‘A Second Look’

“Artists paint for themselves,” he says, “not for an audience.” That’s what he goes for, though, you’ll get to appreciate the view.

Stop and stare at a stunning cloud formation or a sunset spread across the sky. Gawk at waves crashing over volcanic rocks and sandstone bluffs. Stand in awe at the sight of deep redwood forests on the mountains. We’ve all had that breathtaking experience.

Yet we drive by subtle beauty every day.

So pull your car over and contemplate the ordinary beauty in light playing across a scene in small compass. That’s the point of his show: the loveliness of light on a modest section of the landscape.

Influenced by the California impressionists in college, Bertolet analyzed their palettes and techniques carefully. There’s a bit of Edgar Payne in some of his works in how he constructs color contrasts; equally touches of Sargent or Guy Rose.

“I’m an artist with a scientific bent,” he says, and backs that up with technical knowledge of art and graphic media.

Bertolet spent most of his career as a graphic designer, for which he has a degree. As an early adopter during the computer revolution, he was often the interface between what a customer sent digitally and the practice of coaxing it out of older printing machines.

When he speaks about how he constructs his paintings in oil or watercolor, his design discipline comes through loud and clear.

There is the Spanish word “rincon” you encounter in California. It translates literally as “corner,” but it suggests a cozy spot, a nook. It implies a place where the eye focuses more intimately, rather than expansively. Bertolet delights in presenting you with a few of those.

“Tree on a Hill” features an iconic coastal oak tree on a rise. Not as striking as “Monterey Cypress” by Guy Rose, but just as recognizable and heartening a sight for anyone who has traveled Northern California roads.

You’ll feel the memory of Bay mud under your shoes viewing the marsh scenes of “Coyote Hills” and “Don Edwards Slough.”

Though there’s not a lot of detail, rather, line and light perfectly capture a moment in “Looking Up Sheep Camp Trail.”

Green is the painter’s hobgoblin, tough to match the array of that hue in nature. And there’s nothing that says you have to be faithful to that color either. Shadow and light — direct, diffuse and reflected — add lots of color to otherwise drab foliage. An artist plays with that, enriches it with other hues in subtle ways. Your eye may not pick up the trick, but your brain will appreciate the effect.

In his “Orange and Violet Baylands” painting, you will see the impact clearly.

He repeats that visual richness in “Between a Rock and a Hard Place,” a painting of waves framed beside and below by rocks in multiple shades. The turquoise of the waves and aqua of the sky play off the warm orange-browns. That blue and a green appear again in the rocks below.

Bertolet used to teach artists to relinquish trying to match colors exactly in favor of pushing what they see. “Everything really hangs on shape and design anyway.”

His shapes are blocky, like Cezanne, faintly outlined.

“Shape and composition capture a sense of calm and serenity,” Bertolet says. Relax and settle into the subtlety of his paintings. Worth more than a second look.

Artist reception: July 11, 1-4 p.m.

Portola Art Gallery at Allied Arts Guild, 75 Arbor Road, Menlo Park, (650) 321-0220, portolaartgallery.com.

Bart Charlow, author, artist and consultant, blends over 50 years of painting and photography with narrative storytelling. Explore the intersection of observation and expression through his insights on the local art scene, find his books at bartcharlow.com and his art at bartsart.weebly.com.