New small painting of Mount Diablo

"Morning Has Broken" 9 x 12 watercolor on paper.

If you follow this  blog you know I have been working for a while to get more comfortable with painting smaller. My smaller works tend to read as studies and not as finished works. This time I had a reason for working small, the rapidly changing light on Mount Diablo. As in most of my plein air pieces, the shapes and hues were observed on location and values  were altered to suit the painting's needs in the studio..

Curve of the Earth- Selected for the 2010 Statewide Watercolor Painting Competition and Exhibition at the Triton Museum of Art in Santa Clara

  "The Curve of the Earth" 21 x 14, will be exhibited at the 2010 Statewide Watercolor Painting Competition and Exhibition at the Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara.
This Exhibit was juried by Rebecca Schapp, Director of the de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University and noted watercolor artist and art educator Karen Frey
The Reception is Friday, December 10, 7 to 9, and the Exhibit runs December 11 to February 27th 2011.
The Curve of the Earth was painted at the Summit of Mount Diablo. 

The artists selected for this year’s Watercolor Competition & Exhibition are: Edna Acri, Alisan Andrews, Frank Ansley, Chris Beck, Curtis A. Boyle, Sheila H. Cain, Peter Carey, Bonni Carver, Manli Chao, Taryn Curiel, Robert Regis Dvorak, K. Druker, Jane W. Ferguson, Jan Grady, Veronica Gross, Dana Harris, Jane R. Hofstetter, Karen Honaker, Robert Horning, Nancy M. Howe, Charlotte Huntley, Joan January, Alvin Joe, Sue Johnston, Uma Kelkar, Ruth Koch, Kathy Lake, Julie Limberg, Ellen Little, Carolyn Lord, Sandra MacDiarmid, Ann Nancy Macomber, Karen Marquez, Jane McCullough, Maggie Metcalf, Denise Oyama Miller, Ruth E. Miller, Kathleen Mitchell, Saeko Nakamura, Nancy Near, R. Mike Nichols, Bob Nugent, Elise Odom, Mary Owens, Barbara Pease, Robin Purcell, Michael Reardon, Rita Sklar, Michelle Goll Smith, Bonnie M. Stone, Marta M. Szoboszlay, Betty Theodore, Sally Van Oosbree , Claire Schroeven Verbiest, Barbara Von Haunalter, Myrna Wacknov, Margaret Washington, Alice Weil, Mira M. White, Miyoko Whittelsey, and Floy Zittin.

Curve of the Earth- on the Cover of the November Issue of The Monthly

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Cover | Robin Purcell

The Curve of the Earth (watercolor painting, 2009). Robin Purcell, best known for her paintings of Mt. Diablo, created this watercolor in conjunction with the 2009 Mt. Diablo and Mt. Fuji Invitational Exhibit at the Hearst Gallery of St. Mary’s College in Moraga. “The open space of the parks in the East Bay is very important to my work,” says Purcell, who works exclusively in watercolor. “Mt. Diablo in particular is an island of peace in an otherwise crowded suburban setting.” A plein air artist “who goes outside to see colors and shapes from life and organize it into shimmering patches of color,” Purcell references the California impressionists as influences. Also, she jokes, she “was probably permanently warped by doing paint-by-numbers as a child.” Purcell holds a bachelor of fine arts from the University of Connecticut. To see more of her paintings online, visit robinpurcellpaints.blogspot.com.


The above is the nice write up they gave my work on the inside front cover.

Here is a link to the online version of The Monthly
http://www.themonthly.com/previous/2010/1011.html 
I was thrilled to be asked to contribute a cover image, last Month's cover was by Milton Glaser, a long time favorite of mine.

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On My Book shelf: Color by Victoria Finlay

I've read this book about 5 times. It is a mixture of adventure travel, history and science and traces the use of pigments from the prehistoric use of oxides and ochers through sources in the natural world (carmine came from insects) to the synthesis of modern chemically based color. I like knowing where the pigments came from and the journey Victoria went on is a refreshing read for a mostly armchair traveler.

Imagine California Exhibit and Reception at the Kevin Milligan Gallery Danville

Zuma Canyon, Malibu 14 x 21
Earlier this year, I was fortunate to take part  in the exhibit to benefit  Save Mt Diablo at this same  gallery located in downtown Danville. This exhibit is a juried competition curated by Philip Linhares, Chief Curator Oakland Museum , Oakland , California

The juried competitions at the Milligan Gallery are intended to provide local, regional, national and international artists with professional opportunities to exhibit while engaging the communities at large in a diverse selection of mediums and subjects.
The goal of "Imagine California"is to gather art that inspires discussion about the California experience.
Zuma Canyon was painted in Malibu. I liked the fractured nature of the ridges in Southern California. They have a weird geometry all their own. Our ridges are older and covered in mud, with beautiful flowing lines. This Canyon was fun to paint with sharp angles and an odd juxtaposition of shapes.

There were  19 artists selected, including several bay area artists I know and admire: Bill Carmel, Ruth Beeve, Susana Scarborough , Gary Stutler   and Charles White

The reception is Saturday October 9th  from 5 to 8.
The exhibit runs October 9 to November 20th.
Milligan Gallery 408 Hartz Ave DAnville, 925 309 4648

Hope to see you at the reception.

East Bay Members of the National Watercolor Society at the Firehouse Art Center, Pleasanton, Reception Oct 19

Summit From Southgate, 21 x 14 (Painted on Mt Diablo)

Karen Frey.Carolyn Lord, Robin Purcell, Michael Reardon East Bay Members of the National Watercolor Society Firehouse Arts Center-Harrington Gallery 4444 Railroad Ave Pleasanton, CA 94566 October 19th - December 2nd Opening:  October 20th 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM