December event to benefit Mt. Konocti fundraising efforts

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LAKE COUNTY – Lake County artist Renee Geare will hold a sneak preview showing of her oil painting project, 100 “Views of Mount Konocti,” at Lake County Wine Studio in Upper Lake throughout the month of December as part of a benefit to support the county's purchase of more than 1,500 acres on the mountain.


The show will open on Friday, Dec. 5, with refreshments and live entertainment from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The studio also will have live entertainment on Saturday, Dec. 6, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.


A proud and active member of the California Art Club, Oil Painters of America, Lake County Arts Council, and the Konocti Plein Air Painters, Geare has studied art privately and in small groups with renowned artists Rafael Maniago, Margot Lennartz, and Junn Roca. She is most influenced by Edgar Payne and the early California impressionists.


Geare’s passionate expressions of life in Lake County are of museum-quality. One of her paintings hangs in the Naval Historical Museum in Washington D.C.


The project theme coincides with the current efforts by Lake County to acquire 1,520 acres on top of Mount Konocti. The acquisition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, encompassing all four peaks, and putting much of the mountain into public hands for perpetuity. The goal is to raise $2.6 million by September 2009.


In enthusiastic support of the project, Geare and Lake County Wine Studio will donate a 20 percent portion of the sales to help preserve Mount Konocti as open space. Informative materials about the acquisition effort will be available at the Studio and also can be seen online at

www.PreserveKonocti.org.


Live entertainment will be provided by Blue Collar, a band comprised of Lake County musicians Carl Stewart on vocals and guitar, Bill Bordisso on accordion and saxophone, and Joe Geare on stand-up bass.


Wine tasting and paired appetizers will be available both days for $5 with a portion of proceeds donated by Lake County Wine Studio toward the acquisition of Mount Konocti.


Friday’s event will feature Zoom Wines’ 2006 “Top of Konocti” Zinfandel with winemaker, Matt Hughes. The organic zinfandel grapes for this release are from the Fowler vineyard on top of Mount Konocti.


Saturday will feature Sol Rouge’s Lake County wines with winemaker, Bryan Kane. Highlights will be the 2007 Gypsy Blanc and 2006 Syrah, with the 2007 Rosé, 2006 Gypsy, 2006 Grenache, and 2006 Cabernet also available. Sol Rouge is nestled on base slopes of Mount Konocti.


Lake County Wine Studio is located on the corner of First and Main Streets in historic Upper Lake, across from the famous Tallman Hotel and Blue Wing Saloon and Café.


For more information, call Susan Feiler at 293-8752 or 275-8030.


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