Summer in Tortoritas, Peru by Hilda Kilpatrick-FreyreOver the past several months, artist Hilda Kilpatrick-Freyre has been painting a series pairing views and subjects from her native Peru and her longtime adopted home, Ventura. The result is an exhibition opening April 22 at Buenaventura Art Association’s downtown Ventura gallery.

“My path started in Peru and my spirit led me away to other parts of the world and finally to Ventura,” she said. “With this exhibit of paintings, called Woven Paths — Caminos Entrelazados, I am trying to show the viewer how scenes from Peru and Ventura are interwoven. Of course the two places are different, but they are also similar in many ways.

“Peru represents my roots and I love Ventura for its light and for the relaxed attitudes we share,” Kilpatrick-Freyre said.

About two dozen of her oil-on-canvas works will be on display through May 17, ranging in size from 8 inches square to 25 by 48 inches. Kilpatrick-Freyre will attend a meet the artist opening reception 5-7 p.m. April 26 and the First Friday Ventura gallery crawl from 5-8 p.m. May 2.

“I have been painting since 1998,” she said. “Prior to that, I worked in pastels while living in my native Peru. After moving to the United States, I began to seriously develop my skills as a painter.”

She credits artist Marcia Cummings, with whom she studied, with helping her ability to depict perspective and recently studied under Glen Orbik to work on incorporating human figures in her paintings.

Kilpatrick-Freyre, who said her work is influenced by early California painters as well as the impressionists, employs a palette of warm hues to produce bold, colorful paintings with nature at the forefront. Examples of her work can be found online at www.hildakilpatrick.com.

“I love the process of mixing oil paint and finding the perfect color to depict a scene,” she said.

The most challenging aspect? “Finding names for the paintings!” she said. “And stopping painting one step before I think the painting is done.”

The Peruvian scenes in this solo show, she said, are from trips made to Peru, from memory and from photos and she plans to pair the subjects and views with images of California.

Woven Paths — Caminos Entrelazados, Kilpatrick-Freyre’s colorful take on both locales, will be shown at the Buenaventura Gallery, 700 E. Santa Clara St., which is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. For more about the nonprofit Buenaventura Art Association and its programs, visit the website www.buenaventuragallery.org or call 648-1235 during gallery hours.