Art of Dining

rIch culINarY PaINTINGS BY ThalIa STraTToN

“everyday eating should be a rich culinary experience” writes chef john Stratton in “The art of Dining, epicurean Delights.” a exhibition of her new works, including several from the cookbook, opens at Waterhouse Gallery in La Arcada on october 1, with the artist and chef attending. cookbooks are available for purchase and signing from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

This new cookbook is a rich visual experience as well, due to the two dozen, softly hued paintings of waiters, restaurant interiors and exteriors, created by his aunt, San francisco artist Thalia Stratton.

Stratton’s evocative paintings capture the little moments in the day of a restaurant– a waiter changes table linens, his back to the viewer; empty tables await dinners on a sun dappled patio; wine glasses quietly glow in a window’s light. her palette is muted, featuring subtle, yet sophisticated, dark tones along with clear, crisp whites.

“There is something very special about her,” says Diane Waterhouse, who met Stratton and reviewed her portfolio at the academy of art university in San francisco, soon after the artist completed her masters of fine arts degree.

Stratton calls her paintings “suggestive narratives.”

“my process begins as recording a specific moment at a specific place,” she says, “then transforming it to create a distinct mood.”

She photographs scenes, then manipulates the color values and composition to create the paintings. “I enjoy painting narratives,” she adds. “They tell a story but each viewer reads into it in their own way.”

She began her career as an illustrator and has operated her own art and design studio since 1990, serving clients such as Givenchy-Paris, Neiman-marcus, and the San francisco Ballet. her first restaurant-themed painting was the result of an assignment for an art academy course. “I painted an interior of one of the restaurants my husband and I have been to many times in Paris, le fregate along the Seine,” she recalls. “I loved the painting and other people responded to the subject.” raised in europe, Stratton was used to the café lifestyle. her focus on waiters and restaurants, she says, “all fell into place naturally.” her mother was a gourmet cook, and Stratton admits to being a “fanatic food junkie.” john, a graduate of the california culinary Institute with a cordon Bleu certificate, has worked at some of the Bay area’s finest restaurants and is poised to open his own eatery in Santa cruz next year. he has been saving recipes for several years. a collaboration between aunt and nephew seemed a perfect pairing. most of the dishes reflect the Strattons’ mediterranean roots. a favorite of Thalia’s is roasted leg of lamb with orzo, tomatoes, and white wine, which is paired with her painting of an interior of Bistro St. German in tones of delicate browns, greens, and blues. Wine poached salmon with shallot, brandy and black truffle sauce faces a portrait of a waiter balancing three laden plates, the white of his shirt gleaming against a black background. at seven inches square, “The art of Dining, epicurean Delights” is a small platform for Thalia Stratton’s striking artworks, but makes them no less rich. full sized pieces are on view at Waterhouse Gallery starting october 1; others can be seen at www.thaliastratton.com.

— Julia McHugH Waterhouse Gallery, 1114 State Street, 962-8885, www.waterhousegallery.com.