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Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
Mari Yamashiro's 'Alex et Nicholas au Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris' is among the paintings in the watercolor exhibit in the Los Gatos Town Council Chambers.
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French life explored in exhibit
By Shari Kaplan
Armchair travelers will delight in the paintings covering the walls of the Los Gatos Town Council Chambers. Le Couleurs de France: Visions in Watercolor is a collection of more than two dozen depictions of France and French life, from the rural countryside to the bustling cities and every place in between.
The artists are members of the senior watercolor class, taught by experienced watercolorist Jean Tannhauser, and offered through the Los Gatos-Saratoga Department of Community Education and Recreation. Tannhauser, who has taught this class for five years, says that although some of her students are embarking on professional careers, that's not the majority's reason.
"I find that most of them do it for themselves and their families. It's a very rewarding thing to be able to paint a picture for someone," she says.
"You can never be bored when you're painting," she adds of her favorite pastime. "It's just so all-encompassing!"
Despite the class' name, Tannhauser points out, painters of all ages can and do sign up for the eight-week sessions offered several times a year. The class's current exhibition is part of Art in the Council Chambers, a series sponsored by the Los Gatos Arts Commission that changes every one to three months.
For each of the four years the senior watercolor class has participated in Art in the Council Chambers, Tannhauser has given her budding watercolorists an idea around which to plan their paintings. "I like to try to have a theme because it makes the show more interesting. The students seem to enjoy it more, also," she says.
This time, it was France. Although some students used photographs of their own French forays as inspirations for their paintings--"they're a pretty well-traveled group," Tannhauser says--others used photos they found in books, magazines or ones they borrowed from others.
Only one artist, however, gets his or her painting featured on the posters and postcards that publicizes the exhibition. Rather than Tannhauser selecting whom she thinks is best, everyone votes on who should have the honor. This year it is Laurie Barna with Vivé Liberté. It's a view of the Arch de Triumph from slightly below, as a large French flag proudly unfurls beneath the arch.
Among the many other notable paintings are Un Cote Villa de Provence by Gerald J. McCutchen, Le Grandpere by Mari Yamashiro and A Night at the Opera by Fran Guarino. McCutchen paints a typically European cobbled alleyway in a quaint part of town; Yamashiro shows a beret-coifed old man carrying a basket of baguettes down a country lane; while Guarino's festive scene looks like something from a Toulouse Lautrec poster.
The Los Gatos Town Council chambers are located downstairs in the Civic Center, 110 E. Main St. If the doors are locked, inquire at the planning department.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
