Orchids After Dark shines a light on local wine-produced paintings and DJ sets

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Intricate floral arrangements at the 77th annual Santa Barbara International Orchid Show will take on a new glow, so to speak, during an exclusive nightclub-esque event held outside of the multi-day display’s daytime hours.

On March 8, shortly after organizers tuck the showcase in for its 5 o’clock bedtime, there’ll be a 6 p.m. wake-up call in the form of Orchids After Dark, open till 9 for visitors to tour the exotic orchid exhibits, enhanced with immersive lighting. Thanks to the bar, guests can also walk among the flowers with a drink in hand.

The bar will serve cocktails, beer, and wine, while local artist Danielle Renée Methmann will bring bottles of the latter to Orchids After Dark for a different purpose.

During a live demo, Methmann will treat guests to glimpses of the art practice she’s best known for: painting with wine.

“It is a very unusual medium. … I discovered it by accident,” Methmann said. “I’ve been an artist my whole life, and I’ve used almost every medium out there. So, one day, I was making a watercolor painting and drinking wine, and I spilled the wine. It was a little shocking and devastating in the moment.”

She then left her studio for the night, abandoning her unfinished wine-stained painting in the process.

“The aha moment was the next day. When it had dried, [the wine] was more vibrant than the watercolor pigments themselves. … It’s unexpected and that’s why it’s also so intriguing.”

Before specializing in wine painting, Methmann spent a couple of years researching the historical medium and experimenting with different kinds of wines and approaches to capture certain colors.

“The wines can go anywhere from bright reds, blushes, purples, natural tones—I call them sandy tones, or adobe colors, even kind of like red tile roof colors,” Methmann said. “You have this short range of colors that they can turn into, and shift over time, depending on the varietal. … There’s so many variables in this process I had to discover.”

Within a single bottle of wine, Methmann said it’s possible to extract multiple colors and consistencies, she explained. Sometimes she’ll let wine age in different kinds of containers, such as glass jars and plasticware, to achieve that.

“From one specimen, I could age it in these different vessels, which allow oxygen in at different paces, which changes the wine,” she said. “This is a medium that is very sensitive, right? So just like the wine that we drink, [the wine] needs to be temperature controlled and all these things. And it’s the same with the painting. … Once it’s on paper, it will continue to oxidize and change color over time.”

One of her favorite wines she’s ever experimented with was a pinot noir from Dana V. Wines in Solvang. 

“Once you age it, and sediment develops, it essentially turns black. It’s pretty wild. It’s just stunning,” Methmann said. “It’s almost charcoal-y looking, but that’s pinot noir.”

Methmann’s paintings occupied wall space at Dana V. Wines’ tasting room for about three years starting in 2019, rotating as pieces were gradually sold.

“[Owner/winemaker Dana Volk] sold a ton of stuff for me,” Methmann said. “So I’d just keep bringing her more paintings.”

During her live painting demonstration at Orchids After Dark, Methmann plans to use wines from Longoria Winery in Lompoc, Clementine Carter (formerly Casa Dumetz) in Los Alamos, and other local vintners.

While Methmann’s demo and the countless orchids on display at the event will be among the sights, Santa Barbara-based DJ Claire Zielinski will be providing the sounds.

Like Methmann, Zielinski was part of last year’s Orchids After Dark, and 2024 also marked her first appearance at the Shabang Music Festival in San Luis Obispo during the spring. 

She described her upcoming set at Orchids After Dark as “chill, loungy, minimal house music.”

“Think poolside, fun, groovy vibes. … Background music that’s still pretty classy, loungy, and fun,” Zielinski said. “I just want to create a space where the music enhances the beauty of the flowers and makes people feel welcome and comfortable. I just want to set a good vibe.”

Arts Editor Caleb Wiseblood recommends the Nic Cage film Adaptation to orchid lovers. Send comments to cwiseblood@santamariasun.com.

This article appears in Mar 6-16, 2025.