After the Fire 2015 Watercolors Calendar Available

http://www.zazzle.com/after_the_fire_2015_robin_purcell_watercolors_calendar-158842361850606682?rf=238860271049362609

After the Fire 2015 Robin Purcell Watercolors Wall Calendars by robinpurcellpaints

Two Paintings accepted into the California Art Club's 104th Annual Gold Medal Juried Exhibition and Sale: After the Fire VI and By the Old Field

After the Fire VI 14 x 17

By the Old Field 16 x 20

I am very excited about this. I have now exhibited in five Gold Medal Exhibits in a row!
 This exhibit is juried by an expert panel of musuem professionals and Master Artists so it is very satisfying to  be accepted.
Dates:
March 29th to April 19th 2015
USC Fisher Museum of Art, Los Angeles

Californiaartclub.org

After the Fire VI accepted into the Sixth Annual Signature American Watermedia Exhibition 2015 at the Fallbrook Art Center

After the Fire VI 16 x 20

Absolutely over the moon about this one. The juror for this is Stephen Quiller who I admire tremendously for his personal style and color in his wonderful landscape paintings.

Exhibit information:

6th Annual Signature American Watermedia Exhibition
Opening Reception Feb 7th
Exhibit dates Feb 8 to March 22

Fallbrook Art Center
103 South Main St
Fallbrook CA


Presenting the 6th Annual Signature American Watercolor Exhibition, featuring works by Signature Members of U.S. watercolor / watermedia societies. Juried by noted watercolorist, Stephen Quiller, AWS-DF, NWS. Presented alongside renowned California-Syle regionalists. The best of old and new - this exhibition offers a rare chance to see current works by 88 of the nation’s top watercolor artists joined by renowned regionalists including Phil Dike, Emil Kosa, Jr, Millard Sheets and more.
Fallbrookartcenter.org

After the Fire IV accepted into the 45th National Exhibition of the California Watercolor Association

After the Fire IV 16 x 20 Plein Air Watercolor

Thanks to juror Eric Wiegardt for selecting this painting for the 45th National Exhibition of the California Watercolor Association. This exhibit will be my first in 2015 and I am looking forward to attending the reception in nearby Pleasanton California on January 15th. There are 75 masterful watercolors in this exhibit and I am happy to be a part of it with one of my After the Fire Series Paintings.

Details:
California Watercolor Association
 45th National Exhibition
Harrington Gallery
Firehouse Arts Center
Pleasanton CA
January 15th to February 21st
Reception January 15th 6 to 8 pm

After the Mount Diablo Fire Series IX and After the Fire X

              After the Fire IX 16 x 20

This is where a fire break was created that stopped the fire .
The burnt part of the slope on the left contrasts with the unburnt part on the lower right, the fire broke through at the far end. Getting closer to the trees and burnt areas required careful selection of what to leave out so that it doesn't look like a fall scene.

After the Fire X 14 x 14

This shows what the recovering chaparral looks like up close.
This was fun to paint because of the returning green contrasting with the copper colored bare soil.
 These plants clearly have root systems that survived the fire and will be recovering rapidly.

My blog just got the 200,000th visitor on November 19th 2014! Thank you!

"Bay Light", plein air watercolor 11 x 14

Bay Light 11 x 14. Plein Air Watercolor

This was painted on South Gate Rd on Mount Diablo, just down from junction. As I' ve been looking inland as I paint the After the Fire Series, when I turn to go home at about 4 pm and see this wonderful view of the late afternoon light reflecting off San Francisco Bay. It is interesting painting the late afternoon light as it changes quickly. Painted in about an hour.

Signature Artist Member of the Month, LPAPA

http://www.lpapa.org/features/2014november/robin_purcell/paint01.html

I was happy to be selected as a Signature Artist member of Laguna Plein Air Painters last year about this time.
 LPAPA just recognized me as the Signature Artist Member of the month for November.

When I moved to Northern California in the mid 90's, I fell in love with the plein air painters from Southern California both the turn of the century and the contemporary landscape painters doing wonderful work so this means a lot to me!

They selected a great assortment of my paintings to feature on the page that's linked above, please check it out and explore the wonderful programs LPAPA has for artists and collectors.

October Vines, 14 x 14 Plein Air Watercolor

October Vines, 14 x14 Plein Air Watercolor



The old vines on Piner Road in Sonoma have so much character.
These vines were just starting to change color in early October.
This was painted the same day as Bob's GranFondo bicycle event and just before the Riverbend painting of the Russian River posted in the most recent blog entry.

Riverbend, 11 x 14 Plein Air Watercolor

"Riverbend" 11 x 14 , plein air watercolor painted near Duncan's Mills along the Russian River.

Bob did Levi's GranFondo bicycle event in October and I was lucky enough to go to Duncan's Mills to the Christopher Queen Galleries. Contemporary painters and wonderful watercolors upstairs by Percy Grey and Lorenzo Latimer were inspiration for this piece. It was sunny along the coast, our best weather in Northern California is September and October. It was a such  pleasure to see green trees and flowing water.

Artists accepted to the California Watercolor 45th National Exhibit

 CWA web site October 15th  Number 48!
Thanks to Juror Eric Wiegardt  for accepting my painting.
It's a great honor to be in this exhibit with such accomplished northern California Artists as Joe Santos,  Nt Near, David Broad, Jane Hoffstetter, Iretta Hunter, Charotte Huntley, Qian Gao, Sally Cataldo, Sal Valencia and Myrna Wacknov.

45th National Accepted Artists 2014

Artists & Images

1	Abraham, Patricia	Hiding Places IV
2	Adkison, Melissa	Fuschia 2
3	Arkhipau, Genady	Wcop 85
4	Armitage, Ruth	Beneath the Surface
5	Athanas, Denise	Moonlight Nocturne III
6	Bailey,  Sally Bills	Puzzled
7	Baker, Sally	A Rose is a ...
8	Barron Leopardo, Joyce	Turning the Corner
9	Becker, Marnie	Silent Partner
10	Blake, Mary	Sand Pond Ripples
11	Bortnick, Eugene	Pike Place Musicians
12	Bowler, Pattie	Silly Faces
13	Brayton, Francesca	Crystal Cove Hill
14	Broad, David	Monterey
15	Brown, Niz	Peaches and Cream
16	Byrne, Kathy	Glass Floats
17	Caldwell, Nancy	Monarch Madness
18	Cataldo, Sally	Stillife and Landscape
19	Chang, Angela	Wiredsouth Gate Market
20	Cheney-Parr, Leslie	Wepham 4 Crests
21	Crookston, Nancy	Portrait of Margaret
22	Curiel, Taryn	Walking Through the City
23	Daily-Birnbaum, Elaine	Deliberations
24	Dixon, Colleen	Hoop Dancer II
25	Erfle, linda	Persimmons at Sunrise
26	Friedland, Michael	San Rafael Victorian
27	Gao, Qian	Florence Market
28	Garner, Steve	The Element of Chance
29	Grinstead, John	Just Picked
30	Grudsky, Dmitry	Street Musician
31	Harper, Susan	Hope
32	Hill, Marilyn	I thought it would be different
33	Hofstetter, Jane	Night Passage
34	Hu, Xiao Xing	Looking Attentively
35	Hunter, Iretta	Up Beat Blues
36	Huntley, Charlotte	Zzzits
37	James, John	Starting Anew
38	Katsenelson, Naum	Foggy Morning
39	Kempe, Barbara	Macawcophony
40	Kingdon, Ona	Coded Thoughts
41	Matthews, Sue	Sea Skyscrapers
42	McCormack, Geoffrey	Fresh Frozen Pacific
43	McIntyre, Robert	Morning Mist
44	Near, Nancy	Waiting in the Wings
45	Ng, Woon Lam	Market Place
46	O'Connor, Birgit	Rose Dream
47	Peterson, David	Merchant and Main St.
48	Purcell, Robin	After the Fire IV
49	Rogone, Anthony	Forks and Spoons
50	Rouse, Charles	Boat Yard Blues
51	Sakai, Kathy	Urban Decay
52	Salvador, Andre	What Color is your Blown Glass Ceiling
53	Santos, Joseph	Drill Rig
54	Shoemaker, Doug	San Diego Blue
55	Smith, Mark	Pueblos Blancos
56	Sorrentino, Vita	Dramaturg
57	St. Onge, Jan	Indigo Village
58	Staub, Carol	Rays Of Hope
59	Steinbach-Garcia, Teresa	Wild Almonds
60	Stephens, Ron	CTC Auto Ranch
61	Stermer-Cox, Margaret	Just SayinV8b
62	Stone, Hazel	Ditat Deus
63	Strier, Ellen	Waiting in Malibu
64	Suz Chiang, Tan	Relationship of City 8
65	Tang, Michael	Mott Street New York City
66	Valencia, Salvador	Race Day
67	Wacknov, Myrna	Evolution
68	Walsh, Marilyn	Store Window with Reflections
69	Walters, Steve	The Wooden Prince
70	Wear, Marilyn	Heading Downstream
71	Weckbach, Kevin	Blue Pike and Red Glass
72	Williams, Erin	Delicious Day
73	Wilson, Suzanne	Farmers Market Radishes Leeks Chard
74	Wright, Val	On Parade
75	Zymolka-Amrhein, Anita	Working Upstream

Huddled Oaks, Plein Air Watercolor

Huddled Oaks 11 x 14 Plein Air Watercolor

This was painted as practice for the Sonoma Plein Air Event last month near Chalk Hill. I hardly ever paint under cold and foggy conditions, but felt like I needed to practice in case the weather was cloudy.. I was attracted to the shapes and subtle colors of the oaks, especially the one on the far right bravely reaching across the top of the ridge.
As we are in a terrible drought, I couldn't help wondering about the survival technique of taking root at the top and ?driest part of a ridge. This scene also made me wonder if the other side of the ridge was wetter. Another idea in the painting was how simple I could make the vineyard and still have it read. I didn't want detail in the vines distracting from the trees.

Huddled Oaks (Detail)

Diablo Arts Magazine Cover and Walnut Creek Turns 100 Exhibit, Lesher Foundation Award

The neighboring city of Walnut Creek has a public arts program sponsored by the city and the Lesher Foundation. I was honored to be asked if my painting " Wild At Heart" could be used as the cover to promote the Walnut Creek Turns 100 Exhibit.

  























The  Bedford Gallery also chose to feature the uncropped version in the brochure for Walnut Creek turns 100.

At the reception I was happy to find out my painting won the Lesher Foundation Award.
On the following Monday I was invited to give a docent talk about my painting which was a great experience, I got to meet some very talented artists and address a lively group of about 40 docents..Thanks to Carrie Lederer and her staff for a wonderful, local experience! Because this exhibit is unjuried it is uneven, but there are some wonderful pieces included, you just have to find them.

Exhibition Details:
Walnut Creek Turns 100: Celebrating the City Through Art September 21 - November 16, 2014

Admission during Walnut Creek Turns 100 is free thanks to a generous grant from the Lesher Foundation

Final Paintings and Sale Sonoma Plein Air Art Event 2014

Clouds Over Cabernet 6 x 6 Sold

George Ranch Oaks 6 x 6

Sonoma Plein Air Day Three Paintings

A Thirsty Hill 12 x 16

Sonoma Uplift 11 x 14

A Chance of Rain 11 x 14

Sonoma Plein Air Day Two Paintings

Companion Oaks 11 x 14

Hill at the Square 6 x 6 (quick draw)

Hill at the Square framed and sold

Sonoma Plein Air Art Festival 2014 Day One Paintings

A Thirsty Place 11 x 14

Valley Oaks 11 x 14

Sonoma Sentinals 11 x 14

A break by the coast: August Pescadaro Marsh 9 x 12 Plein Air Watercolor

August Pescadaro Marsh  9 x 12 Plein Air Watercolor

It was great to go paint at the Coast of Northern California. The moisture in the air was a good change from the dry conditions in the East Bay. This quick 9 x 12 was composed for me by nature, I turned my head and the dramatic darks of the trees contrasted with the distant and middle ground hills and gave the painting a dramatic focus.

After the Fire VII and After the Fire VIII

After the Fire VII 9 x 12

After the Fire VIII 13 1/2 x 16 1/2

I enjoyed painting in the evening in July  so I went back up  Mount Diablo to paint the next two After the Fire series in the early evening.
The light changed the colors so there was an orange/ pink cast to the colors that reminds me of the pinkish caste to the light during a fire. These were painted from South Gate Rd near Rock City where a few trees recently were removed and a new vista of the summit and burnt area is visible. The bare soil took on a lovely terracotta color in the evening light. And I am learning how to compensate for how quickly the light changes at this time of day. (Giving the visual memory muscles a work out for sure)

"Late July Hills" and "Flowers of the Sun in the Valley of the Moon" in CAC Miniatures en Plein Air

Late July Hills 9 x12 Plein Air Watercolor $700

Flowers of the Sun in the Valley of the Moon 9 x 12  plein air $700

Miniatures En Plein Air
California Art Club Gallery at The Old Mill
1120 Old Mill Road, San Marino, CA
September 9, 2014 – January 11, 2015


I painted "Flowers of the Sun in the Valley of the Moon" for the title. The center flowers were done a long time ago, in the scene they were surrounded by bright foliage. I decided to push it down in value to help you focus on the flowers.

"Late July Hills", Plein Air Watercolor Study 9 x 12

Late July Hills 9x 12 watercolor painted on location, Mount Diablo.
I needed a break from driving way up to the burn zone, this was a quick hour and a half in changing light.
 The faster the light is changing, the smaller I paint. I also stop when the light is gone and complete these paintings from memory rather than try to paint in the dark. The different scale of the shapes appealed to me and the value pattern was all there, one of those turn my head and say "that's a painting" moments

Saint Mary's College Museum of Art, By Invitation Only, Revealing the Landscape

Here is how my three paintings look in this exceptionally well installed exhibit which runs through September 21st.
I wish I had the guts to paint my walls like this.

Top: After the Fire 18 x 24 (far right) Collection the artist
Bottom: Rare Sight 14 x 21 Collection Sue Nestor
             Zuma Canyon 14 x 21 Collection the artist
 These were from a sneak peek during installation from before the opening.
I plan on going back to see it when it is not so crowded. It is an inspiring exhibit that shows a wide range of landscape subjects styles and concepts.

After the Mount Diablo Fire Series, After the Fire V and VI

After the Fire V 12 x 16
This is looking up at the summit in the fire zone. We had had some rain and there was new growth in the chaparral areas that was a lovely fresh green, the bare chert soil was a  deep red, burnt orange that contrasted nicely.

After the Fire VI 16 x 20
This is at Devil's elbow, just below the summit. The fire hopscotched through this area leaving patches of soil and singeing the lower part of the pines.

After the Mount Diablo Fire Series, "After the Fire III" and " After the Fire IV"

 After the Fire III  Plein Air watercolor 16 x 20

After the Fire IV Plein Air Watercolor 16 x20

Here are two more paintings showing the changes on Mount Diablo  in the first year after the 2013 fire. Despite the drought  there is green vegetation returning in the bald areas left after the fire. As the season prgoesses I am trveling further up into the burn zone to see the plants against the bare earth.

"By Invitation Only, Revealing the Landscape" at Saint Mary's College Museum of Art

I am thrilled to have three paintings in this Saint Mary's College Museum of Art Exhibit

The opening is August 10th 2 to 4:30 pm.  The exhibit runs August 10th to September 21st.
Here is link to the Saint Mary's web site for more information
http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/saint-marys-college-museum-of-art/exhibitions-and-collections/upcoming-exhibitions

By Invitation Only, Revealing the Landscape: a contemporary landscape invitational featuring 27 of the Greater Bay Area's most intriguing and gifted artists, emerging, mid-career, and established, who vividly demonstrate the remarkable range and breadth of this iconic subject.

After the Fire 18 x 24 Collection the Artist

This is the side of the mountain I paint most often. It had a lovely trail of pink soil left in the fire's path. There was a brief green season this spring with softer greens than usual. I feel compelled to try to capture the changes on Mount Diablo as it heals and am working on an after the fire Series.

Zuma Canyon  14 x 21 Collection the Artist

This was painted in Malibu. It was the first time I saw how different the ridges and canyons are in Southern California.
This scene has no trees, only bare rocks and low vegetation that hugged the hillsides.The lovely fractured geometry of the rocks is clearly visible.

Rare Sight 14 x 21 Private Collection

This was a Monday morning and chores and errands waited while I seized the opportunity to capture the snow on the summit of Mount Diablo. Usually the snow melts as soon as the clouds lift. This snow fall happened late enough in the season so that it contrasted dramatically with the spring color on the foothills below, it was painting like winter and spring at once.



I have visited the annual summer landscape exhibits at the Saint Mary's Museum of Art, it's usually a highlight of my summer to see the inspiring paintings. So it is especially thrilling to be invited to exhibit here.Saint Mary's College Museum of Art is located at 1928 Saint Mary's Road, Moraga CA

Additional Information:
By Invitation Only:Revealing the Landscape
August 10 - September 21, 2014
Opening reception: Sunday, August 10, 2- 4:30 PM, Museum Patio. Come meet the artists. Visitors will also hear them speak about their own work in a new Guide by Cell tour.
Every summer Saint Mary’s College Museum of Art presents its annual summer landscape exhibition. This year’s exhibition, By Invitation Only: Revealing the Landscape, marks the 24th summer the tradition continues.
On view will be more than 80 works of art, including painting, drawing, photography and sculpture, by 29 artists. These artists paint in plein-air in the natural landscape, sketch in urban locations, sculpt in studios and photograph on mountaintops and in their neighborhoods, each finding fresh new visions of the environment in which they live and work.
 The exhibition will include work by Chris Adessa, Sharron Antholt, Randy Beckelheimer, Martha Borge, Nicholas Coley, Christin Coy, Willard Dixon, Warren Dreher, Jessica Dunne, Stephen Joseph, Louis LaBrie, Richard Lindenberg, Peter Loftus, Catherine Mackey, Heidi McDowell, Jack Mendenhall, Teresa Onoda, Sandy Ostrau, Carol Peek, Robin Purcell, Roy Schmaltz, Randy Sexton, Linda Simmel, Tracey Snelling, Anne Subercaseaux, Tom Taneyhill, Bryan Mark Taylor, Donna J. Wan, and Wanda Westberg.

About the Museum
The Hearst Art Gallery was built with the aid of a grant from the William Randolph Hearst Foundation. The Gallery opened in 1977, replacing a smaller William Keith Gallery. The College previously collected and distributed art for several decades, including many works by William Keith (1838-1911), a key figure in the history of California art. Brother Fidelis Cornelius Braeg, Saint Mary's College art professor and Keith biographer, established the original William Keith Collection and Gallery at Saint Mary's in 1934.

LPAPA's 10th Annual Best of Plein Air , Exhibiting Late Bloomers and Poppy Mound

The announcement for this exhibit in Southern California. I have two paintings in the exhibit

Late Bloomers 14 x 14

Poppy Mound 16 x 20

I am happy to be in this exhibit, it was juried by Jean Stern of the Irvine Museum and Randy Higbee

Demonstration: " After the Fire II " 18 x 24 (Mount Diablo)

I thought it was time to post a demo.

This is Mount Diablo during the brief rainy season after the fire. The pink slash of exposed chert contrasted with the greens of spring.

After the Fire II 18 x 24. Still trying to get a good picture of the final piece.