Art Film Fridays at O'Hanlon starts Jan 13 with "Painting Bolinas"

O’Hanlon Center is kicking off their 2017 Art Film Fridays series with a colorful documentary film “Painting Bolinas” about the late eccentric Bolinas artist Peter Lee Brownlee. The 2010 film was created, produced and directed by Mill Valley filmmaker Wendy Elkin. Ms. Elkin will be available for a Q and A after the screening that will take place in the O’Hanlon Gallery in Mill Valley on Friday January 13 at 7pm.

Painting Bolinas focuses on the then 90 year old Peter whose lifestyle mirrors a king in a court of chaos and imagination. Peter is known as the “cake decorator” because of his massive layering technique, creating rich textures, his paintings are of urban and rural downtowns and famous landmarks all across America.

“Unlike anything you have ever seen before; Painting Bolinas takes you on an unforgettable journey into the life of a man true to his art to the very end. Peter Lee Brownlee, with the bravado of a Hemingway and the sensibility of a Picasso living in a setting of characters that could have been lifted from a Steinbeck novel will paint his way into your heart. In the latter years of his life, he proves that his spirit and creativity still sparkles like a child.”

Arthur (Peter Lee) Brownlee who died peacefully on December 1, 2011 in Point Reyes, California when he was 91, celebrated his 90th birthday at O’Hanlon Center for the Arts where a solo exhibition of his paintings was shown in the Gallery. The Center is honored to bring him back to the Gallery with the documentary "Painting Bolinas" on Friday January 13 at 7pm. A $5 donation is requested. O'Hanlon Center is located at 616 Throckmorton Ave. just 1/2 mile past the library. For more information visit ohanloncenter.org or call 415.388.4331.

About the Film:

Painting Bolinas was a 2010 Documentary Silver Award Winner from the California Film Awards. In 2011, Painting Bolinas became an Official Selection for the 12th Sacramento Film & Music Festival and again in 2012, for the 27th Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Wendy received a “Best Director” Award for Painting Bolinas from the 2012 Honolulu Film Awards. In 2013, Painting Bolinas was invited to premier in the Sausalito International Film Festival as well as receiving acceptance into the California History collection of the San Francisco Main Library featuring their November Film Series. Additionally, Wendy produced a television version of Painting Bolinas for PBS that aired through the National Education and Television Association on public broadcasting stations across the country from January 2013 -2015.

About Wendy Elkin - Director, Executive Producer:

The Painting Bolinas movie marks the Directorial Debut of Wendy Elkin. A former Special Education teacher and photographer in Santa Barbara and San Francisco, Wendy spent a few years transitioning from photography into documentary film.

Wendy has permanent exhibitions in the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, the Rosa Parks History Museum in Montgomery, Alabama and the Smithsonian American History Museum in Washington, D.C.

A social justice advocate, producing and directing a film about marginalized populations has been influential in understanding how her experiences highlighting unsung heroes and photographing various political and social events has given her a unique perspective into the world of documentary film.

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