Columbia College Art Exhibition features George Allen

Contact: Office of the College President,
Coni Chavez, (209) 588-5115                                              For Immediate Release March 20, 2012

An exhibition, featuring the paintings and drawings of George Allen Durkee, will be on display in the Columbia College Rotunda from Monday, March 12, 2012 through April 5, 2012.

George Allen Durkee is the author of Expressive Oil Painting – An Open Air Approach to Creative Landscapes (North Light 2009) as well as two instructional videos. As a young man, he became interested in oil painting, while working in an apple orchard near Yakima, Washington.

Living far from any art school, George enrolled in a correspondence course and worked nights as a janitor while studying fine art with an emphasis in oil painting. After completing the four year course, he quit the night job to paint full time. As an emerging artist with little access to the world of upscale galleries, George loved painting outdoors in public as a way to market his work. In 1976, Durkee relocated to Eureka, California, but found himself traveling frequently to larger towns in order to paint and sell his work. He moved to Portland, Oregon four years later. Too cold and wet to paint outdoors during the winter months, he began seasonal migrations to southern California while living in his Dodge van. He eventually settled in San Francisco where he contracted with an art dealer who paid for the cost of picture frames and guaranteed his income. But George soon experienced “philosophical differences” with the dealer and struck off on his own. Painting in public for the next eighteen years, he developed an enthusiastic following for his San Francisco cityscapes.

In 2001, George moved to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Northern California to paint landscapes. Known as “Geo” to family and friends, Durkee is a past contributor to The Artist’s Magazine and American Artist. Along with his artist wife, Sharon Strong, he is co-owner of an art gallery in Murphys, California.  

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Coni M. Chavez
Executive Assistant to the President
Columbia College
11600 Columbia College Drive
Sonora, CA 95370
(209) 588-5115 • (209) 588-5161 fax
chavezc@yosemite.edu