An elegant still-life of apricot-pink roses shown informally arranged in a plum-colored vase contrasted against a scumbled ivory and parchment background. Signed lower left 'Jon Blanchette' (American, 1908-1987) and painted circa 1955. Jon Blanchette was born in Somerset, England in 1908 and immigrated to Battle Creek, Michigan in 1918. Artistically inclined from a young age, he first studied at the Pittsburgh Art Institute. In 1932, he moved to Los Angeles where he painted, undertook architectural design commissions, interior decorating, and stage sets for Fox Studios. In 1948, he abandoned commercial work and settled in Aptos, California where he focused on his fine art painting and gave private art lessons. During the summers of 1965-75 he held workshops in Mendocino. A romantic realist, he was primarily an oil painter but was proficient in multiple media including pen & ink, watercolor, and silk screen. Over the course of a long career, Blanchette exhibited widely and with success and was the recipient of numerous prizes, medals and juried awards. MEMBERSHIPS: Santa Cruz Art League; Marin County Artists. EXHIBITIONS: Santa Cruz Women's Club, 1959; Santa Cruz County Art Competition (first prize); Aptos Art Center, 1965.