By Khalida Sarwari
A visit to the Cloud Castle Art Studio at the historic Sam Cloud building in downtown Saratoga is a lesson in not only awe-inspiring works of art, but also in history. The studio’s old barn wood and rustic ambiance is reminiscent of a time when stagecoaches and horses filled the place.
Once a stagecoach hub in the 1890s when it was owned by Sam Cloud, today the ambiance is much quieter, and that transformation can be credited to Gabriel Coke, a professional artist from Scotts Valley who turned a former horse stable on the bottom floor into a beautiful art studio with state of the art lighting.
A master of form drawing and painting, Coke has studied drawing and painting in the contemporary classical realist tradition at fine art studios and ateliers across the country and in Europe for nearly two decades. For the past two years, he has been teaching classical drawing and painting to beginners as well as intermediate students at the Cloud Castle Art Studio.
In his drawing class, Coke focuses on classical forms and fundamental skills, specifically on light, shade and color theory. The class is geared toward artists who aspire to learn oil painting. While the emphasis is on drawing at Cloud Castle Art Studio, Coke maintains the classes can benefit artists in any medium, even digital design, drafting or animation.
For the first time this year, Coke will be participating in Open Studios and plans to exhibit a portrait of his daughter, Hannah, that he’s currently working on, and drawings he’s done recently.
Visitors will also be treated to work by Coke’s students in his after school art class and Sunday portrait class as well as portraits in oil and figure drawings by San Jose-based artist Angela Cunningham, a friend of Coke’s.
“I just want to show the community that this studio was made for the art community and that it’s really designed to be the best place that the community can find to study drawing and painting,” Coke said.
Some of the artwork will be for sale, ranging from $600 to $4,000.
The Cloud Castle Art Studio is in room 270 on Big Basin Way at 20640 Third St., Saratoga, and will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., May 17-18.