Jon Blanchette

Trout Gulch Road Design Proposal, Aptos CA - Watercolor on Heavy Cardstock

c.1960s

Beautiful mid century watercolor of a little store in Aptos, California by listed artist Jon Blanchette (American, 1908-1987). Signed "Jon Blanchette" lower right. Presented in a new...

Gorgeous watercolor landscape of Alaska's Aleutian Islands by Chikara "Don" Oka (American, 1920-2015). Signed and dated "Don '44" lower right. Notation on verso, Don C. Oka for Don Chikara Oka. Unframed. Presented in mat. Image 14"L x 21"W. During World War II, Oka painted beautiful watercolors of the Alaskan wilderness. In the 1920s, his parents operated a migrant labor hotel in Castroville, a farm town in central California. Chikara Oka "Don" was born on January 5, 1920, in Watsonville, California. He was the third of seven sons born to Shutaro Oka and Ariyo Itano. His older brothers were Isao, Masao; his younger brothers, Takeo, Teiji, Terumasa (Ted) and Hidekazu (Danny). From the age of five to seventeen, he lived in Japan, living with an aunt until 1932, then with his father who returned to Japan after Ariyo's death. Wanting to become a successful farmer, Chikara remained in Japan until 1937 to attend Takamatsu Agricultural High School. Upon graduation, he returned at the age of seventeen to the United States, traveling alone from Kobe to Castroville, California, where he began seasonal work harvesting lettuce and cutting grass for $0.35 an hour. Back then, 35 cents was enought to pay for a movie and a hamburger. Despite being older, Don attended 8th grade at the local grammar school to learn English, studying through breaks, lunch and even after school. During winter, he traveled down to Los Angeles with Masao, attending Belmont High School during the week and working at a produce market on weekends. At the suggestion of one of his teachers, who felt he had an artistic sense, Don applied to and was accepted to the Otis Art Institute where he began his art studies in 1941. Three months later, on December 7, 1941, the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor by Imperial forces took place. On February 16, 1942, Don enlisted in the United States Army at the Presidio. After infantry training at Camp Robinson in Arkansas, he was assigned duty at Camp Crowder, Missouri and then Camp Carson, Colorado. While in Colorado, Don interviewed and tested for a position with the Military Intelligence Service, resulting in a move to Camp Savage, Minnesota, to attend MIS language school and training. The MIS soldiers served with every major unit and headqurters in the Army, Navy and Air Force, ciphering codes and cryptographs and serving as interpreters and translators in interrogation of enemy prisoners. Don himself served tours of duty in the Joint Intelligence Center – Pacific Ocean Area (aka JICPOA), the Aleutians Islands, the South Pacific, Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima. He always said he made US history by being the puniest gunnery sargeant ever at 5'7" and 117 pounds, soaking wet! Despite his modesty, the work performed by the MIS was credited with reducing the Allied war casualties and shortening the war by two years, an honorable service. Don was a quiet, peaceful man who disliked the war and was devasted by the loss of his brothers, Takeo and Teiji who served on the side of Japan. However, when he was called to duty, he willingly served his country to the best of his ability. After his discharge in 1945, he had to have five ribs removed and spent the next seven years rehabilitating from service-related tuberculosis in Arizona. During those years, he drew upon his artistic talent to occupy his time, drawing cartoons depicting his daily life. In 1952, he won the Cartoon Contest for Hospitalized Veterans, sponsored by the National Cartoonist Society. Not well enough to travel, he was unable to attend the awards ceremony in New York, so he was sent a special award consisting of a collection of famous cartoon characters, including "Nancy", "Popeye", "Snuffy" and "Steve Canyon" drawn and autographed by the famous cartoonists of the time. Grampa treasured the framed award, especially the drawing of Steve Canyon by artist Milton Caniff...

Country home, an impressionist watercolor painting by Charles Parnelle (American, 20th Century). Presented in a wooden frame. Signed "Parnelle" lower right. Image: 8"H x 10"W. Framed size: 13"H x 15"W. Charles Parnelle was an artist and teacher from Charleston, South Carolina...

Vibrant Livery stable Landscape of Niles, California (in Bay Area) by Elsa Hull (American, 20th Century). Presented in a wooden frame. Watercolor on paper. Signed "Elsa Hull" lower r...

A fine gouache painting of a Southern landscape by American artist Beatrice Lavis Cuming (1903-1975). Cuming was born in Brooklyn, NY, studied lo...

A watercolor painting by Charles Burchfield from 1931. A still life botanical painting of a skunk cabbage in natural setting. Signed and dated in lower right, beautifully matted and framed in gold ornate frame. The painting has an excellent provenance through top New York Galleries including DC Moore...

Painted during the 2015 Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida. A black and white depiction of a canal, is barely recognizable, due to Fenske's wild brushstrokes and lack...

Edward Dufner (1872 - 1957) Monhegan Island, Maine Watercolor on paper Sight 16 x 20 inches Signed lower right With a long-time career as an art teacher and painter of both 'light' and 'dark', Edward Dufner was one of the first students of the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy to earn an Albright Scholarship to study painting in New York. In Buffalo, he had exchanged odd job work for drawing lessons from architect Charles Sumner. He also earned money as an illustrator of a German-language newspaper, and in 1890 took lessons from George Bridgman at the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy. In 1893, using his scholarship, Dufner moved to Manhattan and enrolled at the Art Students League where he studied with Henry Siddons Mowbray, figure painter and muralist. He also did illustration work for Life, Harper's and Scribner's magazines. Five years later, in 1898, Dufner went to Paris where he studied at the Academy Julian with Jean-Paul Laurens and privately with James McNeill Whistler. Verification of this relationship, which has been debated by art scholars, comes from researcher Nancy Turk who located at the Smithsonian Institution two 1927 interviews given by Dufner. Turk wrote that Dufner "talks in detail about Whistler, about how he prepared his canvasas and about numerous pieces he painted. . . A great read, the interview puts to bed" the ongoing confusion about whether or not he studied with Whistler. During his time in France, Dufner summered in the south at Le Pouleu with artists Richard Emil Miller...