"I decided to zoom in really far into the picture," said the Los Gatos High School art student, describing a still-life oil painting that she created of two strawberries and four grapes.

The unique point of view enlarges the small fruit to a huge proportion on the canvas. Angie, a senior, then outlined the fruit in black, making it appear to be made of stained glass. Her piece is one of the more than 20 on display created by Los Gatos High students in advanced art classes 2­4.

Part one of the exhibit opened Feb. 27 and runs through April 1 in the Los Gatos Town Council Chambers, 110 E. Main St., and part two of the exhibit runs April 1­30. The free exhibit is open to the public daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., as long as the chambers are not in use, according to Mary Ellen Kaschub, town assistant art commissioner.

Kaschub said the town council chambers offers six different shows a year as a way to present artwork from different groups in the community, from professional artists to senior citizens and high school students.

"It's a wonderful program to be able to feature local artists. Los Gatos has a lot of them, but not always a place to display their art," Kaschub said.

Part one of the high school exhibit features still-life paintings and copies of works of masters such as Georgia O'Keeffe, Norman Rockwell and Vincent van Gogh. Part two will include more eclectic pieces with broader subject matters ranging from 3-D art to imaginary copies and metamorphosis work, said Los Gatos art teacher Scott Downs.

"We have these shows to brighten up the town council chambers," Downs said.

The students who have their artwork on display hosted a reception on the evening of March 9, which featured finger food prepared by teacher Wendy Cosgrove's home economics class.

Downs added that it's valuable and powerful for his students to see their art hanging somewhere besides the gallery in the art wing of the school. For artists like senior Julie Cone, the brick walls of the council chambers are a great fit for her Irises, a copy of a van Gogh. Her artwork is the centerpiece of the collection.

"It's perfect because the walls are wide. The walls are pretty simple, and I think that helps bring out the artwork," she said.

But like van Gogh's paintings, which used so much paint that some are still wet in the middle, Julie's painting is also still drying, so visitors shouldn't touch it.

For more information about the exhibit, call Scott Downs at 408.354.2730 ext. 259.