From San Francisco to Carmel, a watercolor artist who knows that some things are worth slowing down for.
Carmel has never suffered from a shortage of beautiful scenery. Or artists determined to capture it.
But Francyne “Frankie” Laney has spent decades doing something rather special: turning the places she’s lived, traveled, and loved into watercolors that invite us to stop, look, and perhaps notice something we’ve walked past a hundred times.
And she does it with watercolor — a medium involving pigment, paper, water, and the optimistic belief that all three will cooperate.
Three Places, One Artistic Journey
Frankie’s story begins in San Francisco, where she spent her first 25 years and earned a degree from San Francisco State University.
Later, living in the Sacramento River Delta, she began studying watercolor with Richard Yip. She continued learning from respected artists including Jan Miskulin, Carl Miller, Dong Kingman, and Rex Brandt.
Eventually, Carmel became home — and it’s difficult to imagine a better place for someone who loves painting outdoors.
Her artistic interests extend beyond the Peninsula, too. A 2008 Carmel Art Association exhibition included watercolors depicting Italian destinations, including the colorful villages of the Cinque Terre.
Although best known for landscapes, Frankie also explores abstract painting. Apparently, capturing the visible world wasn’t quite challenging enough.
An Artist With a Remarkable Résumé
Frankie has been a member of the Carmel Art Association since 1996, and her paintings have found homes in private collections throughout the United States and Europe.
Along the way, she’s accumulated some impressive recognition:
- First Place, Watercolor Artists of Sacramento, 1990
- First Place in Watercolor, Carmel Art Festival, 1995
- Honorable Mention, Central Coast Art Juried Exhibition, 1997
- Honorable Mention, Seaside Juried Exhibition, 2000
But perhaps her most interesting distinction has little to do with paintbrushes.
In 2002, Carmel named Frankie its Citizen of the Year, recognizing a commitment to her community that extended well beyond the easel.
That’s something we particularly appreciate at KRML.
The Art of Paying Attention
There’s something wonderfully fitting about a watercolor artist working in Carmel.
The light changes by the minute. Fog rolls in without consulting anyone. Colors shift. The same hillside can look like three different places before lunch.
Watercolor seems particularly suited to that kind of world. It’s fluid, unpredictable, and sometimes more interested in doing its own thing than following instructions.
A little like Carmel, come to think of it.
And perhaps that’s the quiet appeal of Frankie’s work. It’s a reminder that beauty isn’t necessarily something we need to travel halfway around the world to discover.
Sometimes it’s right outside the door.
We just need to pay attention.
Discover Frankie Laney’s work and career through the Carmel Art Association, on Dolores Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
KRML 94.7 FM — Celebrating the artists, characters, and creative souls who make Monterey Bay a rather extraordinary place to call home.