“Three Palms,” “Long Barn,” “Tracks in Water” – what you see is what it’s named when it comes to Chella Gonsalves’ paintings.
At 92-years-old, the Modesto artist has more than earned the right to be direct with her art.
The longtime and well-known Valley painter is closing out her latest exhibit at the end of May. Since March, her aptly-named works have hung in the waiting room at Kruse Lucas Imports, a high-end auto-repair shop on Tully Road across from Modesto Junior College – which also doubles as a gallery for local artists.
She is as direct, and brief, about the work as she is their titles.
“Most of these things are done within the half hour,” Gonsalves said. “The basic design is laid out, and then I continue to work until either the weather changes, if it’s too hot or whatever, because I’m usually out in the open.”
The artist, who signs her name as simply “Chella,” is showcasing more than 20 original plein air paintings, a style of work that focuses on subjects that can be observed entirely outdoors. Every Thursday since the exhibit opened, she and her caregiver and right-hand woman Sara Rowe have come to the gallery to speak with visitors.
Over the years Valley residents have had countless ways to encounter Gonsalves’s art. Maybe during the annual Stanislaus Artist Open Studio Tour. Or perhaps, as one of her students in any of the Modesto City Schools’ arts programs. Or on a trip to the now defunct Mistlin Gallery, where she was one of the many instrumental artists dedicated to keeping the art hub available for local creators.
Inspired by the landscapes around her, Gonsalves encapsulates everyday comforts of the Central Valley. She’ll paint unplanted fields after a rainstorm or a farmer on his hay baler.
Since Mistlin’s closing, Gonsalves takes every opportunity to exhibit her art, and interact with viewers.
“This (meeting with people) is fun. It actually gives her something to do, to get out of the house,” Rowe said. “She gets excited when we come here, and when somebody does walk in, even if they’re just waiting on their car, she will talk to them about art and all her paintings, and… just tries to get them interested.”
Early days working at Modesto City Schools
Seventy years ago, Gonsalves and a friend drove from Indiana to Modesto in a brand new Chevy, looking for work at the local school district. Since then she has dedicated her life to practicing and teaching art in the San Joaquin Valley.
In the years that followed, she watched the city and her family grow, but she always came back to art.
In her professional days, Gonsalves taught art across the then-expanding Modesto City Schools District. Since arriving in the Valley, the city grew from a population of 33,000 to more than 218,000, what it is today. While with the district she designed the arts program at Johansen High School.
It wasn’t until 2000, at age 66, that she began focusing on plein air painting. Before, her in-studio work focused on still-life paintings and non-objective abstract art.
Since then, Gonsalves has largely become known for her outdoor work. Gonsalves can’t begin to guess how many paintings she has done to date, and continues to paint for fun and for commissioned pieces. When her work gets snapped up during exhibits, she just replaces it with another. Rowe guesses she has more than one hundred paintings in stock.
She brakes for good light
To stay so prolific, Gonsalves keeps a mobile art set in her car. It’s in a big basket on wheels filled with paper towels, paint tubes, an easel and everything else she needs to capture a landscape on canvas.
Rowe said it’s not uncommon to pull over, pull out the kit and wait alongside her – even in 100 degree weather.
The best time to paint plein air is late morning between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. or early evening between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., when the light creates strong contrast, Gonsalves said.
“I’ll try to find something that really is very attractive to me either because of the subject or because it’s good, with strong darks and lights,” she said.
Before meeting Gonsalves, art had never been a focal part of Rowe’s life. But caring for Gonsalves has opened her up to the process and way of life. Instead of driving across the county to care for several clients, she spends her days preparing canvases, cleaning brushes and prepping for exhibits.
“I never liked art. I wasn’t into art. I didn’t even do art in school,” Rowe said. “I can draw a stick person, but that’s about it. But I have learned a lot with Chella, and I love helping her in the studio.”
Why an auto repair shop?
Gonsalves’ work is also evocative for those who exhibit it, like Kruse Lucas Imports owners Adriana and Chris Bandy. The married couple bought the auto shop during the pandemic. But it was fellow Modesto artist and longtime customer Henrietta Sparkman who suggested using the waiting room as an art gallery. The Bandys have relished running a de facto gallery.
“Every time an artist comes in, they just get to see a little bit of their souls,” said Adriana Bandy. “Then when the customers come in and they start talking about it. I interact with them. They’re just such happy moments.”
Bandy said she can’t wait to purchase some of Gonsalves’ work. One painting in particular brings back memories of her driving towards the Bay Area on the Altamont and wishing she could roll down the green hillsides in the spring.
Those who catch Gonsalves at her Thursday exhibit visits to Kruse Lucas can even win prizes. She brings several small sketches and paintings glued to magnets to give away during her afternoon stays.
Gonsalves doesn’t produce prints of her artwork. She wants people to have the originals, so that keeps her motivated and always on the lookout for new ideas to paint.
“I don’t go to the ocean very much, but there are some ocean paintings I have, and industrial parks are neat to go see. Yeah, I paint anything farm related,” she said.
The rest of her catalogue can be found on her website, chellaartist.com, and her permanent exhibit at Sheldon and Lee Flooring Showroom, another business-backed gallery in Modesto.
In all her years as an artist, it’s still the simple things that bring her joy — being with community, teaching others about the joys of art and “just sitting outside.”
Gonsalves’ work will be on exhibit at Kruse Lucas Imports, 525 Tully Road, from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday (minus holidays) through May 29.
Vivienne Aguilar is a reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact her at vivienne@themodestofocus.org.