Painter Proves
One Can Go
Home Again
B Y M I C H A E L C H AT F I E L D
I
t can be hear tbreaking to leave the
Monterey Peninsula, and many who leave
end up coming back. Such is the case with
Pacific Grove painter Warren Chang.
"I grew up in PG," Chang says, "but left at 19
for college, then lived in Los Angeles and New
York for 10 years each."
During those two decades, Chang made his
living as a commercial artist, painting, among
other things, covers for paperback romance and
science fiction novels.
"I did hundreds," he recalls.
When he made the leap to fine art, Chang
chose to return to his roots, in part because he
wanted to raise his family here. His work is
informed by childhood impressions of
Monterey County and the field workers he saw.
"[My work is] a mishmash of truth and fic-
tion," he says.
Chang's masterful, nearly photographic paint-
ings of everyday life in the fields of Salinas Valley
are stunning in their detail and realism.
"I use a very limited color palette," he says,
"no blue or green."
The result is a muted, dreamy quality clearly
influenced by Old Masters such as Johannes
Vermeer.
Chang is represented by the Winfield Gallery in
Carmel and the Hauk Fine Arts in Pacific Grove. For
more information, visit www.warrenchang.com.
SHORTCUTS
ART
Pacific Grove artist Warren Chang spent years as a commercial artist in Los
Angeles and New York, then returned to his hometown in Monterey County.
62 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 6
Photo:
Kelli
Uldall
