As students, faculty, and community members enter Diablo Valley College’s Art Gallery, they are greeted by watercolor artwork framed on the walls, along with a small theater area and benches.

It is here that Michele Krup, formerly an art professor at Diablo Valley College from 1987 through 2020, debuted her latest exhibit, What My Garden Gave Me, at the college’s art gallery earlier this month. 

The show, open from March 2 through March 23, displays Krup’s watercolor works, many of which have been completed in the last year.

“The exhibit came to fruition as a retirement show for Michele Krup,” said art gallery coordinator Arthur King, who is also responsible for organizing the show. “This was our small way to say thank you, Michele…for over 30 years of service to the community.”

Krup’s main inspiration for her works came from not only finding things in her own garden and transferring them to a canvas but sometimes through real-world events, most notably the war in Ukraine.

“My garden has offered a retreat from the world’s tragedies and turmoil witnessed on the nightly news reports,” Krup wrote on the Diablo Valley College Art Gallery website.

She also cites the Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo as an influence on her artwork, “thinking about what he’s done” with his own art. Arcimboldo often created portraits by using unconventional objects such as fruits and vegetables, which can be seen in Krup’s works by her use of random objects as well.

To see the show, visit Diablo Valley College at 321 Golf Club Road in Pleasant Hill. The closing reception will be on March 23, from 6:30-7:30 p.m.