Pete Najarian at the Berkeley Public Library

The Central Branch of the Berkeley Public Library held a reception for local author and painter Pete Najarian earlier this afternoon. Najarian has written several works which often featuring his portraiture (Daughters of Memory, The Artist and His Mother) or landscape paintings (The Great American Loneliness.)


Najarian points out details of his Berkeley Marina painting.. He explained that along with painting near the Marina, he often heads to the 2nd Street area of West Berkeley on weekends when traffic is light to non-existent. He explained the big buildings aid as a wind break while he works. The painting on the left was created at Cedar and 2nd, looking south.


Walking the attendees through the various works on exhibition, Najarian explained how he had taken a landscape painting class at Berkeley; he and his fellow painters would go to paint near the Berkeley Marina. Some of the paintings feature fellow painters or landscapes from across the Bay looking toward Albany.. or the Berkeley Hills.

The installation went up on the 7th of July in the first floor "Central Catelog Lobby." As you're heading toward the short stairs to the 2nd floor historic Central Lobby and Reference desk floor, be sure and stop and look around you. You can check out Mr Najarian's painting retrospective until the 3rd of August during regular library hours.


Berkeley Public Library (Central Branch)
2090 Kittredge