Artist Andrew Wyeth has just died at age 91. I was reading about his perspective on art a few months ago and stumbled over a quote that I wrote down:
You can lose the essence by detailing a lot of extraneous things.
I’ve always thought Wyeth’s paintings are the perfect illustration of a New England sensibility: spare, stark. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot going on. It’s the way I perceive that when someone from Maine answers a question with the affirmative “ayuh,” there’s a ton of unspoken (and intriguing) information behind it.
Contrast that to traditional Southern storytelling, which is rambling, expansive, with tons of details that seem relevant to only the speaker.
I struggle in my writing to retain the flavor of a Southern storyteller with at least a bit of a New Englander’s reticence. I can be the Queen of the Extraneous. I wish I could be a little more Andrew Wyeth.
I previously posted a picture of Andrew Wyeth’s painting Master Bedroom.
The dog in this painting looks like Rex, who’s currently on bed rest from a possible torn ligament (playing too hard with his foster brother, so at least he got it having fun). I think he may have gotten a pickle last night, along with his pain medication. I hope so.
Wyeth has always been a favorite of mine. Actually the entire family have been favorites. N.C. (his father) was the first artist I was able to identify. Since I was the first nephew in the family, my uncles passed down all the classic books they had owned as kids. (My mother’s family had a long tradition as readers, and they never threw a book away.) I got all their Tom Swifts, Hardy Boys and the classics N.C had illustrated — Treasure Island, Robin Hood and The Last of The Mohicans. It seems like all the books back then had illustrations. I think the first painting of Andrew’s that I remember was Christina’s World. I also like Jamie Wyeth’s (his son) work. Three generations of artists! Andrew’s sister was also an artist, can’t remember her name, but she was Jamie’s teacher.
I was fortunate to travel with my friend Steve C to Portland, ME to visit our friends James and Kenneth in 2000. While there, we went to Portland’s Museum of Art, which had an outstanding exhibit of the work of N.C. Wyeth.
I do love those illustrations in old books.
I thought we had a couple of Wyeth paintings at the museum, but I don’t remember seeing them recently. But they can’t show half the art they have an any given time. And now the expansion addition that was supposed to start in December has been but on hold because of the poor economy.
Forgot to add… give Rex a pickle for me, too. Brandy used to love pickles and cucumbers. Also fresh green peppers … one year she got into the garden and ate all of the peppers off the pepper plants.
Bad Brandy! Ha ha.
I’ve always found this piece very appealing. I’m not entirely sure what it is- there’s just enough detail to be complete, but without anything distracting. The dog- you just want to lay down on the bed with him & go to sleep. And I think everyone has one of those white bedspreads somewhere in their memory, on a grandmother’s bed or something where the image strikes a chord.
Ayuh
I’m intrigued… 😉