Carol Peters wanted to commit one of Gilroy’s most notable
female forerunners to history, but it took her a few years to
gather the courage.
Gilroy – Carol Peters wanted to commit one of Gilroy’s most notable female forerunners to history, but it took her a few years to gather the courage.
Once she did, though, it only took the retired Gilroy High School art teacher a week and a half to paint “Facing the Future,” a profile portrait of Roberta Hughan among a swirl of cool blues, greens, and pinks that Peters will donate to the Willey House Oct. 6.
Hughan, 75, is the retired architect who redesigned the Willey House 30 years ago and became Gilroy’s first female city council member and its only female mayor. She served two terms as mayor after winning election in 1983 and has since involved herself with the museum and the Historic Heritage Committee.
“I was absolutely delighted when I saw the painting,” Hughan said. “It was a real portrait.”
The right side of Hughan’s face implies her movement forward, Peters said, much like a book reads from left to right.
“[Hughan] is such a powerful woman and so intelligent. I wanted to capture that color and brightness because that’s the way she looks when you see her,” Peters said.
The title of Peters’ acrylic painting came from her realization that Hughan was angling her chin upward in the dozens of photographs Peters took of the former mayor. This physical pose, she said, complemented Hughan’s mental state since “she’s always looking forward.”
The donated painting that will hang in the Willey House after Peters exhibits it at the downtown Arts and Wine Festival Oct. 6.
