Artist Statement Draft

It is too wet out to paint so I am FINALLY writing my artist statement. I've been thinking about it for a while. I've had a bio in the 3rd person for a long time, just never felt I could sum up my reasons for painting the way I do in a succinct enough form. Here is my first draft. I really would like some advise. How does it read? Does it make sense to you? As a writer I always say I am a very good painter....all suggestions welcome



Robin Purcell Artist Statement


I grew up in New England and was a realistic Studio Painter for many years. California has always been a mythic place of sunshine to me. A fortunate set of influences helped me arrive at my own style of interpreting California Landscapes. I was probably permanently warped as a child by doing paint by numbers. I loved the way flat color areas could make something. An amateur art historian, I fell hard for the work of the early California Impressionists, particularly Granville Redmond and William Wendt. Their work helped me to see the landscape as shapes and movement. This combined with the fact that in watercolor hard edges are easier for me to control in the heat, led me to develop my own style that simplifies what I see and organizes it into connecting patches of color for my eye to follow. I am a plein air painter who goes outside to see the color and shapes from life so that I can change them in ways that feel true to me.