Born in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Marshall Potter is a watercolorist of cityscapes and landscapes of the San Francisco Bay Area. Many of his paintings depict buildings including factories, and he paints primarily with transparent colors, working wet on wet, with the goal of conveying spontaneity and fluidity. From the 1940s to 1960s, he painted on location, en plein aire, but in more recent years he has preferred to work in his studio.