La Petit Trianon, De Anza Campus, Thursday August 2, 2012

The De Anza campus is an interesting mix of contemporary and historic buildings. La Petit Trianon was built in the 1890's as a neoclassic style mansion for Charles Baldwin, today it is home to the California History Center. The sunken garden was part of the original estate design and showcases a 1991 concrete water sculpture by Salvatore Pecoraro.

Laurie Barna

Both Brad and I realized after we were done painting that because the Flint Center and the fountain sculpture were the same color and value, the two got "confused" to the viewer!  So, I darkened both the background Flint Center and the trees to the left to make the sculpture come "forward." Laurie

Anna Jacke

DeAnza College offered a diverse field of view;  Ionic columns and urns near Le Petit Trianon, abstract sculptures and fountains near the Flint Center, lots to consider in painting the landscape.  I enjoyed painting the many shapes that caught my eye. Anna

Caroline Garborino

When I lived across the street from DeAnza College in the '90s, Le Petit Trianon stood alone, a bit of the old world crowning the neo-Spanish quad. I tried to capture the building as I remembered it. The lovely model is Sylvia. Thanks for the memories... Caroline

Leslie Grimm

I loved the interesting shapes in this fountain and decided to have some fun spicing up the colors.  It came out looking more like a flat abstract then a 3-D fountain, but it was certainly colorful! Leslie

Brad Santos

Huddled in the shade of a retaining wall across from Flint Center, a number of us found the fountain / sculpture in the center of the Sunken Garden an interesting subject. A similar color and value as the Flint Center, the fountain initially got 'lost' in the much larger structure. With Laurie and Sylvia offering excellent, specific advice during the critique session after lunch, I was able to pretty much get the results I was after --- the fountain stands out as the center of interest and I was even able to satisfy one of my objectives for the day and work a few figures (look close) into the painting. Brad

Sylvia Waddell

This lovely urn spoke to me as soon as I arrived at the site. The poor neglected relic of a former golden age seemed to whisper "boy, do I have tales to tell!"