What a treat! We were one of the attractions of Gilroy Gardens theme park, "Artists Day." The weather could not have been more cooperative. The balmy October sun and turning leaves make for a perfect day to paint. More than a dozen of our plein air artists made the trip. Special thanks to Sylvia and Jenny for arranging this special day with the staff at Gilroy Gardens.
www.gilroygardens.org
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| The "Critique" |
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| A closer look |
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| Jane Saltman |
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| Marilyn Perry |
I am very grateful to Gilroy Gardens to give us this opportunity to explore the park for an hour before the families arrived and to paint in such a beautiful garden setting. Even though everyone has to walk past Claudia's Garden to enter the park, I sat in quite a secluded spot, and only three families asked to see what I was doing. I was very happy to show the children my painting in progress and to encourage them in their own artistic pursuits. It wasn't until I got home that I read the back of my name tag that said that the purpose of "Art in the Park" is "so that children can be exposed to art in this environment. Marilyn
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| Sylvia Waddell |
This was a great place to visit. Jenny and I were captivated by a glimpse of the balloon ride through the trees. It proved rather difficult to capture as the ride was in constant motion, but I had fun trying! Thanks to the Gilroy Gardens docents who provided a tour and a wonderful opportunity for us to enjoy the park. Sylvia
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| Jenny Tero |
I did better tackling something that remained still, and this peaceful view across the central lake was from a spot that was a lot quieter and less busy - we could only faintly hear the repeating tape of Halloween music. Jenny
From another quiet location we could see the same rocks but this time with enormous ducks and swans floating by. We were too busy with capturing the rides on paper to ask if our free artists entry for the day included rides! Jenny
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| Uma Kelkar |
Thank you the paint-sites coordinators and the park. By opening an hour earlier, by keeping the name tags ready, we all felt important stepping inside the garden gates! With ego all puffed up, I sat in an idyllic spot by a waterfall besides Holly Garden. The water bubbling sound eradicated all the thoughts of work and pending chores from my mind - only to fill it with confusion from the many values I saw and constantly moving water of a waterfall!
Then, I saw the gigantic ducks that floated up close to the waterfall and obviously their incongruousness felt very attractive!
At lunch, Sylvia showed her painting of the hot air balloon ride - the viewpoint was so intriguing, I had to give it a quick attempt and so I did! Uma
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| Mary Paquet |
Our gracious hosts made us feel so welcome. The gardens are incredibly beautiful and filled with happy families. As we toured the park I was drawn to a water feature with a colorful bridge, beautiful rocks, and stately Redwoods. Mary
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| Brad Santos |
This a wonderful site for painting almost anything: the hallmark trees, the backdrop of the Park's undeveloped hills, bright colored rides (next time I think I'll do the race cars), water features, and lots of people enjoying themselves. It's a happy place that positively welcomes artists. Brad
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