Robin Gay McCline

A Fresno native, Robin Gay McCline participated in many one-man and group exhibitions in the Central Valley of California, through the mid-50’s until his death in 2008. His watercolor paintings have been published in catalogs, calendars, and the video and book, California Light, by Mark Arax and Joel Pickford.

A recipient of the Fresno Arts Council Horizon award, he served on many community committees, including the Fresno Downtown Mall Art Committee. He was a past president of the Fresno Art Museum Board of Trustees and the San Joaquin Chapter of A.I.A.

McCline graduated from the University of California School of Architecture. He practiced architecture in the San Joaquin Valley and taught architecture at Fresno City College for 23 years. He also taught watercolor at Fresno City College, Fresno Art Museum, Door Art Gallery, and for the Seattle based “Seniors Making Art”.

Important inspirations for McCline came through the appreciation of the work of other artists. He studied with Ciura Obata, and painted plein air for many years with Fresno artists Rollin Pickford and Corky Normart. He admired the work of Lyonel Feininger for his geometric linear approach, and John Marin for his sense of vitality. Marin used large brushes, left white paper showing through, and used a minimum of strokes to convey his ideas. Robin Gay McCline preferred watercolor as a medium.

"The work I prefer doing expresses the strength of natural forces and the beauty of the changing seasons. I usually abstract an idea somewhat rather then try to illustrate exactly what is there. Capturing the essence of the subject is the goal."