Local artist Pat Ley’s fine-art exhibition, “An Artist’s Journey,” is on display through September at Los Altos Hills Town Hall, 26379 W. Fremont Road.
A reception for the artist is scheduled 2-5 p.m. March 20 at town hall, featuring live music performed by Rebecca and Gary Lee Parks, refreshments and wine.
Ley, who was born and lived half her life in the English countryside, has drawn and painted since she was young. She works both in plein air and from photographs in a classically European style. Her interpretation of what she sees and feels is expressed in every composition, in the texture and color evident in all her pieces.
Having lived in several countries, Ley said she found that the local art culture strongly influences how the world is seen. Living in Connecticut and working at the Silvermine Arts Center, she learned from Bob Reed, a professor at Yale University, how to look at and how to see into the heart of her subject. In France, with a family of three small children, she focused on pen and ink drawing – from lobster pots in Brittany to clothes on a washing line in Bievres. In California, where the light is brighter and clearer than in Northern Europe, her challenge was to avoid the European Impressionist method and develop her unique style.
Ley’s recent paintings have been primarily done in plein air. Part of the Peninsula Open Air Painters group, she saw the different facets of the Bay Area, from Alviso to Princeton Harbor. She also drew and painted at the Palo Alto Art Center and had the opportunity to work with clay, finding, she said, that art in three dimensions is as fascinating as in two.
She now has a large home studio with a kiln, where she can work with friends, ensuring a sharing of skills and ideas in both painting and pottery, as she continues her artistic journey.
Ley is scheduled to conduct an Art Walk and Talk tour of her exhibition 2-4 p.m. June 24 at town hall. Admission is free and open to all.
For more information on Ley, visit patley.com.
