Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1254473
114 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S P R I N G / S U M M E R 2 0 2 0 W hile taking in the landscape paintings of Joaquin Turner, the observer can be forgiven for thinking the artist was a member of the group of early 20th-century painters who worked in a style now known as "Early California." But Turner is very much of this time, a very contemporary man, but also very much in touch with the ethos of those Carmel-area artists who worked their canvas magic more than a hundred years before he was born. Although born at the former Fort Ord, just a stone's throw from the haunting Central Coast landscapes he would later paint so evocatively, Turner's childhood was spent mostly in Germany. "I was exposed to art at a young age," he says. "My parents took us to museums all over Europe, but even in small towns—unassuming places— you're bombarded by beautiful art." Such experiences can be eye-opening for a young lad with an innate artistic talent. At 13, Turner felt the urge to try his hand at the art of paint- ing. "I begged my parents for art lessons." Unusually, his first medium of choice was oil paint. Eventually, his father retired and moved his family back to the Monterey Peninsula. Turner graduated from Pacific Grove High School. As would any young man who was smitten by an avid interest in paint- ing, he visited the Monterey Museum of Ar t. Then as now, the museum boasts an extensive collection of works by the master painters such as Armin Hansen, Xavier Mar tinez, Charles Rollo Peters and Mary DeNeale Morgan (among many others) who flocked to the Monterey and Carmel areas so long ago. "That's when I discovered Early California Ar t. The paintings were bold In the Tonalist Tradition Joaquin Tur ner Continues an Ar tistic Legacy, Captur ing an Emotional and Spir itual Reaction to the Local Landscape B Y M I C H A E L C H AT F I E L D