Saratoga News

Photograph by George Sakkestad

Longtime art teacher William E. Cunningham, who taught at Saratoga and Los Gatos high schools, is showing his work at Gallery Saratoga.

Artist blends paints and metal in his work

By Shari Kaplan

Monte Sereno resident William E. Cunningham is an expert at blending different elements in a way that makes them seem complementary.

A prolific artist in the dissimilar mediums of soft watercolor and hard metal sculpture, the California native is also a world traveler, a former high school art teacher and a World War II veteran.

Cunningham is the featured artist at Gallery Saratoga, where he exhibits recent watercolors and bronze and welded steel sculptures throughout June.

Cunningham's love for art began when he was just 5 or 6, he says, when he began drawing and painting the things around him. By high school, he was taking as many art-related classes as he could.

Air Force service during World War II came between him and college for a while, during which time he flew transport planes carrying paratroopers, war supplies and even POWs. While stationed in England, he says, he traveled to London to visit museums nearly every time he got a pass.

The exposure to so much art and culture led him to change his planned major at San Jose State University from music to art. At one time, he says, he also considered a degree in architecture but decided it was too mathematical. He did, however, build his own home and studio.

After receiving his bachelor's degree from SJSU and a master's degree in creative arts from Stanford, Cunningham taught art for 15 years at Los Gatos High School. A few years after his return to the area, in the spring of 1948, he co-founded the Los Gatos Art Association with the late Dr. Arturo Falico.

When Saratoga High School opened, Cunningham transferred to become its first art teacher. Later, he became director of adult education for the district and held adult painting classes at various community buildings in Saratoga.

During a six-month sabbatical in the mid-1960s and a nine-month trip around the world with his wife from 1978-79, Cunningham collected much fodder for his paintings, some of which are at Gallery Saratoga.

In a rack near the door are several watercolors from different countries, including the imposing Santo Domingo Cathedral in Oaxaca, Mexico, and the similarly grand edifice of Notre Dame in Strassbourg, France. There's also an image of columns of an ancient ruined temple--from Greece, one of Cunningham's favorite locales.

"The [area] that impressed me the most was Greece and the Grecian islands. There's something about the colors, the sunlight and the whitewashed villages," he recalls, adding that Japan was another favorite, but for different reasons.

On the walls are mostly abstract pieces, with a few doses of realism for good measure. Some abstracts, such as CXXI with its simple squares and lines, reveal a strong flavor of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian. Others, such as CXVII, consists of squiggles, circles, stick-like shapes and other forms in a flurry of colors and positions.

"I use Roman numerals because I don't want to prejudice people into interpreting things in a certain way. I like people to be able to come up with their own titles," he explains.

Always interested in sculpture, Cunningham also uses what he learned in a welding class to craft metal art. It ranges from small pieces such as the multicolored Curtain Call and romantic The Wedding, to medium-sized ones such as the graceful Sea Birds, to the tomato-red nine-footer outside the gallery titled Organic Form.

For Cunningham, whether the creative process involves painting, sculpture or a favorite hobby like gardening, it's a constant source of enjoyment.

"When you get what you think is your best work, you feel elated," he says. "I always have to have a project to do. When I'm doing one thing, I'm always thinking ahead. Creativity does not stop with my artwork; it's in everything I do."

Gallery Saratoga is located at 14531 Big Basin Way, Unit 3. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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