Artist Statement, Second Draft

Well. I've had some help editing it and I am pretty happy with how the statement reads.


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 land of sunshine that stirred my imagination. A fortunate set of influences helped me arrive at my own style of interpreting the California Landscape. I was probably permanently warped by doing paint by numbers as a child. 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. It is much easier for me to control hard edges with watercolor while painting outdoors. These factors led me to develop a style that simplifies what I see and organizes it into shimmering patches of color. I am a Plein Air Painter who ventures outside to see colors and shapes from life so that I can push them in ways feel true to me and express my personal artistic vision.