How’s this for coincidence: We just received an update from Robin Purcell, one of our 2007 Ones to Watch, and we also just happen to be in the thick of the judging process for this year’s installation of the feature.

Purcell, of California, wrote to announce the recent posting of her paintings from this year's Carmel Art Festival to her blog. A plein air painter, Purcell has a unique style that breaks down the western landscape into glowing sections of color. She admits she “was probably permanently warped by doing paint by numbers as a child,” and it shows in her paintings—in a good way.

pictured: Top of the World, Carmel Valley (watercolor on paper, 12x16) by Robin Purcell