About Atelier

 

14443 B Big Basin Way, Saratoga, CA 95070

 

Welcome to Art Students' Atelier in Saratoga

 Contact Instructor Gabriel Coke today

The Atelier in Saratoga offers year round instruction for Drawing and Oil Painting.

After School Art Studio - Tuesday through Thursday 4 to 6 PM

Summer Art Studio - Weeklong Workshops in June and July

DayTime Art Studio - Tuesday Morning 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM

Night Gallery Art Studio - Night Time Art Class Tuesdays 6:30 to 8:30 PM

Visiting Artist Workshops - Intensive Weekend Workshops With Guest Instructors

 

Welcome to art Students' Atelier. The studio is for practicing drawing and oil painting. Students can begin as young as 12 years old and learn at their own pace with generous class hours and support inside a well lighted and functional studio.

From May 3 to August 10, 2025 Gabriel Coke is exhibiting work at The Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara. Unlimited Imagination features 27 original works by Gabriel and additional work by over 30 current and alumni students.

Curator Vanessa Callanta wrote this about Gabriel and the studio.

 

Curator's Statement by Vanessa Callanta, 2025

In my experience as an artist, one of the most important things to me were my
relationships with my teachers. I’ve had what I consider great teachers and what I
consider not so great teachers. The great teachers were the ones who took the time to
really look at my work. They were the ones who helped me develop my ideas, develop
my techniques. They were the ones that pushed me into areas where I initially felt
uncomfortable, but it was in these areas that I discovered I actually had the ability to do
what they said I could do. They gave me their time, their expertise, their support, their
encouragement. That can do wonders for a child, a teenager, or even an adult learning
how to create – to create with their own voice using the skills and knowledge that have
been passed on by that teacher.
Gabriel is a great teacher. He is someone who pours his time, his energy, his creativity,
his knowledge, and his thoughtfulness into teaching every one of his students. I look at
the works presented in this gallery and think, “I wish I was that good at their age. I wish I
had a teacher like Gabriel when I was a kid.”
A couple of years ago I went to Saratoga to visit Gabriel at the art studio he operates,
Art Students’ Atelier. It’s a small, but neatly organized space located behind the shops
on the main downtown street. The walls are lined with artwork by Gabriel (I could
immediately spot the influence of one of his instructors, the superb Anthony Ryder), and
there are easels spread out with various still life scenes or other references around.
There’s also a small area where a model can be seated so the students can practice
drawing from life.
I came by when a few students were working on their drawings and paintings. Gabriel
and I would chat and then he would take some time to look at a student’s work and offer
some specific advice on how to proceed. He was always positive, always patient, and
always encouraging.
I have been familiar with Gabriel’s work for a while now, and I wanted to offer him at an
exhibition at the Triton. Gabriel’s skills as an artist are exceptional and his work is highly
imaginative. I also wanted to include some of his students’ work because I was
extremely impressed with what I saw in his studio – dedicated kids in elementary,
middle, and high school that were drawing or painting realistic figures and still life
scenes. In this exhibition, I also wanted to highlight the importance of their student-
teacher relationship.
When I look around this gallery and move back and forth from Gabriel’s art to his
students’ it show me how valuable and meaningful that relationship is. Sure Gabriel can
take more time to himself and just focus on his own work as an artist, but he choose to
share his knowledge, time, and talent with those who want to learn and develop their
skills. I understand that not all of us who go to art school or take art classes will end up
being professional artists, but I hope these talented young students here will continue to

create and find joy in that throughout their lives. And maybe one of them will think about
becoming an art teacher someday and sharing their expertise like Gabriel.

 

Education and Experience

My education came from studying in several professional studios and ateliers. I have studied across the United States and Europe. Time and practice has helped me develop a strong sense of form in drawing and painting. I am grateful to many teachers and friends, who taught me in the following places,

Currently Director of Art Students' Atelier since 2021
Formerly Director of NUMU Atelier for New Museum Los Gatos from 2015 to 2020
Formerly Director of Cloud Castle Art Studio from 2010 to 2015

 

My education includes time at the following places.

The Grand Central Academy of Art, New York City, New York
Frovik Kunstskole, Sannidal, Norway
Ecole Albert deFois, Loire Valley, France
The Studio of Anthony Ryder, Santa Fe, New Mexico
The Gage Academy of Art, Seattle, Washington
The Concrete Tower, The Old Arcata Creamery, Arcata, California