Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Los Gatan Genie Even's "Garden Gothic" joins four other artists' paintings in the Los Gatos Town Council Chambers.

Art exhibit depicts nature, still lifes, dolls

By Kristin Kusumoto

Los Gatos resident Genie Even studied art at Scripps College in Claremont, Calif., but it wasn't until she raised four children, taught school and sailed the Caribbean for 20 years on a charter boat she owned and operated that she had the time to devote to art. Now she specializes in watercolors and says she loves to paint flowers, still lifes and animals.

Even is one of the artists whose work is on display through Aug. 29 at the Los Gatos Town Council Chambers. The other artists are Bobbie Dixon, Doris Simmons and Sue Wild.

"I'm happy to have my work shown with the other artists. I think our work complements each other," Even says.

Los Gatos Arts Commission volunteer Joan Mezei says she recruited the artists after seeing their work in a previous exhibit at the Quinlan Center in Cupertino. "I felt the quality of their work was high," she says, adding that some of the artists have won awards in art competitions.

Even has five paintings in the exhibit, and each one represents a certain moment when she was intrigued with a special scene, she says. Branches of a lemon tree bearing blossoms and ripe fruit are the subject of Lemon Zest, a painting that brings back the special moment when she saw those lemons, Even explains. "It was so beautiful to me how the light was shining through the branches," she recalls.

Flowers are the subjects of Even's other paintings in the exhibit. "To me, watercolors are florals; they enhance each other," she says.

If she chooses to paint a certain flower, she will sketch the flower from different angles to see how it is made, Even says. This attention to structure is apparent in the multiple layers of petals in Camellia Trio and the complex petals in Iris Duo.

Mezei says that one benefit of presenting the artists' works together is that there's more diversity of material.

Flowers as well as other subjects appear in Bobbie Dixon's work. The lively Day Care Center II features dolls and stuffed animals--among them Raggedy Ann, a pink elephant with blue hearts and a red horse with yellow polka dots--who are gathered for a group portrait. The brightly patterned fabrics of their clothing, hats and scarves are eye-catching.

Fish Tank portrays a busy scene with flamboyant fish swimming in opposite directions.

Dori Simmons' still-life oil paintings also add diversity. Part of the charm of The Green Cupboard is the small objects sitting on its shelves. The picture's green frame heightens its impact, giving the work a 3-D effect.

The artist's affection for the objects she chooses to paint is also reflected in Ole Raggetty [sic] Ann and El Palomar. "I just like old things. I think they have a lot of character," she says.

Simmons, who as a child received her first set of brushes from her mother, says she is influenced by the Impressionists, particularly Claude Monet, Pierre Auguste Renoir, and Berthe Morisot. Their influence on her work in the exhibit is seen in her use of color, but not in the brush strokes, she added.

Even, who began painting five years ago, says she keeps discovering new things: "In my newer paintings I'm becoming more interested in dramatic light and how it shapes form."

The Council Chambers are located downstairs in the Civic Center, 110 E. Main St. and are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. If the chambers are locked, inquire at the Planning Office or Town Clerk's Office.

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