Event Title:

Organization:

  Visual Arts

  Oakland

Start Date:

  1/31/2026

End Date:

  1/31/2026

Start Time:

  1:00 PM

End Time:

  3:00 PM

Event Info: 

  Artists Reception and Demo: Saturday, January 31, 1-3 pm, Exhibition Jan 13-Feb 21

Color of Joy - Gouache Paintings by MaryLou Correia
January 13 - February 21, 2026
Reception and Demonstration : Saturday, January 31, 1 - 3 PM

For two weeks of intense painting, MaryLou traveled to Lake Garda and Venice, Italy with award winning painters/instructors, Craig and Anna Nelson. An established plein air oil painter, MaryLou chose to use water based, designer, gouache as her medium and painted on 9'x12', 300 pound multimedia toned paper. Gouache, an opaque intense pigment with a mat powdered finish similar to pastel, is currently enjoying a resurgence of popularity as a preferred media for travel. The small tubes of concentrated paint are very portable. A light weight UGO easel, tripod, and compact stool completed MaryLou's equipment for the painting trip.

MaryLou says she likes to think of her painting as revealing more that the eye can see - giving great attention to "finding a sense of place", being mindful of the light and colors of the moment, along with the particulars of the space she is in.

In addition to her Italy paintings, the exhibit will also include paintings of the California and Oregon Coasts, as well as, gouache paintings from her April Residency at The Ruth Bancroft Garden in Walnut Creek.

MaryLou received a bachelor's degree at Syracuse University, followed by graduate work at CCAC in Oakland. After an early career teaching art at Salinas High School and Monterey Community College, she worked for a number of years as a designer and as Director of Publication for Saint Mary's College in Moraga. MaryLou has received many awards and exhibited through the Bay Area and nationally, including Oil Painters of America Annual Show, Washington D.C. Plein Air Painting Festivals in: Carmel, Mendocino, Alameda Marinscapes Festival Carquinez Scene on the Straits.

https://valleyartgallery.org/

Location:

  Valley Art Gallery

Room:

Address:

  1661 Botelho Drive, Ste 110

Phone:

  925-935-4311

City:

  Walnut Creek

State/Province:

  CA