Softcover, 151 pages, by Janet Blake and the Laguna Art Museum
California light has been a key theme in California art. The light-infused paintings of Rex Brandt are part of a history stretching from Impressionism landscape paintings of the early twentieth century to the Light and Space movement and beyond. Brandt's contribution was to use the full potential of watercolor to suggest effects of light and air, to embrace the freedom of form and color he found in modern French art--the Fauves and the Cubists--and to bring a certain touch and economy from the masters of Chinese ink and wash painting. The aim was to capture sensations--the warmth and sparkle of sunshine, the feeling of well-being about a beautiful day. His favorite word for the California sun, the center of his art, was "regenerative".
Malcom Warner - Executive Director, Laguna Art Museum