“Local Color,” an exhibition of pastel and oil paintings by Mary K. Stahl is on display at the Portola Arts Gallery in July. A reception for the artist will take place on Saturday, July 13, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm.
Inspired by the play of natural light over the landscape, Mary’s paintings offer the viewer her interpretation of local color. Mary’s work is usually noted for being quiet and calming.
Mary earned her B.A. in art at West Liberty State College in West Virginia. After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area in the early 1970’s, she taught children’s arts and crafts classes at Palo Alto’s Junior Museum and coordinated the children’s noontime art studio at Fairmeadow Elementary School in Palo Alto. She also worked as an early childhood and special education aide in Palo Alto.
A lengthy detour from art and the education world had Mary working in the tech industry at SRI International, NASA Ames Research Center, and Nominum. During that time, she managed the ARPA/DDN Network Information Center host and domain registry, and worked as a technical writer, editor, graphic and web site designer before returning to the wondrous world of fine art.
Mary is a signature member of the Pastel Society of the West Coast, and her work has been displayed at the Haggin Museum in Stockton, the Triton Museum in Santa Clara, and the Butler Museum of Art in Youngstown, OH.
The Portola Art Gallery is located at Allied Arts Guild, 75 Arbor Road, Menlo Park.
“Saddlebag Lake Afternoon (18×24”, pastel) is one of the featured artworks in Mary Stahl’s July exhibit “Local Color” at the Portola Art Gallery
Photo by Mary Stahl by Frances Freyberg (c) 2017
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