Toluma Farm 2012

April 29, 2012
Our group had the pleasure of warm, sunny skies and a summer-like day at Toluma Farms, Tomales.

"Goat Love" by C.Proppé © 2012

Toluma Farms is a Marin County (Tomales) family owned Grade A dairy and organic farm, just twenty minutes west of Petaluma.  They are developing a line of fine artisan hand crafted goat cheeses.  In addition, Toluma supplies goat milk to Redwood Hill Farms of Sonoma County.   An interesting fact about goat milk is that worldwide, more people drink goat's milk than cow's milk. Toluma's goat’s milk, like any good goat’s milk, has a delicious slightly sweet taste. The goats are milked twice a day and produce a gallon of milk each day which translates into one pound of cheese.  They can identify every one of the 200 goats by name! They have Nubian, Saanen, Alpine, La Manchas and Oberhaslis goats at Toluma Farms.

I arrived mid-day to put up our sign and several artists had already arrived and began painting plein air.  Donna Solin, Catherine Moreno, and Daphne Gerlach were well on their way already.  See photos, below.

The start of a barn painting, by Donna Solin.

Mill Valley artist, Catherine Moreno, beginning a painting of the largest barn.

Goat tries to nibble Daphne Gerlach's supplies.

This goat had a LOT of character!

 

The goats were so friendly.  They paraded down a trail to meet me and my sons, and the other artists.  This is when I learned from Eric Butler, Herd Manager, that they all had very cool names.  This is a beautiful farm, not far from Dillon Beach.  My family ended up at the beach this day, but I am so glad we got to come out and photograph and see the other artists hard at work and enjoying the gorgeous views.  Hopefully, some of the paintings and photographs from today will end up at our year end exhibits that bring funds back to the farmers.

Beautiful, late afternoon light on the new barn, goats + sheep.  C.Proppé©

Art on the Farm Weekly... Fresh Run Farm

At Fresh Run Farm, owned by Peter Martinelli, beets, kale, collards, and chard grow alongside flowers, strawberries and potatoes on two bowl-shaped plots ringed by wild blackberry bushes. These bushes are heavy with fruit by midsummer and become just another of the many products that Peter purveys. There are also chickens, goats, plenty of dogs and even a few alpacas on the farm. In addition to growing over 40 kinds of fruit, vegetables and flowers, Peter also collects nettles, mushrooms, watercress and other treats from the wild.

Tractor with Goats
Originally uploaded by cproppe

Sunday, September 14, 2008

I drove out to Bolinas Sunday morning just in time to catch Peter Martinelli, driving off to a family reunion. He welcomed the artists to his farm in a secluded spot off Horseshoe Hill Road. I was greeted first by the sheep on the way in, and over the hill was a large field, full of colors of the season.




The sunflowers were definitely the most photogenic , but the goats win for friendliest. It was a nice day, and I visited with Larry Bryson, this year's Art on the Farm organizer, before several other artists arrived in the afternoon, including Maude from Bolinas, with her well-loved artist chair. Sorry I don't have a photo of that rusty relic, but it was quite charming.

To view my photostream from Fresh Run Farm, click here


To contact Peter at the Farm:

Fresh Run Farm
Peter Martinelli
P.O. Box 237
Bolinas, CA 94924
email

Art on the Farm Weekly... Clark Summit Farm

Sunday, August 24, 2008


The Art on the Farm group ventured out to Tomales for the day, and were greeted by the most friendly farm animals yet. Clark Summit Farms boasts "twin" dogs, and goats, coming right up to say hello, and some rolling over right away for a belly scratch.

There were baby pigs in all different colors.

A plethora of chickens were dancing around and jumping on top of a bright blue bathtub at the top of the hill, overlooking the valley.

There were many different old barns of all different shapes and sizes. The painters settled right in and the animals roamed around us, often coming over to check on our work. I met a new artist this week, Dianne Hull (pictured below), and she had a very nice painting in progress by the time the wind drove me down the hill. I am including some photos of the artists and farm residents at work, and many of the great animals at Clark Summit.



To view more of my favorite shots from this outing, click here.