UPPER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County Wine Studio is hosting a wine release party and artist show event with Stephen Dilley of Lavender Blue Wines and artist Diana Constable on Friday, Aug. 1, and Saturday, Aug. 2.

The show runs from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday and 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday.

The $12.50 ($10/per person for studio club members) wine sampler and appetizers will showcase Lavender Blue Viognier with a pasta and seafood salad, Cabernet Sauvignon with Farmhouse White Cheddar, Petite Sirah with Chévre, bacon, caramelized onion and sweet cherries in Phyllo shell and the Tawny Syrah with dark chocolate and Marcona almond bark.

Known for her colorful and impressionistic paintings, Diana Constable has been painting all of her life, starting in oils and learning to paint like the old masters.

She now works with acrylics as they give her much more flexibility and allow her to experiment with bold, vibrant colors.  

Relating to the 19th and early 20th century painters such as Matisse, Van Gogh, Vlaminck and Monet, she paints with a vivid palette and brusque brushwork recalling both Fauvist and Impressionistic traditions.

Constable majored in art at the University of Illinois and Texas Woman's University. She moved to California in 1980 and continued her painting education at the College of Marin and studied under several well-known artists in the Sonoma/Marin area, and also traveled abroad to attend painting workshops in Southern France and the Italian Riviera.

After achieving success as a horticulturalist and in telecommunication sales in the eastern U.S., Stephen Dilley moved to California to earn his professional certificate in winemaking at Fresno State University and established his business in Lake County to make fine wines.

Citing the uniquely different and exceptional growing conditions for wine grapes in Lake County, Stephen enjoys working with wine grapes from the area's various microclimates and sub-appellations.

Lake County Wine Studio is a gallery for display of arts and a tasting room, wine bar and retail shop for the fine wines of Lake County. Artist's shows are held on a monthly basis with art and wine receptions held the first Friday and subsequent Saturday of each month.

The gallery is located at 9505 Main St. in Upper Lake. It is open Monday from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 7 p.m.; and Friday, from 1 to 8 p.m.

The Constable art show will be on display for the full month of August.

For more information call Lake County Wine Studio at 707-275-8030.