Bonnie Welling draws on her love of the shoreline for her landscape paintings

Atherton resident Bonnie Welling has been an artist most of her life. It just took retirement from state government, where she held various management positions, for her to get more fully engaged with her long time interest. And, it’s not come without reward. Her painting, Dawn on Stevens Creek Shoreline, has been chosen by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District to appear on the back cover of its new book, Room to Breathe: The Wild Heart of the San Francisco Peninsula (below).

An avid hiker who subscribes to the MROSD’s newsletter, Bonnie read about the organization’s call for photographs and paintings of the various outdoor spaces it oversees. “I like to hike along the edge of the shoreline,” she says. “I love the birds and the water. Being there early in the morning, I’ve seen some beautiful sunrises. The painting that was chosen for the back cover is a compilation of five or so photos I took while walking.”

Bonnie, who paints with acrylics, is a member of the Menlo Art League and participated last year in the Atherton Art Show held annually at Holbrook Palmer Park (where she was photographed, top). “I spend a lot of time thinking about what I’m going to paint, which I do from photographs,” she says. “When taking photos, I look for different compositions, trying to find what’s interesting and unique.

“Then I often do smaller paintings, experimenting with color. I paint in an impressionist style and like to heighten the natural color. By the time I do the actual painting, I’m pretty sure about the direction I’m headed, thanks to the planning and thinking.”

Bonnie says she’s pretty “low tech” and doesn’t, as yet, have a website. But, she welcomes inquries about her paintings via email: blwgog@yahoo.com.

Photos courtesy of Bonnie Welling Parks