Now Showing,
Jack Stuppin: Songs of the Earth, the Joy of Color

Jack Stuppin's
Elephant Mountain

Jack Stuppin Exhibition,
"Songs of the Earth"
The Joy of Color

Jack Stuppin's friends will tell you he is a force of nature, but the message contained in his paintings is that all of us are. The landscape is not an objective thing apart from us. Jack wants us to know we are part of it in all its power and its joyful majesty.. It is within us.

Jack is well read and contemplative, He expresses himself with positive exuberant confidence and joy. His painting is the embodiment of his spirit. He has always

been thrilled with color which lead to studies in art and painting. Like all artists, Jack begins with the daunting task of facing a blank canvas, but then designs his landscape compositions with a sense of mission. He is knowledgable of how color affects the conscious and subconscious mind, and employs this understanding as he infuses his artistic expressions with color.

The underlying philosophy of Jack Stuppin's approach to landscape painting is well capsulated in a phrase from Walt Whitman's Songs of the Rolling Earth,
"The substantial words are in the ground and sea, They are in the air, they are in you."

Through his painting, Jack Stuppin responds to the vibrancy and life all around him, the landscape, the land, sea and air. With his understanding of the painting art, the science of color and how it is perceived, Jack seeks to express and share his joy in the sustaining power and majesty of the landscape. People are more than the sum of their parts, they are part of

This exhibition includes all twelve scenes from Pomegranate Communications 2013 Calendar of Jack Stuppin's work. Each of the twelve images is offered as a framed "one of three" limited edition pigment print on canvas. Unframed images are also available, printed on "color elegance platinum rag," each signed and numbered in a limited edition run of 12. . All works are accompanied with artist signed certificates of authenticity.

Of course, the 2013 Pomegranate Communications 2013 Songs of the Earth Calendar and greeting cards are available for sale.

Today, Josh is best known as a major pioneer in effects animation. His son Phil often abbreviated Josh's accomplishments by saying "Josh was the one who put the fairy dust in Tinkerbell and the "Z" in Zorro." But he was much more than that. Whether the bubbling lava in the Rite of Spring section of Fantasia, the soap bubbles sequence in Cinderella, the water scenes in Dumbo or the  Monstro chase sequence in Pinocchio, Josh would find ways to enable challenging artistic ideas into Disney animation. In the mid 1950's, Walt loaned Josh to MGM Studios to do special effects animation for their sci-fi blockbuster and now genre classic, Forbidden Planet.

As a high school student in the late 1920's, Josh was a top-notch student and athlete. He impressed many people and was honored with an appointment to the Naval Academy. But with extraordinary courage, he informed his father that he wanted to study art instead. To his father's credit, he accompanied Josh to Chicago where Josh's portfolio gained him admission into the prestigious Art Institute. After graduating cum laude, Walt Disney hired him. Libby and Josh made their way to California to embark on an exciting thirty-year long career, participating in all the major Disney films of that early era.

Joshua Meador participates in 4 Artists Paint 1 Tree.
This Disney short film was produced and broadcast as part of
Walt Disney's Sunday night television episode entitled,
Adventures in Art, broadcast in April of 1958.
It is introduced and narrated by Walt Disney,

The paintings below were done in Sonoma County in the late 1940's and early 1950's. The Meador family vacationed here because Josh enjoyed all the opportunities Sonoma County offered for scenic plein air painting. All of the Sonoma County paintings which are still available will be on display at the gallery during July and August. The ones marked "private collection," are paintings we have sold.

Bodega Dock show's Merideth Wharf as it looked in better days, unloading the catch of local fishermen. Today, this vintage structure is dissolving from its pilings, the effect of weather and neglect. (Private Collection)

Rainy Day is a scene on the road leading out of the town of Bodega. The vantage point Josh had for this painting was atop the Bodega General Store.

Bodega Pier is just what its name suggests, a pier somewhere on the inner bay, with empty wooden rowboats, towards sunset.

Rainy Day (Bodega), Available, on view at the gallery
(This painting appears to have been done plein air from atop of today's Bodega Country Store.)
Local Bodega residents recall the farmhouse which is no longer standing.

Inner Harbor shows assorted sailboats and fishing boats at rest in a classic circular composition.

Captain Vallejo's Casa is the home of General Vallejo's older brother who was the leader of the Mission Sonoma's garrison. It still stands today as the Swiss Hotel on the square in downtown Sonoma, just a couple of doors down from the Sonoma Mission.

Castaway shows a boat, neglected and allowed to wind up on the mudflats of inner Bodega Harbor, seemingly cast away. (Private Collection)

Duncans Mills shows the town as it looked in the late 1940's. The building to the left still stands, although today it is painted red. The building which houses today's Cape Fear Restaurant has not yet been built.

Stewarts Point is just south of the Stewart's Point General Store. On a recent drive north, we noticed that parts of that old redwood fence are still standing. (Private Collection)

In Remote, a lonely fishing boat is at rest, secured by lines to unused pilings awaiting another day at sea. (Private Collection)

Windbreak is a recent acquisition for our gallery. As of yet, we've not determined the locale. It certainly has the look and feel of Sonoma or Mendocino Counties. To those with long memories,please let us know if you can identify its location.

Above the town of Bodega Bay is Bay Hill Road. From this scenic perch, Hitchcock filmed Tippi Hedren driving her Aston Martin into town. You can travel the same road today. But now there are trees in that gulch.

(Side notes ... Sean Connery debuted as James Bond in Dr. No the same year as The Birds, but his Aston Martin did not show up until the third James Bond film, Goldfinger in 1964. Also in 1964, Tippi starred with Sean Connery in Marnie.)

Hitchcock later jokingly said of The Birds that it was the scariest movie he had ever made. The joke was that he paid for its production with his own money and could have lost it all. Other risks facing Hitchcock were film's special effects which required a mix of live birds, mechanical birds, birds on strings, optically overlaid birds in flight, and birds appearing to be hacking away at children on the run. Add all that cinematic trickery along with the unrepealable fog, the film certainly had more than its fair share of uncertainty.

One of the most iconic gems in the film is the old Potter School house, in the town of Bodega, five miles south of Bodega Bay. In one of the film's most night-marishly memorable scenes, children are running from the school and down the street while under arial attack from flocks of crows and gulls. Using movie magic, the scene switches locale as the kids leave the school from Bodega Lane in Bodega to running toward the the bay down Taylor Street in Bodega Bay .

A movie secret is that close-ups of the kids running while nipping birds harassed them was done in studio with the children running on a treadmill with moving backdrops behind.

A couple of restaurant scenes, portions of the gas station fire, and the boat dock scenes were filmed at the Tides Wharf and Restaurant. The actual gas station fire was lighted in a parking lot at Universal Studios with a background mock up of Highway One and the Tides Wharf.

Since the film, The Tides Wharf was completely rebuilt in the 1990’s and is located across Highway One from the Visitors Center. But photos and some items in their souvenir shop pay homage to the seafood restaurant's famous Hollywood past.

The old ranch house in the film was located on Bay Flat Road. It was part of the Gafney ranch which was located on Bodega Head for nearly a hundred years. Exterior shots of the Brenner House appear in the film. The house has long since been demolished, but the cedar grove is still there and is visible from the Tides and Highway One. Today, the land is part of the UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory, and often proudly gets mentioned to visitors to the Marine Lab.

Hitch's Entrepreneurial Spirit lives on ... Bodega's new grocer, Michael Fahmie hoped to set up a quiet shop at the Bodega Country Store. His idea was to create a small town grocery with a specialized deli while enjoying the quiet life of West Sonoma County. But his plan for the quiet life has had to make an adjustment or two.

To serve the visiting movie fan tourists, Michael began featuring a few items of Hitchcock memorabilia, but he soon saw his idea take root. Even 50 years after the film was released, Hitchcock buffs pilgrimage to Bodega to be photographed in front of the Potter Schoolhouse. And with a little help, Michael draws these folks into his store.

What help you may ask? With some ingenious skills of persuasion, Michael has enlisted the aid of Alfred Hitchcock who now spends his days posing for fans outside Michael's store. This appealing invitation has caused many a curious driver to pull in. They often have their picture taken standing next to Sir Alfred and then stroll inside for a peek.

What's "in store" for them is Michael's growing Hitchcock museum. Aside from the souvenirs you'd expect, he has prints of Edith Head's costume concept sketches signed by the film's star Tippi Hedren and some of the films background props including two wall hangings from Suzanne Pleshette's humble teacher's home next to the school. He's working on adding a small attached theater with looping video of the film. Tippi Hedren has visited Michael and may stop by over Labor Day Weekend when she will be appearing at the Tides Wharf in Bodega Bay.

Michael's website is visited by film buffs world wide who send comments and stories and assist him in acquiring new items for his museum. He's been interviewed on TV (See Channel 5's Eye on the Bay above) and newspapers, and he is finding it more and more difficult to meld into the quiet life background. Visitors often leave with a souvenir, a taste of Michael's culinary magic from his lunch counter -- the Crab macaroni and cheese and his smoked crab chowder are local favorites. When in Bodega, be sure and stop in say Hi to Michael, but take care and watch overhead for an attack from above.

The town of Bodega will be be celebrating Bodega Big Event Sunday, August 3, 2012. In a fund raiser for the Bodega Volunteer Fire Department, there will be a parade down the main street, with a costume contest, BBQ, and live music from 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM. You can get more info on Michael's Website.

NEW WORKS are available from
Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery's
Watercolorist Jean Warren (NWS)

"The creative process blends structure with a flurry of passion and intuition."

"I use abstraction or fractured images to express the rhythms or movement that are inherent in the scene."

Stop in and enjoy Jean's paintings.

Jean's page on our website