Sacramento artist Gregory Kondos dies at 97 – KCRA Sacramento

BE TOMORROW. BRANDI: THE SACRAMENTO ART COMMUNITY IS MOURNING THE DEATH OF ARTIST GREGORY KONDOS. HE WAS BEST KNOWN FOR HIS LANDSCAPE PAINTINGS OF CALIFORNIA. WE TAKE A LOOK BACK AT HIS LEGACY IN SACRAMENTO. >> GREGORY KONDOS IS AN ARTI THAT IS REALLY BELOVED IN SACRAMENTO HE IS ONE OF OUR GREAT ARTIST STARS AND IT IS SUCH A LOSS TO OUR COMMUNITY THAT HE IS N LONGER GOING TO BE PAINTING. WALTER: SCOTT SHIELDS IS THE CHIEF CURATOR AT THE CROCKER ART MSEUM. HE HAS WORKED WITH SACRAMENTO ARTIST GREGORY KONDOS OVER THE YEARS. >> HE DID SO MUCH FOR OUR REGION IN TERMS OF ITS ART SCEN HE PAINTED OUR RIVERS, HE PAINTED OUR PLACES AND HE MADE THEM ICONIC. HE FOUND BEAUTY IN PLACES OTHER PEOPLE DIDN’T THINK TO LOOK. WALTER: ONE OF HIS LAST EXHIBITS AT THE CROCKER ART MUSEUM WAS A TOUCH OF BLUE. IT FEATURED 70 OF HIS LANDSCAPE PAINTINGS. >> I DIDN’T REALIZE I HAD PAINTED SO MANY PICTURES, ESPECIALLY OF THE AREA. I WILL PROBABLY CRY WHEN IT COMES DOWN. WALTER: 50 YEARS OF HIS LIFE’S WORK ON THE WALLS OF THE EXHIBIT BACK IN 2013. KONDOS WALKED WITH KCRA 3’S EDIE LAMBERT, THROUGHOUT THE EXHIBIT. EDIE: YOU HAVE HAD SO MANY EXHIBITIONS IN YOUR CAREER. WHAT MAKES THIS ONE SPECIAL FOR YOU? >> IT’S HOME. EDIE: YOU WALK THROUGH THIS RECEPTION AND PEOPLE ARE SO EXCITED. >> WELL, IT’S FAMILIAR FOR THEM. THEY FEEL LIKE THEY HAVE BEEN HERE BEFORE. WALTER: THE SACRAMENTO LEGEND’S REPUTATION EXTENDED AROUND THE GLOBE. HIS HOME WAS THE SUBJECT OF MANY OF HIS PAINTINGS, LIKE THE THE DELTA’S VINEYARDS AND SACRAMENTO’S RIVERS. >> IT’S LIVELY. IT’S GOING LIFE TO IT BECAUSE OF THE COLORS. SEE I DON’T LOOK GREENERY AND SAY I HAVE TO USE GREEN. I CAN PUT RED OR YELLOW. >> GREGORY LIKED TO BE KNOWN AS A PAINTER AND HIS PAINTINGS WE GENERALLY LANDSCAPES AND THEY REALLY VARIED. ONE OF THE THINGS HE IS BEST KNOWN FOR IS HIS SCENES OF THE RIVERS, OF THE SACRAMENTO REGION. FOR MANY ARTISTS BLUE IS A COLOR THAT COMES ACROSS COLD, BUT WHEN GREGORY KONDOS CHOOSES BLUES GREAT WARMTH, THE SUN, THIS BL COLO WALTER: EVEN LATE IN HIS LIFE, AND IN A WHEELCHAIR, KONDOS CONTINUED HIS PASSION OF PAINTING. >> HE TAUGHT US TO SEE OURSELVES DIFFERENTL HE FOUND THINGS HERE THAT OTHER PEOPLE HAVEN’T FOUND WHAT COULD BE DONE WITH OUR AREA, THAT PRETTY SPECIAL WA