Monterey Peninsula Art Foundation
Jan Valtr
I was 6 in 1944 in Prague then Czechoslovakia. I always drew and painted. The war was still raging and my parents sent me to the country to stay with my grandfather. On the wekkends my parents and my favorite uncle came to the country. Uncle Karl was a Academically trained painter and he always took me along to paint the country landscape. He even made for me a scale easel, paint box and palette. In 1948, we escaped to Germany from the Communist regime and then to America. My teachers encouraged my art ability and eventually I graduated from California College of Arts & Crafts and a MFA from San Francisco State Univeristy. I taught in Secondary Schools, Adult Education and, Community Colleges & University. Now retired I paint for pleasure and show my work in several local galleries. MPAF Gallery on Cannery Row, Venture Gallery in Portola plaza Hotel and Crackpot Studio in Pacific Grove.