After all this link copying and getting excited I can't remember why I started searching for this stuff. Oh, wait, I have browser history. Ok, I was looking for pictures of juniper tree sculptures in the Sunset district and I came across a painting of the Sunset and boom, I thought of Robert Bechtle. He's my favorite painter. I used to have about 30 postcards of his Alameda Gran Torino, in my house arranged so that no matter where your eyes landed while you were in my house, there would be a station wagon somewhere in your visual field. People used to come out of the bathroom after staring at it while they pissed and say, "Did you know that you have pictures of a station wagon all over your house?" Then immediately, they'd go, "Oh, I guess you do since you live here." I had that postcard before I had an apartment here in SF. I used to go to the art museum to spend the afternoon looking at it. I loved watching other people enjoy it. There are two great paintings in SFO near boarding gate 72 (United Airlines). Check those out when you're waiting for a flight.

I've compiled a bunch of links. Hey! It's my Robert Bechtle FAN PAGE!

OK Harris has a good page on photorealists and the painting Marin Avenue-Late Afternoon.

This is a sweet big one of '58 Rambler

'61 Pontiac, 1968-69, oil on canvas, 59 3/4 x 84 1/4 inches (151.8 x 214 cm), Whitney Museum of American Art, NY.

Karlsruhe University has two nice early ones: '60s Chevies, 1971

26 of his paintings all available through Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco using GridPix. Click anywhere within the image to zoom. The zoom function works up to a maximum of 16x the original image size. It's sooo rad. I love "Santa Barbara Patio" and "Albany Monte Carlo". Too bad there's no "Alameda Gran Tourino"

Oakland Museum exhibit last year. Can't believe I missed it.

Another story on the Oakland show with examples.

This one has Sunset Intersection, 1984. A gorgeous 3 panel streetscape.

You can actually buy these limited edition prints.

A portfolio at CSU Long Beach

Six paintings at artnet.com

WHEW!