During the forty years that Donald Archer has been painting, the landscape has remained the basis of his work.

While the paintings begin with the landscape - in particular, the landscape and coast of California - design and feeling are truly the subject. The space and form of the landscape convey feelings and ideas that go beyond mere appearances.

The experience, the expression, the "feel" rather than description is what interests him. Energy, order, serenity, harmony - what the image evokes, rather than what it represents - is its raison d'etre.

Donald Archer is known for his mastery of technique and composition. His watermedia technique is unique. He avoids the rigidity of traditional approaches, combining tempera - and sometimes collage - with transparent watercolor.

Because Archer layers washes - often as many as ten or more - and because he uses richly saturated pigments, his paintings have the density, intensity, and solidity that one normally associates with oil paintings or acrylics. They have a presence that is unforgettable.