When local landscape artist Janet Vanderhoof was walking home from a Christmas family dinner in 2011, she heard an inner voice tell her: “You’re going to paint 100 paintings.”
Instead of shaking it off as a random thought, Vanderhoof took it to heart. She issued a challenge to herself for the 2012 calendar year, but with a slight modification. She set the goal at 52 paintings in 52 weeks.
Motivated by watching her son, Blake, now 26, who was born with Down syndrome, overcome the many obstacles in his life such as learning to crawl at 6 months old and losing more than 30 pounds three years ago by sticking to an exercise regiment, Vanderhoof stocked up on oil and acrylic paints as well as brushes and canvases for her home studio.
Already an accomplished artist who runs her own business, the 62-year-old mother of three started her artistic quest, documenting each step on her blog and through the social media forum, Twitter. She completed her endeavor ahead of schedule on Dec. 11, 2012 with her final piece, “Underneath II,” a commissioned piece of the field off Oak Glen Avenue in Morgan Hill from a private Canadian buyer.
“Honor your word; it’s not just for you but for others as well,” blogged Vanderhoof after finishing her “Paint52” project. “Challenges can invigorate you. Reward yourself often.”
Being able to make the most of her potential – just like her son, who today holds a park cleanup job at Christmas Hill Park in Gilroy through Social Vocational Services so “he can bring home his own paycheck” – provided Vanderhoof with an inner drive.
“It took six months for him to learn how to crawl,” she said, of her youngest son, who as a baby blew doctors away by his never-say-quit attitude, despite his genetic disorder that causes delay in cognitive ability. “It gave me a sense that, ‘Hey, I have the ability. I have a gift. What am I waiting for?”
As her artistic journey unfolded last year, Vanderhoof’s acquaintances and Twitter followers, moved by the mother’s passion and ambition, took on the same “Paint 52” challenge. But “they drifted off” because “it wasn’t their goal,” Vanderhoof explained.
Her tenacity was contagious, however, and ultimately motivated Vanderhoof’s friends to become “inspired to find their own goal.”
“I knew it was going to be a lot of work, but she’s very organized and very good at achieving her art goals,” said husband Austin Vanderhoof. “It never surprises me once she gets her planning going.”
And Blake made it a point never to interrupt his ambitious mother when she was in her studio. If he brought a friend home, Blake would walk past and simply say, “Oh, that’s my mom. She’s painting,” and usually head to his room to play video games or catch the latest World Wrestling Entertainment show on TV.
“The great thing about Blake is he doesn’t even know how he affects people,” Vanderhoof said. “He can walk into a room and has such positive energy that people can’t help but smile.”
With the last painting officially completed, Vanderhoof – a former lumber salesperson of 15 years for wholesale distributor Redwood Empire in Morgan Hill – decided not to sit back and admire her finished pieces for very long.
So far, 15 pieces have been purchased of the 52, which can still be viewed in their entirety at Vanderhoof’s online store. Bright, vivid colors depicting scenic shots from across the Bay Area and wherever her travels take her are signature characteristics. Her creations range from golden hilly landscapes dotted with shadow-casting trees, to San Francisco’s famous cable cars, to surreal forestscapes in dreamy purple hues, to a solemn African elephant basking in the deep green shade of a far-off continent.
“Color is really important to me,” said Vanderhoof, pointing to several finished pieces leaning up against the wall in her small, makeshift studio in a side room of her beautiful home in the rural hillside off Llagas Road in west Morgan Hill. “I like to play with color. Bright colors are my signature.”
Also one of her signature traits? Staying busy. The 1974 San Jose State University alumna who earned her undergraduate degree in speech pathology and audiology – something that came in handy as she helped nurture her son’s development – issued another challenge for 2013.
“I need to have these clear goals in place to get motivated and paint,” said Vanderhoof, who is about 10,000 square inches into her latest “Art 20K” crusade, which aims to paint 20,000 square inches of canvas this year.
Her 2013 challenge comes 20 plus years after her life-altering leap of faith to quit her full-time job to pursue her passion.
At age 38, it became clear to Vanderhoof that selling lumber – a profession she enjoyed and was successful at – was not exactly what she envisioned for herself. Along with her parental responsibilities of raising three boys, Vanderhoof shifted her focus to art; a subject she studied for two years at Gavilan College before taking private lessons with two accomplished artists, Diane Wallace in Morgan Hill and George DeGroat in Carmel.
“It was a little bit of a risk in the sense that she gave up something she knew how to do and was very successful at,” said her supportive husband, who did not doubt what his wife could accomplish even if “she was starting from scratch” in a profession that often comes with the precursor “starving.”
Slowly but surely, Vanderhoof – who always carries a camera to capture scenes for a reference in her landscape paintings – began to produce more and more pieces of art in her small studio, completing themed series centered around various studies including San Francisco, baseball, cowboys and flower gardens.
She eventually began to acquire commissioned art projects, formed relationships with gallery owners and promoted her talents via art blog and online store. Her clientele base has now grown to include private buyers in the Bay Area, Oregon, Oklahoma and even Canada.
But, according to her middle child, 30-year-old Blair Vanderhoof who works as a software engineer, it wasn’t until his mom began documenting every step in her “Paint52” endeavor and discovered “there is an audience for her artwork” that things really began to take off.
“A lot of it revolved around the viral part of it,” explained Blair, whose mother was fueled by the sharing and exchanging of ideas through social media.
Which speaks to what Vanderhoof has learned: That art – and everything that goes into it, from inspiration to conception to execution, is a journey worth sharing.
“Support from others, teachers, friends, and family and their ability to see my potential was a gift,” she wrote, in one of her blog posts. “This is a great reminder to be mentors to the novice artist, knowing that we all had to take this journey.”
• The newest exhibit at the Gilroy Interim Center for the Arts runs through July 30 and features multiple mediums and local artists including Diane Wallace, Nancy Grieves, Glynis Crabb and Janet Vanderhoof, to name a few. Come experience the beauty of nature and see the display wall.
• Reception is from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Gilroy Interim Center for the Arts, 7341 Monterey St.
• Visit www.gilroyartsalliance.com for more details
• See Janet’s works at www.janetvanderhoof.com
