"Sweetie Pies"

 

 

9 x 12"

oil on panel

sold

I've said it many times on this blog - Wayne Thiebaud is an artist who has and still does greatly inspire me as a painter.

Here are the reasons I continue to admire and love Thiebaud. His work ethic, still, at the age of 100, is admirable.  He's a humble man despite being considered one of America's greatest living artists.  He is best known for what critics describe as an artistic appreciation for everyday objects - although he's been known to dispute that, describing his "humble goals to try and paint at any time any subject matter in any medium under the general heading 'people, places and things.'"  I told you he was humble.

Featured in my painting is Wayne Thiebaud's Pie Rows.  

Please click here for a larger view.

"Color is the New Black"

9 x 12"

oil on panel

sold

When it comes to really feeling the joy of a painting, top of my list is dogs.  Second is featuring any painting by Wayne Thiebaud.  He is a giant in my world.

Wayne Thiebaud has painted ordinary objects - wedges of pie, lipstick, sunglasses, neck ties, cupcakes, buckets of paint, gumball machines, shoes to name a few - for decades.  What sets him apart as a painter is he takes that subject, that thing, and injects life into it - with color.  Take one shoe you see in his painting Shoe Rows.  There is, approximately, no less than 10 colors of paint in that one shoe.  The edges vibrate. The devotion to every object and shadow is admirable.

And that's why this painting was pure joy to paint.

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"Sweet"

6 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

I was in the De Young Museum in San Francisco and a boy shrieked when he saw the painting of Superman by Mel Ramos - hardly able to contain himself.  When I saw, in person, Wayne Thiebaud's painting Dessert Tray in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City,  I didn't shriek but I felt the same excitement.  I l-u-r-v-e this painting.  I love every painting Wayne Thiebaud has done.

And it must be said, it was a total joy doing this new painting.

"Heaven"

8 x 6"

oil on panel
sold

It's not just that the artist, Wayne Thiebaud, paints cakes, pies, cupcakes, ice cream cones and a variety of splendid desserts - he brushes on paint as if he were applying icing.  He swirls.  He wiggles.  And damn if every stroke and every touch of color, often unexpected color, is perfection. The last time I was at the National Gallery of Art in DC, I stood just as close as this woman and thought this is heaven.  

To mention, this is another small study for a larger painting.  And I really can't wait to start.

"Wayne's World"

20 x 11"

oil on panel
sold

Women Rock.  Especially Wayne Thiebaud's women.  Big, bold, colorful and direct.

This new painting for the upcoming show features two of Wayne Thiebaud's women - I'll start with the one on the left, Supine Woman - in the permanant collection of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.  The definition of supine can mean 'lying on one's back' or 'mentally or morally lethargic'.  Thiebaud's painted her, modeled by his daughter Twinka, in 1963 so the 'lying down' posture with open legs and a white dress, brown dress shoes and a clinched fist does make a profound statement if you consider the year 1963 given the oppression of women in society and the workplace.
The same can be said of Girl With Ice Cream Cone, also painted in 1963 - which includes the often painted subject of an ice cream cone.  This fabulous piece hangs in the Hirshhorn at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.

I read if Edward Hopper can be called the painter of the East coast certainly Wayne Thiebaud can be considered the painter of the West coast.  If you count the artbooks I've collected through the years, both Hopper and Thiebaud dominate.  They're both hugely influential to what I love about painting.  Thiebaud's range of subject matter goes from the most-recognized dessert compositions to stunning, aerial views of California landscapes and cityscapes to bold portraits to etchings and drawings.  His attention to edges and his love of shadows have formed a likewise style in how I paint.  I really do gush when I start talking about Thiebaud, an American treasure.

Please click here for a larger view.

"Thiebaud"

6 x 8"

oil on panel 

sold

I don't remember exactly the first time I saw a Wayne Thiebaud painting - I'm guessing years ago I framed a print and it was love at first sight.  It was probably one of his fabulous dessert paintings - wedges of pie or decorated cakes.   It stirred up my creative juices, it made me want to paint again.   It made me want to paint with oils.  

Thiebaud's distinct style is paint laid on thick, as if he's really icing a cake with his paint brush.  You can almost see in your mind his process of outlining and swirling the brushstrokes.  I love that.  Besides his recognized plates of foods, pies, cakes, candies, ice cream cones, shoes, lipsticks and figures,  he has painted the most stunning bird's-eye-views of California landscapes, laying on the paint and colors in patterns that just perfectly harmonize.  He has painted cityscapes that defy perspective rules,  stretching San Francisco-like streets and shadows to an almost vertigo-causing image.  Just genius.

Wayne Thiebaud was born in Arizona in 1920, grew up in Long Beach, California - as a teenager, worked at Walt Disney Studios - essentially becoming a commercial artist until he was influenced to go the fine art route, like many artists I know.  In the 60's, an art dealer in New York grabbed on to him - during the Pop Art movement of Warhol, Lichtenstein, etc.  I read somewhere he didn't define himself as a Pop artist - he referred to himself as a 'traditional painter of illusionistic form'.  Thiebaud is nearly 95 years old and I think still paints.

If I could personally meet any living artist,  it would be Thiebaud.  I regard him as one of the most influential, brilliant painters of our time.  My great admiration for Wayne Thiebaud was an easy choice for the letter T in my series ArtistZ.

As for my painting, the young man is viewing 'Three Machines', which hangs in the de Young Museum in San Francisco.  I tried to paint in the same swirly, free, ebullient style as Mr. Thiebaud.

Check out more of Thiebaud's paintings here.

"Chocolate & Cherry Glazed Cheesecake"

6 x 6"
oil on masonite
sold

This beautiful, sculptured work of sweetness was one of three slices of cheesecake that I helped devour on New Year's Eve. Before I went back to counting calories.

It gives me great pleasure to paint these ....... somewhat similar to one of my favorite artists, Wayne Thiebaud. Thick, rounded shapes with lots of color - giving honor to a gorgeous dessert.

"Oriental Pearl"

5 x 7"

oil on masonite

sold

After I spent a couple of hours in the museum, I started to crave Chinese food. Good Chinese food. So I took Rachel Ray's suggestion and found the Oriental Pearl, tucked away in Chinatown. It was quiet and elegant and perfect.

This painting is one of my occasional homages to Wayne Thiebaud, one of my favorite living artists.