Bruce Washburn

I recently donated my portrait of the classic wooden yacht Argonaut II to its restoration project, now underway, for use in fund-raising. She has a remarkable history, including as a mission boat serving remote communities along British Columbia's Inside Passage from the 1930s through the 1960s.

A sketch of the excellent shop cat we met today at the Gallery Bookshop in Mendocino CA. His name is “The Great Catsby” and he is 16 years old.

Here are 4 small watercolor and ink illustrations of mine, depicting some of my favorite local birds, for the "Six by Six" show at the Portola Art Gallery in Menlo Park this month. I'll be at the opening reception from 1-4, Saturday Dec. 6 -- if you are in the neighborhood, drop by and say hi!

My watercolor depiction of the subject of Yeats' poem "The Lake Isle of Innisfree". I've not yet had the good fortune to visit this place, so here is how I imagine it might be.

"La Maison Rose, Montmartre, Paris" ... I composed this watercolor from views I gathered while wandering around Paris late in the evening after a long work day several years ago. day, but at this hour they seemed to return to their natural habitat.

Some happy news to share: I’ve been selected as a new member of the Portola Art Gallery at the landmark Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park! So glad that my latest watercolor paintings will be alongside 21 award-winning local artists working in a wide variety of mediums. Gallery hours: 11am-4pm Mon-Sat

I'm very happy to have my new watercolor of Mt. Whitney included in "California Dreaming", a juried exhibition at the Pacific Art League in Palo Alto. 📍 668 Ramona St. 📅 Sept 5–23 🎉 Opening Reception: Fri, Sept 5 | 5:30–8 PM (I’ll be there!)

Zion Canyon observed from Observation Point. I have fond memories of hiking to his vantage point, a long climb through Echo Canyon and well worth it. The sweeping vistas would seem to call for a larger format, but I wanted to try a pocket-sized rendering of the view. This one is an 8x10".

I recently completed a commissioned watercolor for a collector who requested a painting of the area around Los Altos, California, depicting how it might have looked during its agricultural heyday in the early 20th century. It was an honor to be entrusted with this commission.

"Morning". This new watercolor of mine was inspired by the Mary Oliver poem of the same name, and depicts our old cat Toby who liked to spend part of the morning outside the front door in the azaleas, where he could survey the street.

My recent watercolor of the eastern Sierra ghost town of Bodie is in the new Art Guild of Pacifica group exhibit, themed "Elements of Life", at the Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica. Opening reception: Friday, July 11, 7PM. Exhibit open through August 10.

I have two recent watercolors in the Coastal Arts League's Summer Show: "Vernal Fall in Spring" and "Los Altos Farm in Early Morning". Many talented local artists working in a wide variety of mediums to see! Gallery: 300 Main St., Half Moon Bay, open from 12-5PM (closed Tue/Wed).

Here's a new watercolor depicting the Watchman, a sandstone mountain so-named because it seems to be guarding the south entrance to Zion Canyon in Utah. I based this view on a photograph I took while hiking the Watchman Trail back in April 2014, so I'm highlighting the springtime colors.

We are staying at a Camden Maine inn for a couple of days and we were greeted by the inn cat “Einstein”. Sketched his pawtrait while having my morning coffee.

A new watercolor of Mendocino CA viewed at sunset from the headlands south of town. I've painted this view a few times before, I love how the time spent painting can take me back.

Here's a new watercolor of mine depicting the view of Mt. Whitney in the Sierra Nevada from a vantage point near the Whitney Portal road, west of Lone Pine, California. Reference photographs by Brian Washburn.

Happy World Pigment Day (March 22) ... here's a watercolor depicting an early 20th century Los Altos California apricot ranch in cadmiums orange and yellow, french ultramarine, prussian blue, yellow ochre, and assorted others.

This watercolor was inspired by the Irish guitarist/songwriter John Doyle's ballad "Liberty's Sweet Shore", written from the perspective of someone traveling from Ireland to North America during the Great Famine of 1845-1852, approaching the entrance to the St. Lawrence off the coast of Labrador.

Los Altos farm, early morning. Here's a watercolor rendition of what the southern San Francisco Peninsula might have looked like during its agricultural heydey in the early 20th century. Some painting features are based on photographs I taken on the grounds of the Los Altos History Museum.

I have written a short statement responding to mass firings today of #NOAA / National Weather Service (#NWS) staff (which were concentrated among recent hires as well as highly experienced staff who had recently been promoted). Please see below screenshot & below for full text.

Looking through my "to paint someday" folder I found this photo taken on an early morning in late January 2017, and "someday" turned out to be today. In this watercolor El Capitan and Half Dome seem to me as if they are old friends greeting each other, and greeting the new day.

I've been working on some ideas for a commissioned watercolor, where the client would like a representation of the rural landscape around Los Altos CA during the first part of the last century. Here's a view including a water tank and windmill near an orchard of apricot trees.

SF Bay Area folks who have driven Highway 37 along San Pablo Bay may be familiar with the site of this fishing boat stranded in a field near the Port Sonoma marina. It's been there for over a decade, maybe quite a bit longer. I call this watercolor "Dreaming of the Sea".

I have a new watercolor in the current Members Exhibit of the Art Guild of Pacifica, at the Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica CA. The theme of this exhibit is "Ode to Joy". Here's Yosemite Valley and some of its inhabitants, imagined as they might have been on a summer afternoon a very long time ago.

A watercolor of Abbott lighthouse in Santa Cruz, decorated for the December holidays. Cheers!

A new watercolor of mine. Bodie is a ghost town in California on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada. After the discovery of gold in 1876 it grew up and by 1879 it had a population of around 8,000. All downhill after that, achieving Ghost Town status in 1915. Reference photo by Brian Washburn.

My watercolors and I will be at the Winter Art Faire in Pacifica this weekend (Dec. 9-10 from 11-5, Sanchez Art Center, 1220 Linda Mar Blvd), along with a few dozen other arts and crafts folks. If you're thinking about shopping small and local for the December holidays, consider stopping by.

If you are in Pacifica CA between now and November 19th, drop by the Art Guild of Pacifica's 65th Annual Members Exhibit at the Sanchez Art Center, 1220 Linda Mar Blvd, Fri-Sat-Sun, 1-5pm. My entry depicts the Stage Road north of Pescadero, and a view from a hill looking back down into a valley.

If you are in or near San Francisco between now and January 7 2024, you could consider visiting the de Young Open 2023 exhibit at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, a fantastic collection of 883 works submitted by artists from 9 Bay Area counties. www.famsf.org/exhibitions/...