The Matheson, Healdsburg

A suite of eight large paintings unite as a mural that elegantly surrounds wine country visitors when they enter the esteemed Matheson Restaurant in Healdsburg, California. Newly seated in Healdsburg’s downtown square, this restaurant, inspired by Chef Dustin Valette, has instantly become a famous destination.

The Matheson series is about the hands of labor. The muscle, the craft, touch, time, and sweat. It is about what happens in the space between the seed and the table, between the tree and the barrel, between the vine and the bottle. It is a sacred, invisible space - the ritual of the harvest, the pluck of ripe fruit, the building of the cask, the loading of the bins, and the kneading of the bread.

These paintings are an effort to pay tribute to those whose work tethers our world. To give dignity to who and what precedes the ritual of sharing a meal, to tip a hat to who and what precedes the celebration of tilting a glass. They are the makers, the craftsmen and the harvesters. Their presence and performance is most essential.

For what is more essential than family and friends gathering at a table, sharing a feast made fresh with love, honoring each other and all the hands that build us and bring us together.