I had the honor of collaborating with Jesse Tombs and Christina Mcneill who hosted a springtime dinner at promontory for 45 industry leaders across the country. Jesse's vision was so innovative and original and did so much to inspire my contributions to the event. The entry point to the design for me was expressive painting and mark making and how that related to the wild branches, vegetation and bursting energy of spring. When I had gone on a site visit at Promontory, I was struck by a large black and white photo of the land ( middle left on the moodboard). I saw a connection between this photo and the expressive, wild energy in Jesse’s moodboard, so I ran with it.

My natural painting style is tight snd realistic and I needed to loosen up. I decided to explore mono printing… mark making on plexiglass plates, sending it through the press and seeing what happened. Then I began painting into it w watercolor, drawing into it w pen and eventually came up with the painting used for the pocket envelope. I liked that the image referenced Promontory without being the obvious vineyard painting and also captured that wild expressive energy we were trying create for the event.

I carried the mono printing technique through to the menus but in a very different way. This time I used actual pressed flowers to create the abstract forms that emerged in the layers of ink.

Creating for this project was a journey… I didn’t have a plan but allowed myself to explore and play. Ultimately that was the nugget Jesse’s mood board provided me with: be an artist and surrender to the process of creating.

A spring dinner at Promontory

Promontory
napa, california

Promontory //napa california

I had the honor of collaborating with Jesse Tombs and Christina Mcneill who hosted a springtime dinner at promontory for 45 industry leaders across the country. Jesse's vision was so innovative and original and did so much to inspire my contributions to the event. The entry point to the design for me was expressive painting and mark making and how that related to the wild branches, vegetation and bursting energy of spring. When I had gone on a site visit at Promontory, I was struck by a large black and white photo of the land ( middle left on the moodboard). I saw a connection between this photo and the expressive, wild energy in Jesse’s moodboard, so I ran with it.

My natural painting style is tight snd realistic and I needed to loosen up. I decided to explore mono printing… mark making on plexiglass plates, sending it through the press and seeing what happened. Then I began painting into it w watercolor, drawing into it w pen and eventually came up with the painting used for the pocket envelope. I liked that the image referenced Promontory without being the obvious vineyard painting and also captured that wild expressive energy we were trying create for the event.

I carried the mono printing technique through to the menus but in a very different way. This time I used actual pressed flowers to create the abstract forms that emerged in the layers of ink.

Creating for this project was a journey… I didn’t have a plan but allowed myself to explore and play. Ultimately that was the nugget Jesse’s mood board provided me with: be an artist and surrender to the process of creating.

Creative Partners

Planning: Jesse Tombs 
Photography: Christina McNeill
Catering: The Charter Oak
Venue & Wine: Promontory Wine
Rentals: Found Rental Co./The Arc
Paper: Elsa Madeline Design
Florals: Rachel Riser
 Entertainment:Dart Collective
Hotel: Meadowood Napa Valley 
Transportation: Gateway Global

Event Planning & Design: Jesse Tombs // Photography: Christina McNeill // Floral Design: Rachel Riser
Custom Furniture + Decor: Found Rental Co // Paper & Branding: Elsa Madeline Design // Specialty Tabletop: The Ark
Catering: The Charter Oak // Venue & Wine: Promontory wine // Transportation: Gateway Global
Hotel: Meadowood Napa Valley // Entertainment: Dart Collective