![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6plt63ogHdWzXNF56ncc6Tk0RPsUpV89hRioAK7z9scfgwaxvfn3QGZ0WInrHH4get-HTGNudf5kzmV_M5xvLnXSUoHLUolquG9vrkepboejaQDvw1nqiHIqxLm7r8Nv8rbDhcaSmpT8/s400/Western_Family_magazine+Aug+1956+Regatta+by+Phil+Dike.jpg)
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She writes, "The late 1920s and early 1930s saw a dramatic change in the art scene. The beautiful landscapes of the California Impressionists were replaced by subject matter reflecting changes taking place in America that transformed the country from a rural agrarian society into an industrialized world power. Come learn about some of the artists of this dynamic period and see how they took watercolor painting into a whole new dimension."
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She's definitely playing my song, since I love the work of artists like Millard Sheets, Milford Zornes, Phil Paradise, etc. The image at the top of today's post is a Phil Dike painting called "Regatta," which served as the cover of the Aug. 1956 issue of Western Family Magazine. Note the Balboa Pavilion in the background.
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If you can't take Diane's class but still want a good introduction to the style, I recommend finding a copy of American Scene Painting: California, 1930s and 1940s by Ruth Westphal and Janet Blake Dominik.
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Moreover, key collectors like E. Gene Crain, and authors and experts on the subject, like Gordon McClelland, live here. And every five years or so, some museum or another manages a retrospective of this kind of work. Being in the midst of all this is just one more reason to like Orange County.