One of the most prized possessions I have in my studio space is an old book I bought for $6.99 from a second-hand book store.
So as much as I like Andrew Wyeth’s paintings, I LOVE his sketches…
Now I have always liked Andrew Wyeth (and what artist worth his salt doesn’t?) I bought this book on a whim because I have been to the Brandywine Museum where the Wyeth family shows most of the collection of family artwork from the three Wyeths. (NC Wyeth, Andrews father, was a genius btw, and worth studying… ) But I love this book for the sketches.
A quote from Andrew Wyeth in the book:
“I’ll take weeks out doing drawings, watercolor studies, I may never use. I’ll throw them in a backroom, never look at them again or drop them on the floor and walk over them. But I feel that the communion that has seeped into the subconscious will eventually come out in the final picture.”
cool…..
I like seeing a master like Wyeth spend so much time on tiny sketches… he was working things out just like the rest of us!! I like these sketches better than his finished works because they are not labored over- just a pure searching of intellect. Done for himself. For me, I can see the thoughts behind the images. The struggle of where to position things… I find fascination in ideas sketched out and then discarded. The process is what makes us artists… after all, we artists are nothing more than elaborate decision-makers anyway. Then you can see his completed vision in the finished works…
There is so much studying that can be done on composition from these sketches…
thinking… thinking… I can see the smoke coming out of his head in the series below…
Ahhh, the beauty of these… and in the last one it is not about her anymore… where is the emphasis? The dark marks in the purse are careful and deliberate. The darkest dark lines are there and not on her anymore so the sketch is now about the weight of what she is carrying. Love it. It is intention. It is deliberate.
I have a hard time in my classes getting artists to embrace and love their thumbnails. We all want to just get to the good stuff- painting- I know, me too. But I LOVE creating thumbnails. You get to try one thing, then try it again with a different idea. Tweak the idea. Make it stronger, make it simpler, make it more powerful. THEN paint it… painting becomes fun after all the hard work is done and designed up front. And design is the singular most important part of a painting. It is your voice. I hear artists all the time say they “want in” this show or that… “gotta paint something for it!!” But first design it… love it… worry about a show later.
Again, a quote from Wyeth:
“You paint about as far as your emotions go, and that’s about it.”
more on Wyeth next week…
this was great!
Loving your blogs. I find the both informative and at time funny.
:). gotta laugh at life…..or else it is too overwhelming…..
I couldn’t agree with you more. I too have that book and others of Wyeth’s work including the monster sized American Heritage book that Sarah got for me in 1968. It sold for $55 then, and is probably worth a mint today.
oh yeah, that one must be good!
Wonderfully written! I’ve been just starting to study Andrew Wyeth last week. Have always loved his work. This is is perfect timing as I am teaching a collage class tonight & will be talking about design. Most of which I’ve learned from you. Thank you!
awesome! armatures rule!
How true this is Christine. I said when I retire I will spend more time on my sketches and here I am 10 years retired and falling into the old habit of “hurry up and get to the fun stuff”. I will make a promise to you that I will spend more time on my sketches from now on.
hooray!!!!
Loved this!! Love the Wyeths. I got a bunch of books on Andrew at the library sale a few years ago. Read everyword, studied every painting and then I passed them on to a favorite artist/mentor over the years, as he dearly loves Andrew Wyeth as a favorite.
🙂
Well said! The older I get, the more I’ve come to cherish the time spent on studies and preliminary work.
so true.