Inspired by the masters, artist Mernie Buchanan’s latest show covers Rellik walls

By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

The Impressionist era is one of the more popular eras in art history. And Mernie Buchanan is one of Benicia’s most popular artists.

Sounds like a good match.

“People just love late-19th-, early-20th-century artwork,” said Buchanan, whose 69-work “Impressions of Impressionists” is the newest Arts Benicia Presents exhibit at The Rellik Tavern downtown.

Buchanan is no stranger to impressionists — nor to high-volume exhibits. Last year she had 250 paintings on display at Benicia Public Library for her “Impressions of Art History: Paris Salon” series, which covered 700 years of art history.

The latest exhibit, which includes 23 originals in watercolor or a mix of watercolor and gouache, as well as 46 prints, features what must be considered a Buchanan signature — all of the works are framed in painted, ornate frames, hand painted to match the piece.

The latest exhibit is displayed in eight groupings, in themes of color and artist — a Van Gogh grouping in blue-greens, for example, also contains work inspired by Degas, Manet, Monet and Renoir.

The works are all watercolors, or prints of watercolors, that Buchanan created based on the masters’ works, most of the Impressionist era but some extending beyond it.

“I travel to art museums. I’ll put a price watch on TripAdvisor and watch the airfares to Philadelphia or D.C. When it comes out with a great price, I’ll buy the ticket, then spend three or four days in the city and go to all the museums that have old masters’ collections, and just sketch,” Buchanan said.

“I came back from Philadelphia with 70 sketches in three days of sketching.”

Buchanan is also always collecting ornate frames, some vintage, some antique, many newer reproductions.

“I will see where a frame and a sketch will work together, then I know what size to do the painting. I will do a watercolor study based on my sketches, and then paint the frame to exactly match the painting,” she said.

“They become a contemporary, dimensional part of it.”

Buchanan points out that when classic paintings are published in books, the frames are cropped out.

“You don’t see those ornate frames that are in museums in the art books or reproductions. The art is cut out of it, so you have to go to museums to see the frames,” she said.

“So I wanted to interpret more of a museum visit than just the artwork itself.”

Buchanan said when she worked out the process of finishing and repainting the frames, they “took on a life of their own.”

For the prints, “the original work is in the painted frame, that is what makes each print unique,” she said.

“That sounds like an oxymoron, the ‘unique print’,” she laughed.

For Buchanan, viewing art is an emotional experience.

“I can go back to the same museum, and different paintings will hit me depending on my mood or where I am in my life right now,” she said.

She has had her studio on East D Street in downtown Benicia for the last 26 years. That’s where visitors may find is the other six centuries of her “Impressions of Art History” series, as well.

If You Go
Mernie Buchanan’s “Impressions of Impressionists” will be on display at The Rellik Tavern, 726 First St., through March 30 during the tavern’s operating hours. An artist’s reception will take place Thursday from 6-8 p.m. More of Buchanan’s art can be seen at her gallery at 117 East D Street, Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.