This gorgeous photo of a painting by Livermore artist Nova Starling got me very excited about seeing her show at Wente Vineyards Estate Winery in Livermore. It’s called “Livermore Vines” and it is an abstract landscape painting of the Livermore Valley. I have seen a bunch of paintings of the valley - I grew up there - but Starling’s work just seemed to stand out by this one photo, so I went to the winery to check out more.

Unfortunately, I went to the wrong place at first! I went to the massive Wente restaurant off Arroyo rather than the Wente Vineyards at 5565 Tesla Road.

When I finally found the right place, I was delighted with what I saw showing on the walls.

Bright bursts of orange, purple and greens in the painting “Winter Vines” warmed me up on this cold December day. The purples, pinks white and greens in “Sycamore” were cheery and delightful.

Starling says she likes to hike early in the morning or at dusk to photograph local vineyards in their best light. She uses these photographs as inspiration for the final paintings. She says she likes to push the colors so she can feel the same sense of wonder that she felt when she first saw the scene.

Starling, a graduate of UC Berkeley School of Environmental Design Masters Program with an emphasis on Applied (Functional) Arts, doesn’t limit herself to landscape paintings, although many of the works in the show are landscapes. She also does realistic and surreal works.

I enjoyed gazing upon her realistic work called “Egrets at Daybreak” and musing about the clouds reflected in the water in the “Being Koi” print.

If you’d like to go see the works, the winery is open between 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. daily. You can meet Starling at her reception Sunday, Dec. 14 between 1 and 3 p.m. The show will be up through Jan. 28.