Jan Prisco is featured artist in August at Portola Art Gallery

“Vibrant Places” — new pastel and oil paintings by artist Jan Prisco — is the August exhibition at the Portola Art Gallery in Menlo Park.

Jan’s passion is painting vibrant locations full of color, light, contrast and character. Included in this show are paintings from recent trips to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and Sedona, Arizona, along with plein air paintings of California landscapes.

When painting landscapes, Jan works toward capturing the mood and light of the spot she is painting. Her goal is to pull the viewer into the painting through use of texture, light and color. Jan also paints portraiture, where her goal is to capture the likeness and vitality of those she paints by studying and capturing the gesture, reflection of light, facial expression and color.

A reception for the artist will take place at the Gallery on Saturday, August 4, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm.

Portola Art Gallery exhibits high quality, representational art by thirteen Bay Area artists. Painting, pastel, photography and sculpture can be viewed at the gallery, located at the historic Allied Arts Guild on Arbor Rd. in Menlo Park.

Accompanying painting is “New Friend, San Miguel de Allende” (2012, 9×12″, pastel) by Jan Prisco