For the artist, Cobb said, it’s a way for their work to get exposure in an area where there is a lot of foot traffic, making it a win-win situation for both parties.
Cobb selects artwork for display that not only complements the restaurant’s atmosphere, but that he personally likes.
“I’m not an art expert, but I enjoy it, and one of my favorite artists is Van Gogh. I liked Kathy Leland’s paintings because she had similarities in the work she’s done.”
Van Gogh is one of the artists, along with Rembrandt, that Leland has always admired.
The amazing thing about her work is that she has had no formal training or experience.
Leland has a master’s degree in psychology and is a registered nurse, but painting is not an avocation she learned in school.
She believes is a gift from God.
Thirty-six years ago, a personal experience and turning point in her life drove Leland, a devout Christian, to look for a way to express her innermost feelings.
Not knowing what would emerge once she began, Leland laid a blank canvas on the lawn outside her home in Northern California and began to paint.
That painting, “Breakthrough,” was an abstract oil depicting what looked like a figure rising up out of the sea.
It was representative of her being set free, she said, and since then, her paintings reflect what she described as an eclectic style — sometimes abstract, sometimes realistic.
Five years after she began painting, Leland took an art class in Sausalito — the only art class she would ever attend.
The instructor looked at her work and gave her advice she wasn’t expecting to hear.
“He told me never to take any classes, because he believed it would spoil my creativity and spontaneity.”
