The Songs of Nature: An Art Exhibit

Lisha and Helen's exhibit will be on display in the lobby during Saratoga Library's open hours from Monday August 31 to October 30, 2026. About the Exhibit Lisha and Helen like to explore nature and often join the Los Gatos Art Association morning group to paint in oil. On Thursday mornings they join the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society to practice watercolor painting. They love nature and appreciate its beauty. Here are some glimpses of their observations of the natural beauty surrounding us. They hope you like their paintings. Helen Chen's Artist Statement My name is Helen Chen. Ever since I was a little girl, I liked to draw. I remembered after each class, I doodle on my books and notebooks. This habit lasted long into my school years and later in life. But at that time in China, there weren't any art classes I could take like the ones here in the United States. In addition, my parents didn't like the idea of me pursuing art. They were more concerned about me finding a good job for security and a good life. To them, this meant that I should become an engineer in the field of mathematics, physics or chemistry. They believed “学好数理化,走遍天下都不怕” or “Master math, physics, or chemistry, and you can go anywhere in the world without fear.” I took their practical advice and became an engineer. After working for a couple years in China, I came to America to pursue higher education. After I graduated and worked here for a few years, I discovered that the University Art store in San Jose offered oil painting classes. I joined the weekend oil painting workshop. However, because I didn't have any previous training, I found it extremely challenging and practiced intermittently. In 2012, I decided to take a watercolor and oil painting class at West Valley College. While I studied there, I met a lot of wonderful people and we became good friends. One of them introduced me to the Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society (SCVWS). Since then, we started watercolor painting together on Thursdays. Through SCVWS I met a lot of kind and talented artists, and I am inspired by them. In addition, I go to the Los Gatos Art Association (LGAA) for oil painting. I also started learning from famous artists like Charles Reid, Ching Chung-Wei, and Richard Schmid by reading their books with a group of friends. Now, I mostly painted for fun and love to paint nature. I know I will have a long way to go to become a good artist, but I will keep going. Lisha's Artist Statement Since 2013, Lisha Wang has been an active member of plein air painting groups, the Santa Clara Watercolor Society and the Los Gatos art community. She loves to explore a variety of subjects and enjoys painting outdoors. Nature is her greatest inspiration, from blue skies, floating clouds, distant mountains and vast landscapes to small houses and barns in a field. She also loves painting people by capturing their emotions, posture and movements. These subjects have remained her favorite throughout the years. Lisha’s passion for painting began with the childhood activity of chalk drawing on concrete floors. She developed her painting skills by attending various art classes and live demonstrations of water color and oil painting, as while as participating in artist conferences. For more than 15 years, Lisha has enjoyed PleinAir painting with fellow artists. These experiences and practices have deepened her understanding of artistic expression as seen by human eyes. Lisha believes that painting is more than simply creating beautiful images. It is about observing the world with gratitude, and sharing moments of beauty with others by using brushes and colors.