While it may be fall, Kaaren Marquez’s “Endless Summer” exhibition transports viewers to beaches from her travels, capturing the warmth and joy of summer through her paintings.
The Mountain View artist and former electrical engineer has been painting for 20 years, experimenting with watercolor, oil and other mediums along the way. Marquez said she is always looking for new opportunities to practice and develop her craft. Over the years, that curiosity has allowed her artistic style to continue evolving as she explores different techniques and approaches to creating her work.
“I would describe myself as always searching for new ways to express things,” Marquez said.
Nancy Near, Marquez’s friend and fellow artist, said that willingness to experiment has characterized Marquez’s artistic career. The two met while participating in watercolor workshops through the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society.
“Kaaren is the poster child of not being afraid to try something new,” Near said.
Near said Marquez’s willingness to explore also makes it difficult to predict what she will create next. Rather than limiting herself to one approach, Marquez continues to experiment with the possibilities of different materials and techniques.
By sharing her paintings with her community and beyond, Marquez said she hopes to spread the joy she experiences while creating them. Marquez said “Endless Summer” represents her “happy place,” drawing from places and experiences she associates with happiness.
“There’s something about the beach that just makes me happy,” Marquez said.
Some paintings in “Endless Summer” intentionally feature empty chairs, inviting viewers to imagine themselves in the scenes and connect them with memories of their own, Marquez said.
“My aim is for them to be able to remember their experiences by (having me portray) what I have experienced,” Marquez said.
To create the collection, Marquez photographed places she visited and brought the images back to her studio for inspiration. However, she said some of her favorite paintings are those that evolve beyond her original vision as she works.
One painting in the collection, “How Do I Get Down There,” exemplifies that process. Marquez said the piece began as an entirely different painting, but as new details emerged, she decided to paint over portions of the earlier work while preserving elements of its original appearance.
That process of revisiting and transforming an image reflects the larger purpose behind “Endless Summer” – preserving moments of happiness and encouraging viewers to revisit their own.
“Sometimes just reflecting and remembering a moment can bring just as much joy,” Marquez said. “I hope my paintings remind people of a time when they were doing something that brought them a lot of joy.”
Marquez’s collection is on display at Viewpoints Gallery in Los Altos through Sunday, Sept. 27. Viewpoints Gallery, open noon to 6 p.m., is located at 315 State St. For more information, see viewpointsgallery.com.
