By KRISTI MAYFIELD
Farms, tank houses and wide-open spaces are just some of the images that Chella Gonsalves has focused on capturing over the years. She was the featured artist at a recent showcase hosted at Gallery Custom Framing in Oakdale, with more than 20 paintings featuring local landscapes and farmland. From the Mendocino to Monterey coasts, in her 90 years, Gonsalves has painted it all. Her website explains it well with the caption, “oils influenced by the sights and sounds of nature.”
Originally from Indiana, Gonsalves moved to California in 1956 and began teaching art while also nurturing her own artistic ventures.
“My ideal is to try to capture the homesteads, tank houses and the farmland because that is what makes up our area,” said Gonsalves when asked about her inspiration for many of her Plein Air Paintings.
Retiring from the educational field in 1994, Gonsalves has continued to paint and often carries her paints and easel as she is routinely inspired by the beauty that surrounds us here in California. John Natsoulas, gallery owner and fan of her work for many years, provided her with her first one-woman show some 20-plus years ago and she has continued to thrive as an artist, with ongoing shows and commissions.
Though she has been commissioned for certain projects such as illustrating some historical storybooks for the McHenry Mansion, creating some mixed media paintings for Kaiser as well as completing a painting entitled, “Across the Valley,” for Beckwith Veterinary Hospital, Gonsalves was happy to report that, “for the last ten years, I have been painting what I wanted to paint.”
Inspiring others is another facet of her long career with one of her former students Aaron “Fasm” Vickery, sharing how she motivated him to continue his artistry, even though, admittedly, he wasn’t the best student.
“I had to apologize to her for being such a horrible student,” Vickery chuckled as the two artists recently chatted.
Vickery, who recently completed the Oakdale Cowboy Mural Restoration and has led the Downtown Modesto Mural Project, stated that Gonsalves continued to give him opportunities even when he wasn’t that responsive.
“She encouraged me to follow my passion,” he said, noting that she even brought him some spray paint at school so that he could continue to work in the medium in which he thrived. Gonsalves and Vickery have stayed in contact over the years with him inviting her to sit on the panel of judges for the first Downtown Modesto (DOMO) Mural Contest and Gonsalves inviting Vickery to one of her classes to speak as she dubbed him an “artistic hero.”
Gonsalves noted that she tried to impart, “You can do anything you want to. Just do it,” to her students over the years because she wanted to enable them to grow and find their unique artistic sensibilities. Showing no signs of slowing down, Gonsalves continues to inspire others through her artwork, offering private lessons and collaborating with local artists. For more information on her artwork and upcoming shows, visit www.chellaartist.com.
