In the early 1940s, Rex Brandt moved his family to a small house in Corona del Mar. They named the house “Blue Sky,” and it became the center for one of the best California watercolor schools.

In 1946, Brandt asked Phil Dike, a mentor and fellow artist, if he was interested in forming a summer painting school. Dike agreed and on June 26, 1947, they opened the Brandt-Dike Summer School of Painting at “Blue Sky.”

The school’s popularity grew from the 1930s watercolor movement known as the California Style, or also as the California School of Watercolor. This movement focused on scenes from everyday life among California landscapes. The painters worked outside using strong brushstrokes, vivid colors and bold designs. They would often use the white of the paper as a design element. For decades, Phil Dike, Rex Brandt, Joan Irving (Brandt), along with guest artists, taught this California Style at this summer school.

It was estimated that over 4,000 artists participated in the Brandt-Dike Summer School of Painting.