Resident of The Terraces has become serious about hobby
Paintings hang in several Bay Area galleries
By Shari Kaplan
When Los Gatan Henry "Hank" Volle retired from a career in advertising 22 years ago, he had little intention of slowing down. On the contrary, leaving one full-time pursuit allowed him to dedicate himself to another, his love of painting, which until retirement was a side interest he squeezed into his busy schedule.
Today, Volle's paintings hang in several Bay Area galleries and in private collections throughout the United States. Through Feb. 29, he also has a collection of 25 paintings, all watercolors, his favorite medium, in the Glenn Rouse Assembly Hall at the Terraces of Los Gatos, where he is a resident. While living at The Villages, the San Jose retirement community from which he moved to The Terraces a few years ago, Volle sold more than 400 watercolors.
Despite his many successes, Volle asserts with a humble smile, "It's strictly an avocation. I do it because I enjoy traveling and painting."
His interest in both began long ago. After graduating from the University of Illinois with a degree in advertising art, the Illinois native and a friend took a bicycle tour of Europe. Already someone who enjoyed looking at things with an artistic eye, this helped him appreciate scenery and afflicted him with the travel bug.
During World War II, as a member of the Army National Guard, he almost found himself assigned to an infantry division; it was his sketchbook that saved him. After his commanding officers saw how perfectly he had drawn the military base where he was stationed, they pulled him from the foot soldiers and promoted him to staff sergeant.
This was the start of a succession of events that included receiving a commission and being assigned to help Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's staff develop aerial maps for Operation Overlord. His familiarity with Europe from his earlier tour stood him in good stead.
After the war, Volle began his career as advertising director for A.E. Staley, a large Midwestern soybean and corn processing firm that has since been bought by a British company. He also got married and had two children. He kept on painting and traveling, although it wasn't until his retirement that he could devote enough time to these pursuits.
A member of the Santa Clara Watercolor Society, the Society of Western Artists and the Los Gatos Art Association, Volle says his favorite topics are places he's visited--in other countries, other states or in California. Among the canvases at The Terraces are familiar scenes such as Monterey's Spanish Bay golf course, a Milpitas boat dock, Sutter Creek in the Gold Country, the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, a cable car, the Truckee River, a wooded portion of Stevens Creek, a Gilroy garlic ranch, several outdoor scenes of The Villages and, of course, the main entrance to The Terraces. There are also scenes from Wyoming, Nevada, Alaska, Hong Kong and Morocco.
"I like to paint images of areas that people know and recognize," he says. "I only paint on location. You get better light. I just feel like I have more freedom on the spot."
"I'm a fast painter. You have to paint fast with watercolor to keep it loose. And you can't just paint over a mistake like you can with oils," he adds. "The planning stage is often more time-consuming than the actual [act of] painting."
The Terraces of Los Gatos is located at 800 Blossom Hill Road. The exhibit is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
