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Arts & Entertainment

Artist Profile: Mernie Buchanan

Artist, instructor, gallery owner and sign painter has thrived in Benicia for more than 20 years.

Mernie Buchanan showed artistic talent at the age of 6. So, her mother enrolled her in an adult art class in which she thrived. The native of Victoria, British Columbia, has been painting ever since.

Buchanan moved to Benicia 1987 and worked as a sign painter. She's lived in her house near the for 23 years. “It's the world headquarters of me, where I live, work, paint, garden and have my gallery.”

Since 1997, Buchanan's Faux Louvre gallery has offered her unique interpretations of classics in acrylics and watercolors. The series began in 2003 when French antique dealer William Berg invited Buchanan to Paris. At the Louvre she sketched masterpieces and re-created them in her style. The ornate frames are painted to complement each piece. “I wanted a series I wouldn't get tired of and I still bring a sketch pad when visiting museums,” she says.

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Buchanan painted stage sets for years and now teaches art classes at Michael's stores in Vallejo and Pleasant Hill. Still a sign painter, she specializes in murals and sign graphics: “It's my tofu and potatoes.”

: 117 East D St.

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