Peter Darvas

by Anne W. Bernard

South Lake Tahoe painter Peter Darvas defies the starving artist cliché—he owns multiple homes, is an avid sailor and a veteran traveler. His media include oil, acrylic and watercolor; his subjects span a lifetime of globetrotting and exploration.

Born in Hungary and raised in Texas, Darvas first came to Tahoe in 1970 while stationed with the U.S. Army at Fort Ord in Monterey. Although drafted for the Vietnam War, he was never deployed and remained in California as a coveted soldier-artist, painting murals to brighten army barracks. During his fi rst visit to The Lake, Darvas bought a house, making Lake Tahoe his summer retreat. He now balances his time here with trips to his place in Mexico, visits to his family in Hungary and travels to the Mediterranean and elsewhere.

So, when does he have time to paint—and where? The artist is fond of saying that "no one cares where I live, as long as I paint." In fact, it is his nomadic lifestyle that provides him the freedom and inspiration to create his art, whether capturing the beauty of the Greek Isles or feeling newly motivated after spending two weeks at sail.

Like the artist himself, it seems that Darvas's artwork is everywhere, numbering some 11,000 paintings in collections worldwide. His work is currently exhibited in seven galleries, and his murals abound indoors and out. Darvas, who has been a Tahoe gallery mainstay for the past 30 years, also created the 24-foot aluminum sculpture in front of the outlet stores in South Lake Tahoe, the city's fi rst major piece of public art.

Darvas's work was featured for the opening of South Lake Tahoe's new Art for the Home gallery, where his paintings stood out immediately: thick oils delineating fl ower petals that seem to jump off the linen canvas, watercolor roses celebrating Valentine's Day, an oil painting titled Andros Alcove depicting a residence in Greece that brings to life the Mediterranean's warm hues and showcases Darvas' talent for rendering shadow and light.

Darvas insists that when he paints, he is not trying to tell a story. He prefers his work to emanate "a simplicity of statement that allows the viewer or owner to read into it on a personal level." He loves the idea of an owner creating an intimate bond with his work, but does not attach a similar sentiment to the pieces himself.

"As soon as I get comfortable painting a subject, I know it is time to move on," says Darvas. Inspiration for him comes from the challenge of tackling a new subject and the novelty of a new perspective. Though he admits that there is a certain commercial market for art these days, he says, "In order to be successful in your own mind, you have to be brave and willing to step outside of prescribed expectations."

In the past, Darvas has shared his love of travel and art by leading sailingpainting tours through places like Canal du Midi in Southern France, numerous Greek islands in the Aegean and the Pacifi c Society Islands of Tahiti. These two- to three-week-long trips, which Darvas does for fun rather than profit, involve a little bit of art and sailing instruction, a lot of painting and even more foreign exploration. In all, Darvas will spend over eight weeks this year heading up these voyages. And though all of these journeys are return visits to familiar haunts, he will tell you that each trip is different, and the resulting art distinct.

Peripatetic as he is, Darvas finds himself spending more and more time in Tahoe. "Any place you go has its own breathtaking view," he says. "But I have chosen Tahoe as my home base, and I don't think I could have done better."

Darvas's work is available through James Harold Galleries in Tahoe City and Art for the Home in South Lake Tahoe.