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| Born in northern
England, George Turnbull is a naturalized American citizen who served
his country in both the second World War and the Korean War. A high
honor graduate from the prestigious College of Fine Arts of Carnegie
Mellon University, in 1958, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree,
Turnbull later earned his Master of Fine Arts Painting degree from
the University of Southern California. |
| He became an award winning graphic designer
and an international award winning calligrapher, and was also one
of the founding members of the Los Angeles based Society for Calligraphy.
Granted the title of Professor Emeritus, George Turnbull retired from
a long and distinguished career as Professor of Visual Communication
in the California State University system and eagerly returned to
his passion for Fine Art painting, particularly of the American west
he knew so well as a young man. |
George Turnbull's work
is a rich reflection of a great variety of unique life experiences
and abundant talent. In addition to military service which took
him literally around the world, Turnbull spent many good years living
and working in California and the western states, always intensely
aware of the visual imagery and color in those surroundings.
That
awareness served him well. His work hangs in many fine homes and
notable public places, such as the Museum at the George Bush Presidential
Library in Texas, where a Fine Art print of his highly acclaimed
watercolor painting "9:11:01" is
part of the permanent collection. |
"9:11:01" Permanent Collection
The Museum at the George Bush Presidential
Library |
Equally proficient in watercolor and oils, Turnbull's considerable
talent finds expression in a wide range of subject matter. Striking
still lifes, rich rural scenes from his northern California ranch
area, and broad western landscapes; all have a quiet, thoughtful
strength that wears well. But still life, or cowboy life, rural
river glen, or a view of the open range, Turnbull's paintings are
personal, powerful statements.
The current geographical focus of Turnbull's art is the Great Basin
of the western United States; that part of the west where the cowboys
known as Buckaroos still ride.The Great Basin runs from the eastern
side of the California Sierras, up into southeast Oregon, and the
southwestern corner of Idaho, and most of northern and central Nevada,clear
into Utah. But the Great Basin is also a state of mind and a place
in the heart. |
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Because of that, Turnbull believes the life and livelihood of the
Great Basin Buckaroo is particularly well suited to his lyrical use
of color and direct compositional style. The Buckaroo, in his way
of handling his life and his livestock, is carrying on the traditional
artistry of the proud vaqueros of old, once known as the Californios.
Turnbull has always been drawn to the beauty of the Great Basin's
geography, with its high plains, vast open acreage, spectacular mountains,
dry summers and hard winters. George Turnbull's paintings reflect
his respect for both the land and those whose lives it tests. |
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