Lovely little oil painting on Masonite board, depicting an ocean tide coming in at the Southern California cliffs during sunset. The lighting is lovely, and the water has a glistening effect, expertly painted.
B. Chalmers, or Burl Chalmers, was an amazingly accomplished painter. During WW2 he painted stars onto fighter airplanes on the East Coast. He was commissioned for several paintings, mostly landscape before moving to the West Coast, San Diego. There he was scouted by the San Diego Zoo to make their iconic signs. He was sought after internationally and his work spread around the globe.
Measures: 10" x 12" with frame. Painting is 5" x 7"
"Burl Chalmers was born in Huntington, IN on March 25, 1910. During the 1930s Chalmers worked for the Huntington Theater. About 1959 he moved to San Diego and worked for Foster and Kleiser (billboards) and received acclaim for his artwork with the San Diego Zoo. His works include seascapes, desert landscapes, and Navajo genre. He died in San Diego on July 16, 2003."
Source: Edan Hughes, author of the book "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
It has been noted that his marks under his signature appear to be a dating system, where this one has nine dots to the left and none to the right, it would indicate it was dated 1990. Other examples of paintings by Chalmers that we've seen had seven dots to the left and two to the right, indicating 1972. Clever!
