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Best Art Galleries On The Peninsula

The best art galleries on the Peninsula have glorious locations that are an inspiration and art in themselves, namely Half Moon Bay and its historic Main Street. If you love coastal beauty, you will find the artists who complement your interest with bucolic marinas and boats, crashing waves and regal forests with beams of sunlight streaming through redwoods. Peninsula galleries, from Belmont and Montara to Redwood City and San Mateo, feature local and international art in a wide range of expression with original charm. Mediums include painting, photography, glass, textiles, mixed media, jewelry, clay and printmaking. Looking for an outlet? Some artists demonstrate or teach with no experience necessary. If you want to relax further, one gallery offers live music and a wine bar while another is actually at a winery.
Pumpkin Glass
(credit: colquhounglassworks.com)

Half Moon Bay Art Glass
12341 San Mateo Road
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
(650) 283-5626
www.colquhounglassworks.com

Formerly known as Colquhoun Glass Works, Half Moon Bay Art Glass offers a unique display of glass in forms often unseen. The artist and owner of this gallery, Douglass C. Brown, is inspired by nature, orchids, vessels, fruits, vegetables, sea life and stars. Check out the gorgeous autumn colors on the pumpkins complete with curly-Q glass stems, ranging up to $130 a pop. A red, white and blue patriotic cactus runs $80 to $160, but would be a perfect addition for this upcoming Independence Day. Doug Brown runs a small studio at La Nebbia Winery where students can make a heart, paperweight, pumpkin, egg or flower for $40 with no experience necessary. He shows the student how to gather hot glass out of the furnace, shape it, color it and finally finish the piece, all for under $20. The gallery hosts a Father's day event planned for June 8-10th. Dad can choose from several projects to make, living out his ultimate pyro adventure.

Mike Bagdonas
Boats Out of Water by Mike Bagdonas (via coastsideart.com)

Coastside Art Gallery
330 Main St
Half Moon Bay, CA 94019
(650) 726-4460
www.CoastsideArt.com

If you like the coast, the Coastside Art Gallery features such beauty with boats, crashing waves, seabirds, the redwoods, hills, creeks and farm life. The gallery presents pastels, watercolors, gouache, oils and photography. One artist may paint boats in soft pastels with reflections on the still water, while another may paint glorious sunlight beaming through the forest at Tunitas or Purisima Creeks. Another might capture Garrapata Beach, Point Lobos, Pebble Beach or Pescadero Point. The gallery is in its third year but is already expanding to feature abstract and contemporary work. Come by for live music at the wine bar on Wednesday nights, a monthly talk and exhibit with an artist or an independent monthly chat on ideas, mediums and art in general.

Related: Bay Area's Best Art Walks

Spring Mountain Gallery
(credit: springmountaingallery.com)

Spring Mountain Gallery
790 Main St
Half Moon Bay, CA 94109
(650) 726-3025
www.springmountaingallery.com

If you like photography, Spring Mountain's Michael Wong from Pacifica shoots his hometown of Half Moon Bay and the peninsula with a native's eye. His wife Deb may shoot small-town faces, sailboats rigged with holiday lights, canoes on the shore or a pumpkin farm. Michael captures the ocean in action, from seaside blossoms in the morning to lighthouses, surfers, seabirds and sunsets. He's also a mountain climber and shoots snow-covered granite or pristine and still lakes from miles high. The gallery sells customized pieces and does a lot of business during the pumpkin festival. Stop in for the next addition to your collection.

The Main Gallery
(credit: themaingallery.org)

The Main Gallery
1018 Main St
Redwood City, CA 94063
(650) 701-1018
themaingallery.org

If you like seascapes, The Main Gallery presents the work of David Scouffas from May 30 through July 1st, and a poetry show with many artists runs through May 27. This is a fine arts-and-crafts gallery owned and run by its diverse member artists who often seem to exhibit down-to-earth charm, color and a folksy attitude. One member, potter Pixie Couch, makes functional stoneware and says she started with mud pies as a child at her grandmother's house in the Missouri Ozarks. Make your way through the gallery and check out Susan Wolf's clay horses and tropical fish. She's a teacher at the Palo Alto Art Center and the Peninsula School.

Peninsula Museum of Art
(credit: Peninsula Museum of Art/Facebook)

The Peninsula Art Museum
10 Twin Pines Lane
Belmont, CA 94002
(650) 654-4068
www.peninsulamuseum.org

The Peninsula Art Museum, located within the Twin Pines Art Center, celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge with a poster commissioned just for Twin Pines. Even the gallery building, a two-story Spanish Colonial building, has been praised for its beauty. The gallery won an award for green design. However, much of the gallery's beauty lies within its doors, offering an art reference library with 1,200 art books, a cafe and a sculpture garden. 

Related: Best Casual Art Classes In The Bay Area

Cindy Warner is a freelance writer and a San Francisco Bay Area native. Cindy has covered SF theater and opera for Examiner.com via her bicycle since January 2009. Check out her work on Examiner.com.


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