Morris Reservoir Shoreline, San Gabriel Mountains, 12″ x 12″, Oil on panel, © Eric Merrell

The 17th Annual Los Angeles Fine Art Show opens up tomorrow, January 18th, and runs through January 22nd. Two pieces of mine will be there: a new painting, “Morris Reservoir Shoreline, San Gabriel Mountains” will be in the California Art Club‘s booth, and “Commanding View, San Gabriel Mountains” will be at American Legacy Fine Art‘s booth.

January 18-22, 2012 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, West Hall B

Wednesday, January 18th
-Collector & Press Preview: 5pm to 6pm
-Patron Reception: 6pm to 7pm
-Opening Night Premiere Party: 7pm to 10pm

General Show Dates: January 19-22nd
-Thursday, January 19th: 11am to 7pm
-Friday, January 20th: 11am to 7pm
-Saturday, January 21st : 11am to 7pm
-Sunday, January 22nd: 11am to 5pm

Commanding View, San Gabriel Mountains, 26″ x 24″, Oil on canvas mounted on panel, © Eric Merrell

Title: Desert Painting Workshop with Eric Merrell
Location: Borrego Springs (Anza-Borrego Desert State Park), California
Dates: March 9 – 11, 2012
Time: 9 am – 4 pm (hour break for lunch)
Cost: $450
Description: In this workshop we will emphasize color and design – not copying nature, but using it to create our own voice. The California desert provides a perfect place to learn to simplify, one of the biggest challenges in painting. Californian artist Eric Merrell has spent a good deal of time painting and exploring the California deserts, resulting in two solo exhibitions on opposite coasts of the United States: at The Forbes Gallery (NYC) in 2010 and American Legacy Fine Arts (Pasadena, CA) in 2011.
Materials: See my website under Workshops
To register: Email eric@ericmerrell.com to register or for more info

I’m excited to be featured in two new articles which have come out recently -

“Eric Merrell – Tranquil Landscapes in the Desert,” by Molly Siple
Plein Air Painting Magazine, Fall 2011
(Click the images for larger readable versions)

plus “Painting the Desert with Eric Merrell,” by Steve Doherty
OutdoorPainter.com, August 6, 2011

Arroyo Seco Afternoon, 12″ x 16″, Oil on panel, © Eric Merrell

These are a number of new pieces I’ve done recently – since moving closer to the Arroyo Seco, I’ve been painting there almost entirely. And since I’m temporarily without a studio, everything is done on location. It’s a fantastic place to paint, and as the birthplace of plein air painting on the west coast and California Impressionism, offers some pretty special light. Jean Mannheim, Franz Bischoff, Elmer and Marion Wachtel and William Lees Judson are just a few of the artists who lived on or near the Arroyo. The high western edge of the Arroyo casts a shadow a little earlier than sunset and creates some unique painting opportunities – below are some examples of this: “The Arc of Evening” shows the eastern rim of the Arroyo and “In the Gloaming” looks up at the western edge.

The Arc of Evening, Arroyo Seco, 9″ x 12″, Oil on canvas panel, © Eric Merrell

Summer Heat in the Arroyo, 11″ x 14″, Oil on panel, © Eric Merrell

San Rafael Bridge from the Arroyo, 11″ x 14″, Oil on panel, © Eric Merrell

Hillside Oaks and Shadows, Arroyo Seco, 11″ x 14″, Oil on panel, © Eric Merrell

These three paintings, “Hillside Oaks and Shadows,” “In the Gloaming” and “Down to Earth Sinks the Sun” have been great challenges. I spent at least three consecutive days working on each, developing the color and subtleties.

In the Gloaming – Arroyo Seco, 12″ x 9″, Oil on panel, © Eric Merrell

Down to Earth Sinks the Sun – The Arroyo Seco, 9″ x 12″, Oil on panel, © Eric Merrell

This Too Shall Pass – Arroyo Seco, 9″ x 12″, Oil on panel, © Eric Merrell (Private collection)

I’ll be giving a short presentation about my work at 1 pm on Saturday, October 15, 2011 at the Henderson Community Building, 72559 Highway 111 at El Paseo (Entrada del Paseo) in Palm Desert for the 6th Annual Desert Garden Community Day, presented by the Desert Horticultural Society, the City of Palm Desert, and the Desert Garden Center in Palm Springs. The events will be a combination of artists and their work along with workshops about desert landscaping. The Palm Springs Art Museum is not far from there, so stop by and make a day out of it!

On Sunday October 16th I’ll be exhibiting new paintings of the historic Arroyo Seco along with other artists from the California Art Club. The exhibition will take place from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm at La Casita del Arroyo, 177 S. Arroyo Blvd., Pasadena, CA  91105 [map].

Realm of the Desert Tortoise (Joshua Tree Highlands), 12″ x 16″, Oil on panel, © Eric Merrell

I’m excited to announce that I’m now represented by American Legacy Fine Arts (ALFA) in Pasadena, CA, and they will be hosting a solo exhibition of my desert paintings and still life next month titled “Romance of the West – and the Western Spirit.” There will be an opening reception on July 16 from 5-7 p.m., and a catalog will be published to accompany the exhibition. It’s really an honor to be working with this gallery and listed alongside the many great artists on their roster!

Eric Merrell: Romance of the West – and the Western Spirit
July 16-August 13, 2011
Opening Reception: July 16, 2011, 5:00-7:00 p.m.

American Legacy Fine Arts
949 Linda Vista Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91103
Open by appointment Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Echoes and Silence (Near the Old Wall Street Mine, Joshua Tree National Park), 28″ x 28″, Oil on canvas mounted on panel, © Eric Merrell

Joshua Tree Nocturne, 30″ x 30″, Oil on canvas mounted on panel, © Eric Merrell

Colors of Summer – Blooming Epiphyllum, 20″ x 24″, Oil on panel, © Eric Merrell

American Legacy Fine Arts

An article about the current exhibit at the Salton Sea History Museum will be coming out in the new June issue of Palm Springs Life, written by Ann Japenga and titled “The New Sublime: Artists Working at the Salton Sea Capture the Beauty and Decay with a Fresh Perspective.” Click on the images above to read the article.

Ramona at the Musée Rodin with The Crouching Woman, c.1880-82 by Auguste Rodin

I just returned from my honeymoon in France with my beautiful wife Ramona. One of the things that struck me on our travels there was a small exhibition we saw at the Musée Rodin in Paris, titled Rien Que Vous et Moi (“Nothing Except You and Me”). It focused on the friendship between the great sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) and the great painter Claude Monet (1840-1926). (Rodin was born on November 12, 1840, two days before Monet.)

Claude Monet, Belle-Ile, 1886, Musée Rodin, Paris

One of the interesting points the exhibit made was the boost given to the artists by two of the most prominent French art critics of the time, Gustave Geffroy (1855-1926) and Octave Mirbeau (1848-1917). Geffroy and Mirbeau both wrote extensively about the two artists and were credited with introducing Monet and Rodin to each other – resulting in a lifelong friendship between the artists, exchanges of artwork (“Belle-Ile,” above, was given by Monet to Rodin and is now the collection of the Rodin Museum), and numerous letters between Rodin and Monet. The critics were also responsible for introducing the artists to the renowned Georges Petit Gallery in Paris, where they presented a two-man show in 1889.

I thought this really highlighted the importance of writers to an artist’s career. What we as artists really need is not exposure en masse but better, well-thought out and carefully selected exposure. With the advent of the internet, blogs, etc., everyone can now have their say – so it takes a skilled writer with something to say – writing about something worth hearing about – to cut through the din. Cheers to all those out there doing that.

The grounds at the musée have Rodin’s monumental works interspersed throughout; also, one room is dedicated to the work of Camille Claudel (1864-1943), probably Rodin’s greatest student (with whom he also had a stormy relationship). Did you know that Rainier Maria Rilke (1875-1926), the great German poet and writer, worked in another room as Rodin’s secretary for a period?!? The Musée Rodin is definitely worth a visit on your next trip to the City of Lights.

Shaped by the Sea (Provincetown Dunes),

I’m pleased to announce a new gallery I’ll be exhibiting with, Egeli Gallery in Provincetown, MA. They’ve got a great roster of artists in the gallery who have a deep interest in working with color, so that’s exciting for me to be a part of. The Egeli family has a great artistic tradition that covers at least three generations of artists, and more than one generation studied with Henry Hensche, a noted artist of Provincetown and student of Charles Hawthorne.

Egeli Gallery opens April 25 for the summer season on the Cape, and you can visit them at 382 Commercial Street, Provincetown, MA 02657, 508/487-0044.

Does Your Heart Beat Slower? (Joshua Tree National Park), 24″ x 20″, Oil on canvas mounted on panel, © Eric Merrell

“Gold Coast: Paintings of Southern California by the California Art Club” is a new exhibition that opens April 30 – June 12, 2011 at the Oceanside Museum of Art. I’ll have two paintings in the exhibit (not the coast, for sure, but definitely Southern California!). A reception will be held on April 30 from 1-4 pm.

I love desert moonlight – it’s so bright you really don’t need any other light source to get around (it does help to have a little book light or something for painting though). It’s a great challenge to paint what you actually see – it’s the big masses of shapes, the big statement that creates the emotional impact that interests me, not the details.