76 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {home & design} able space over time,” Bruce says. He cites memories of a place playing a strong role in his paintings as well. “It’s a kind of time travel,” he reflects. As Bruce paints meaningful and historic sites on the Peninsula and beyond, he strives to tell a story. “Something I am working on is adding more narrative associated with a painting,” he notes. Take his depiction of a ship passing beneath the Bay Bridge in the 1930s, a scene similar to what his father might have experienced when returning home from World War II. “I try to come up with a pictorial vocabulary,” Bruce says. “I am striving to make a meaningful connection between my world and the viewer. I want people to see themselves in a location or get a sense of who lives there and bring this to life.” exhibit at the De Young Museum: J. M. W. Turner: Painting Set Free. Turner’s work inspired Bruce to experiment and realize the potential of watercolor. It “opened a door for me and all I had to do was walk through it,” Bruce says. Other influences include artistillustrators Beatrix Potter, N.C. Wyeth and Chris Van Alsburg. When Bruce begins a piece, he makes a meticulously detailed graphite pencil sketch, which he often draws plein air. “I let the watercolor be a collaborator,” he describes. “If you let it, the watercolor will take your intentions further.” A painting of the Brooklyn skyline provides a window into Bruce’s artistic lens. This scene, which he captured in a photo while walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, so captivates his imagination that he has painted it nine times. “I envision it in different kinds of lighting,” he explains. “At nighttime, for instance, with the water towers, fire escapes and brickwork lit up. It has become so familiar it almost feels like my neighborhood.” When reflecting on the difference between painting urban and natural landscapes, Bruce finds that urban subjects require accurately rendered details of the built environment, whereas nature calls for careful consideration of spatial depth like distance and foreground. “When I am painting Yosemite Valley, I think about the epochal-scale forces that shaped that remarkBruce Washburn’s artwork has been featured in shows at the Coastal Arts League in Half Moon Bay and Art Guild of Pacifica and will be displayed during Silicon Valley Open Studios this spring. brucewashburnart.com ABOVE: Brooklyn Skyline No. 9.
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