Paul Fortis

has two prime passions: painting with pastels, and printmaking - controlling the transfer of pigment to paper. In 1975, after spending most of his childhood years in neighboring Los Altos Hills, Paul came under the influence of Larry Gray, an art teacher and nationally acclaimed pastelist. It was under Larry's tutelage that Paul discovered the endless possibilities of pastels as a landscape art medium.

In this exhibit, Paul has chosen to show a selection of his very latest pastels in their original form. Luscious color portraits of Californian and Hawaiian landscapes, coastal vistas and verdant hillsides.

Paul, whose prodigious renderings can be seen in numerous and corporate art collections, including Kaiser Permanente and Sutter Medical, now spends most of his time at his Open Studio in Santa Cruz, California, where he is currently experimenting with new giclee printmaking techniques.