Photo by Brian L. Frank
To get to artist Richard Carter’s secluded Pope Valley compound, you have to drive up one side of a Napa County mountain and down the other, past the Angwin Chevron station and around a few more bends. The final stretch of dirt road is so narrow that if there is no pullout in which to turn around, no choice but to keep moving forward.
Then, a weather-worn clapboard farmhouse appears, a welcoming sight.
Restored from the 1874 original, the home instantly charms with its shaded wrap-around porch, complete with dogs at rest. The front door is slightly ajar, so a light knock pushes it open, and that’s the moment you realize that this is unlike any farmhouse you’ve ever visited.