ARTIST STATEMENT:

Southern California's silvery light and muted colors suit the mood I wish to convey in painting.  Major influences are Tonalism and California Impressionism.  My quiet, well-modulated colors are developed from local geography, travels, memory and imagination.  Rather than profound incursions into the American psyche, my paintings are statements of admiration for what little remains of California's natural landscape.

Art is a language rooted in history:  Its visual cues identify the artist and the time in which he lives.  My attitude toward the land is a result of agrarian ancestors and a contemporary interest in preservation.  Painting is a means of exploring this dichotomy.

BIOGRAPHY:

"My heart loves to travel, but my stomach does not.  This hasn't changed since I was a kid peering out the car window on family vacations to South Dakota and Idaho.  "Watch the scenery" was my mother's mantra to quell my uneasy stomach.  Perhaps that is how I became an observer of the landscape, keenly in love with all its variations."  --YB

A native southern Californian, Branchflower came of age in the turbulent sixties, served in VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) in Los Angeles, then moved inland to Cherry Valley.  It is this inland landscape of oaks, fields and mountains that inspires her paintings.

Branchflower works exclusively in oils, preferring their maleability over other mediums.  Known as a technical painter and instructor, she embues her paintings with serenity and a bit of ambiguity.  Says Branchflower, "Nature may be beautiful, but it is not benign."

Branchflower is a member of California Art Club and Oil Painters of America.  She completed her B.A. in studio art, taught painting in her studio for many years, and gives painting workshops locally.  Her work has won awards and has been included in national and regional juried exhibits.

GALLERY REPRESENTATION:

Jack's Fine Art
951-845-4519
226 East 6th Street
Beaumont, CA 92223
Hours: Tues-Fri 10-6, Sat 10-3, closed Sun-Mon

AFFILIATIONS:

Oil Painters of America
California Art Club

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:

2010: Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community 7th Annual Juried Art Exhibition National Juried, Harrisonburg VA, Purchase Award
2010: Redlands Art Association, Multi Media Mini Show Statewide Juried, Redlands CA
2010: Jack's Fine Art, Miniature Art Show, Beaumont CA
2009: Sigel Fine Art, Small Works (juried) Monrovia CA
2009: Maryland Federation of Art, Circle Gallery, Small Wonders, Annapolis MD, Juror Al Miner, Hirshhorn Museum
2009:  Ciao Gallery, Interpretation of the Landscape (juried) Jackson, WY
2009:  Redlands Art Association, "Multi Media Mini Show" (Juried) Redlands CA
2009:  Jack's Fine Art, "Spring Show" Beaumont CA
2008: Edward-Dean Museum Miniature Festival
2008: OPA Western Region, Devin Galleries, Coeur d'Alene ID
2008: National Orange Show All-California Juried Art Exhibition, San Bernardino CA
2008: Redlands Art Association, "Multi Media Mini Show" (juried), Redlands CA
2007: Jack's Fine Art, "Small Paintings" Beaumont CA
2007: Jack's Fine Art, Yvonne Branchflower and Sara Parker   Paintings
2006: Natl Orange Show All-California Juried Art Exhibition, San Bernardino, CA
2006: Eos Gallery, recent works, Redlands CA
2005: Eos Gallery, California Paradise II (solo) Redlands CA
2005: California State University San Bernardino Alumni Exhibit, Coming Home
2004: California Art Club, Women's City Club of Pasadena, Images of Springtime
2003: OPA, Western Region Small Paintings, Waterhouse Gallery, Santa Barbara  CA
2003: OPA, 12 Annual National Juried, Nichols Taos Fine Art Gallery, Taos NM
2002: California Art Club Fall Exhibition, Women's City Club of Pasadena
2002: Eos Gallery, Redlands CA, California Paradise (solo)
2001: CAC, Women's City Club of Pasadena, Flowerscapes: Poems without Words
2001: San Bernardino County Museum, Redlands CA (juried)
   36th Annual Open National Exhibition
   35th Annual Open International Exhibition, Grumbacher Gold award
2000: FAI, "Art of San Bernardino County" SB Co. Museum, Honorable Mention
1999: Art in Public Places, Redlands CA
1984-91: Annual Exhibitions, Files Gallery, Big Bear Lake CA


EDUCATION:

B.A. Studio Art, California State University San Bernardino, 1988
Notable university and college professors include John Nava and John Baldessari.
Workshops with Matt Smith, John Budicin, Joe Anna Arnett, J. Chris Morel and other nationally known artists.


COLLECTIONS:

Gilman Historic Ranch, County of Riverside CA
Dr. George Fischbeck, meteorologist
Redlands Community Hospital
Draftech, Banning CA
Burton Aviation, Sequim WA