Our mission is to cultivate art appreciation and encourage community involvement in the arts through exhibits, classes, and events to children, youth and adults living in Monterey County.

For each of our students to become: an effective communicator, a complex thinker, an independent learner, a quality producer, a collaborative learner, and a responsible contributing citizen.

Paola Berthoin was born in London, England, and came to Carmel Valley in 1965 with her mother and three sisters. She is a graduate of Carmel High School and California College of the Arts where she specialized in printmaking, handmade paper and animal drawing. Paola’s deep commitment to living in the Carmel Valley over the past fifty years and tending the land she lives on for the past twenty-nine years has infused her visionary ways of interpreting the land through painting, writing, and advocacy for all watersheds of the Earth.

The mission of the Parks Foundation is to provide interpretive programs in history and environmental education for Monterey County residents.

Paul's primary expertise are chalk pastels. Using his tools, Paul renders fantastic landscapes full of color and spacious skies. His images depict the natural beauty of the regions surrounding his home town, the rustic charm of quaint Hawaiian chapels, the vibrant colors of Giverny gardens, and any other location he is fortunate enough to visit. In many instances, Paul will take photographic reference for his paintings; however, nothing is better than painting on location. Whenever he can, Paul escapes the studio with his easel in tow to set up shop on a rocky cliff edge overlooking the ocean or overlooking a fecund valley.