Hubert Buel (1915-1984) Born: Sacramento, CA; Studied: Fresno State College (California), University of California (Los Angeles); Member: California Water Color Society. Hubert Buel was born and raised in central California. In the early 1930s, he studied watercolor painting with Alexandra Bradshaw at Fresno State College, then continued his art education at the University of California, Los Angeles. He worked briefly at the Walt Disney Studios and taught at Long Beach City College until 1940.

During World War II, he served as a United States Naval Officer in the South Pacific. He took painting supplies with him and produced a number of watercolors depicting island life and military involvement. After the war, he worked at Twentieth Century-Fox Studios as a set designer and then took a permanent job as art director at the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper.

Buel was a prolific watercolorist for fifty years. He often selected Bay Area subject matter near his home in San Francisco, but also painted in Hawaii, Mexico and Europe. The majority of his works were produced on location and were painted with transparent watercolors. He was a founding member of the West Coast Watercolor Society and became president of that organization in 1974.

Biographical information:

Interview with Hubert Buel, 1983.

Biography courtesy of California Watercolors 1850-1970,

©2002 Hillcrest Press, Inc.

Courtesy of CaliforniaWatercolor.com