Watercolor artist Rex Brandt and glorious California history

Special to The Desert Sun

In his dedication to the new book about the scenery of San Diego, author and artist Rex Brandt credited Charles and Kay Shelton with the idea for the publication. The book was a remarkable document of Brandt’s exceptional paintings. No one knew the glories of California better than Brandt. The itinerant painter deeply understood the land and light.

The unspoiled paradise that was California in the middle of the 20th century was captured by the intrepid artist painting “en plein air,” outside, on location, in watercolor. The south of California was particularly pleasant. The halcyon days found on his sheets are truly unrivaled for beauty. The paintings conjure up a gentle and charming time. The peripatetic Brandt literally traversed the state, documenting every k