 Before I begin to share with you my story, I must thank all of the first responders of Sunol Reginal Wilderness Park. The rangers, the firemen and police. I regret not being able to mention their names but at the time my foot took center stage. MOST OF ALL, I want to thank my Kurt, who was the true hero of this story. In the beginning of May, Kurt, Lucy and I went on a hike in Sunol. We took the Indian Joe creek trail where we had to cross a number of creeks. It started out to be the perfect day with all the wildflowers popping up. AND THEN Lucy decided that it would be a good idea to roll in a BIG fresh pile of cow poo. OH LUCY!!!!!  We rinsed her off in a near by icy cold creek and continued on. Our hike was a steep hill climb and had us all huffing and puffing. We talked about turning back but decided that we should finish what we started. We made it to the ROCK! We had hiked up 600 ft worth of elevation in 1.6 miles. We were quite proud of ourselves.  We rested up there for a bit and decided to head back down. It wasn't more then 15 min. later and I went down. I stepped on a rock just right and I heard my ankle go 'pop crunch'. Not good....We had so far to go.....since I couldn't walk I got the idea I would boot scoot on down, after 5 min of that, Kurt thought he would carry me down, but this was a slippery slope though rocky creeks. After talking though the pros and cons we decide that Kurt should head back without me to get get help. Lucy and I alone in the middle of nowhere keeping an eye out for mountain lions. It is wilderness, you know. Kurt flew down in one-fifth the time that it took us to hike up there. He couldn't personally find the ranger but he came across a nice man who knew who to call all the right people. In the back of Kurt's mind he knew he had to get back up to us for our safty. We hiked where not to many people go. He made the climb back up so fast he was to the point of exhaustion. Half way back up he collapsed and laid there on his belly so as to catch his breath. That's where he picked up a tick that we later removed once we got home. As Kurt was on his hike back up to me, he could hear the search helicopter. Here I am sitting there, with the helicopter circling us, using a loud speaker but I could understand what he actually said" "to wave my hands if I was hurt or NOT hurt". At that point there coming over the hill side was my knight in shining armor Kurty! Kurt said "I'm bringing the Calvary!" By the time he reached me he was having trouble breathing I was afraid he was going down too because it was a steep up hill climb that he made in about 25 minutes that took the both of us 3 hours and he had to do it twice! Soon after Kurt's return, the rangers....the fireman medics....and the park state police came marching over the hill. They talked about sending the 'police' helicopter because it was smaller OR that they could carry me out on a stretcher instead. I asked to be carried out, I might add, it felt a little like Cleopatra being carried out by 8 strong guys. That was 20 min transport on narrow cow trails barly wide enough for a cow let alone a man on each side of me in a basket. Kurty and Lucy stayed with me following at the rear. I went to look where we were and the fireman smiled and told me not to look down.  Made it to where all the rescue guys were parked with an ambulance waiting in case I need them. Though I was in a great deal of pain and I couldn't walk on my own, I just wanted to go home.The ranger took us the rest of the way in his truck back to our jeep.
Made it home. I pulled a tick that was attached to Kurt and Kurt gave Lucy a much needed bath. I learned my ankle was broken in 2 places. The End.
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 Giclee print of the original painting 'Feelin Good' by Victoria Kloch
I love everything about this room! My client sent me a photo of her baby's nursery where she used the reproduction of 'Feelin Good'. To me, it is so refreshing to see a piece of art that is something other then farm animals, unicorns or Winnie the Pooh for a nursery. This piece will grow with her long into her adult years.  How do you get a huge painting shipped to Brazil? Kurt makes me a sturdy crate, that's how we do it! What you can't see is that on the end pieces, there is a disk that fits inside of the tube that the painting is rolled on. That way the painting is completely suspended without touching the sides. completely protected.  Below shows the foam board over the painting. He than places heavy shipping cardboard over that.   Transcend - 24"x36" - acrylic on canvas by Victoria Kloch - Sold
Featured in the popular magazine Coastal Living  FREE TO BE ME by Victoria Kloch This was my entry for the Painted Bra Project in 2013. Breast Cancer Awareness Month is to draw attention and encourage fund raising for research and education. Each BRAsterpiece was donated by an artist to this auction. About my piece. It was painted with acrylic and silver leaf foil. A cool thing about the bra that I used, when it was new, it was originally sold by Victoria's Secret in their 'Pink' campaign.  My World - 5"x7" watercolor abstract by Victoria Kloch - 2014 Sold
I don't know how other painters feel, but for me each painting documents periods of time. When I came upon this painting on my sold page, the name really stood out to me. This small little painting has a really big name. My World suggest something very personal. Perhaps when I named it, it was more about the process at least that's what comes to my mind as I look at it four years down the road. On that particular day, it was about purple, yellow and green. Somehow, it was those colors on that day back in 2014 that made my day a little brighter.  My new oil paints just arrived. I'm looking forward to painting some contemporary modern coastal paintings. I've been wanting to do this for so long and Kurt asked me what have I been waiting for? Just do it. Must be right because I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas.
It's hard for me to believe that Lucy and I have been together for nearly seven years. My little Boston Terrier is perfect, well almost perfect. They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks and in this case I'm the old dog. It's high time to seriously work on walking with a leash. For the most part, in the past, she is the one who walks us. Pulling our arms out of their sockets as she weaves from side to side. Our walks for the most part are challenging and I long to be able to just go on casual strolls everyday. When we take her hiking, off the leash, she's great. She listens and there is no problem when called. Unfortunately when it comes to walking through the neighbor that's just not the case. After googling for help, I am finding that all I need to do is to learn how I need to become the alpha dog. It looks like most of the experts out there agree that the struggle we now face while walking my little powerhouse of pure muscle will become easy breezy if I consistently follow through. Eventually this will reassure her that I am in charge and she can simply relax and enjoy our walk. Feeling optimistic and ready to face the neighborhood.  Yesterday our friend invited Kurt and me out on his Carver to explore the San Francisco Bay. Though we've been fortunate to do this many times, each time there is something new to see. Yesterday we had the privilege watching easily one hundred pelicans fly overhead. That was an ahhhh moment. I wasn't able to get my camera in time but never the less it was awesome. What I can share with you is this photo. If you are a commuter that travels back and forth from Marin County to San Francisco, you have crossed the Golden Gate many times. This picture here is the less traveled route. This was taken from underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. From an art prospective I can relate it to a Franz Kline structured painting with strong geometric shapes. The bottom shows the fog rolling over the Golden Gate Bridge taken from land at the Presidio by the Discovery Museum. Making the most of life day by day, Victoria   |
Victoria KlochWith the heart of a minimalist who paints complicated. Archives
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