concrete, standing seam metal, and tall disappearing glass doors form...