Andrew Wyeth's Realism Lives

Andrew Wyeth-The Mill

The more I look at Andrew Wyeth's paintings and drawings I realize I owe him a debt of gratitude for "holding down the fort" of realism and leading the way. Realism lives and it is well.  I appreciate the different styles of art and grown in my taste and appreciation for all kinds of art.
  

There are those that feel Wyeth's art is not real art but illustration or romanticized Americana.  There has been some polarization by the art world as to who the leaders are, those who fit into the contemporary abstraction definition or contemporary artists like Wyeth. I agree with Mrs. Foster of the Philadelphia Musem "I think we are all grown up (now) enough to realize that there are many roads to modern art, not just one channel." 

His style is recognizable and continues to be popular.  Wyeth and Any Warhol are the most prominent artists of the 20th century.  

Art doesn't have to be contrived with strange looking expressions on peoples faces and symbolism everywhere.  It is OK to just tell your story.

Andrew Wyeth, Wyeth Home

 

All art has a place and one style is not more important than another although I find for my own work I do more realism. Photography can have different styles depending on how you aim the camera and the editing room with all it's possibilities.

I especially admire Wyeth's use of negative space and detail with his monotone coloration.  It is fascinating to me that he can light with just greys, browns and blacks, little else, creating depth and texture.  It is also encouraging to find that most of his work was done in the confines of his own home and surroundings.
 

For those that think they need to go to an exotic location Wyeth only visited Europe once and felt his artistic "innocence" could be compromised if he traveled too much.  I believe there is truth in that what you see can affect you.  He may have been speaking of other artists and their work.

Helga Testorf

I got excited when his grand-daughter Victoria Wyeth who gives art lecture/tours on the Wythe family at the Brandywine Museuem made the comment while he was still living, her grandfather had  gotten excited about a tree on his property.

  

He was not able to go to school with his brothers and sisters because of his delicate health and spent many hours wandering the land around his home developing a love of nature and his surroundings.  Trees and how they appear are important to him.

Nature is often the subject of my camera.  Lately I have questioned myself that what I am doing is too mundane.  Trees are everywhere and a common commodity.  

I can now be assured if Andrew Wyeth can draw and paint the same surroundings and still find new subjects or ways of looking at them I can too.  His work attests to the fact everything has value and beauty.

I like his architecture, he has a strong sense of design and creates wonderful texture with the stone walls, brick chimneys and wood boards.  He incorporates design with areas of contrast  of light and dark shadows on the buildings and landscape.

His buildings and interiors always appear old often with unpainted surfaces and mottling.  He was ahead of his time appreciating the effect of the elements and aging, "rustic" and "vintage" are now quite popular as a photographic style and pervades all art forms.

I love the detail in the foreground above you can see the blades of long uneven grasses, the welding joints and aged metal of the old bucket.  Wyeth said he liked Helga Testorf (the subject of his Helga series) because she wasn't obsessed with organization and clothes.  

There is a naturalness, simplicity to his work  and Helga that causes one to feel comfortable and value older things. The architecture and interiors are spare and beautiful giving the idea that one doesn't have to add on and complicate things, that there is beauty in simplicity.  Helga's hair is never perfect and she wears no cosmetics.

This naturalness contrasts with some of what is being done today.  In American made moves and photography the models often are wearing so much makeup it creates an unreal look even when the style is antique or vintage.  Helga dresses in clothes that are interesting and different without discernible style and regard for high fashion, she is unique and seems to transcend time. 

Andrew Wyeth has inspired many artists along the way and there are a cadre of artists that admire his work and have a similar but distinct style.  In my research I found Doug Brega whom I feel certain has been influenced by Wyeth with his image of an old structure much like New England architecture near the water.  

He has added subtle texture with the shadows on the building and windows, wood siding and wood posts, the shadows leading your eye to the subject.  The sky is not a perfect blue with white clouds but stormy grey, lending to the natural look.

 Doug Brega

I too have been inspired, once I edited my photo file after the shot I was pleasantly surprised to find it was in the style of Wyeth, well maybe not perfectly!  What do you think?  Have you created art that looks like Andrew Wyeth?  Supply a link I would love to see it!

Suzanne Powers Art Gallery:  http://suzanne-powers.artistwebsites.com

My Family And An Edwardian Kitchen

This Old House kitchen

The Downton Abbey kitchen is not the only place to see the Edwardian style.  Did you know a popular design style in kitchens today is Edwardian? When you see old school pendant lights or funnel industrial style pendants it is mimicking the Edwardian period. A simple trim is usually incorporated into the design.  My family's farm had Edwardian appliances in the kitchen.

The husband of the couple who live in the house above grew up with an AVG oven.  The one pictured above is in the style of the old wood burning stoves like the stove below that was used in the Edwardian period.  You can't see it there is an old wood box under the stove filled with split wood.

My great aunt never married and lived on the family farm in West Virginia with her widowed mother, divorced sister, child and unmarried brother the other children had married and left home.  They supplied eggs to the Greenbrier Resort during the Great Depression. 

My great aunt's sister worked in the doctors clinic at the resort where millionaires would come for a checkup along with some R&R. My great aunt's job supplied most of the income during those years for the family, my great uncle also worked the dairy farm but it didn't provide enough income for the family.

The Family Farm is now a B&B, The Old Stone Manse, Caldwell WVA

The stone and wood plank house was built in the early 1800's, my great grandmother arrived there on horseback at the turn of the century as a bride, my sister inherited her ladies side saddle from that trip.  The house was never renovated except for electricity and running water.  When you walked on the floors the wide planks would creak.    

My great grandfather was a clerk of the court and died before the birth of his last child.  My great grandmother never married again and raised my great aunts and uncle on her own.  Three of the children received a college education.  My great uncle and aunt stayed to work the farm.

The stove in the kitchen was an old black cast iron wood burning stove.  The stove above looks fancier than what my great aunt had.  It was the same stove that cooked the food my father ate when he would go for long visits as a boy in the summer during the 1920's and 30's. 

Root vegetables my great-grandmother would keep in the cellar

  

My father joined the Navy during WWII and became a pilot in the Pacific theater.  He made a "visit" to the farm flying his plane under the telephone wires to show off, scaring my great-grandmother but she enjoyed it just the same.  That's how she was a good sport and fun loving.  I think she's one of the reasons Dad loved the farm so much and what child wouldn't love to be on a farm.

Dad mentioned things that happened while visiting, the sheep that died and was burned in the field (apparently they are not buried).  He said he didn't like the smell (it was a mature sheep) and didn't want to eat mutton afterwards.  Stepping in what looked like a solid cow "pie" and sinking down until it covered his ankle and part of his leg!

My father eventually married and brought his family to visit at the farm.  We would stay overnight since it was a days drive from out home in Northern VA.  I wasn't used to old houses with high ceilings having always lived in a new house in suburbia.  At night I would be so scared I would pull the covers over my head be hot all night and never sleep or at least it seemed that way. I was always relieved for the morning and light!
  
Dad is gone now and I wish I had asked him exactly what he did all day at the farm.  I would like to have known more of his routine and his interaction with the family. 
  
Now I would love to stay and walk the mountain behind the house, check out all the rooms and old furniture.  The old milking barn and furniture is gone now, probably the old stove too although it may still be there.  The long front porch running almost the length of the house is gone but that probably wasn't there in the beginning, it looks much better without it.  

The present owners who bought the house from my family made it into a Bed and Breakfast and did a wonderful renovation. My father has since stayed at the house and loved how things looked.

There is usually a mist that comes off the Greenbrier River, you can see it in the picture.  In the early morning it is almost like thick pea soup, you can't see a foot in front of you, at night when it is clear you can see every star in the sky!


Suzanne Powers Art Gallery: http://suzanne-powers.artistwebsites.com 


 

How Spring And the Redbud Changed My Life

Even though the bird's nest looks abandoned during winter's cold there are signs of life and the hope of the birds returning! How I appreciate nature and it's ability to shake the cobwebs of winter out of our thinking and start us on a new path! 

Red maple seed pods

The Redbud tree is one of the first to show off it's stunning pink flowers, it is life changing - I'm a visual person and beauty affects me, if something is beautiful sometimes it makes me cry. I stare at the tree in bloom in breathless awe not having seen such bright color for eight months. 

The color is nothing less than spectacular, ranging between a purple and a bright pink setting off the dull brown tree trunks  and undergrowth just beginning to transition from winter's lifelessness to the lush bright greens of springtime.

The shock of color sets off the woods like a precious magenta jewel, seeming to give off an aura of brightness in it's woodsy realm.

It is native to the eastern United States and grows as far as Ontario Canada and spreading west to Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.  It only grows to 30 feet and has round heart shaped leaves.  

It is part of my heritage and has been here since before the Colonials and Indians giving a feeling of continuity, revealing a hint of the past of what things may have looked like in a primaeval state.

The trees give sustenance, the flowers, buds and pods can be sauted, the buds pickled.  The fresh flowers can also be added to salads.  In southern parts of Appalachia the green branches are used to season wild game and is known as the spice tree.  

I like discovering folkways and I am beginning to understand that the woods are full of new tastes and delights yet to be experienced. I am curious now and want to try a small handful of blossoms on my next excursion.

The Redbud flower arrives early and takes us out of the winter dole drums, regrets of the winter enjoyments and parties now past with a beautiful jolt of sprays of pink branches stretching out, foreshadowing the summer season to come.  

Just when you were counting the months until Christmas wishing for that jolly season the Redbud gets our attention and makes us take notice, giving us exciting thoughts, triggering our memory of past summer fun; a trip to the beach and other good times. 

The beauty of the flowers of the Redbud keeps coming back to me I can't shake it and starts me dreaming about new warm weather adventures.  On with the new and what lies ahead I now affirm.   How I love and appreciate the Redbud tree!

Suzanne Powers Art Gallery:  suzanne-powers.artistwebsites.com
 

Luxury An Edwardian View

Food, glorious food!

Hot sausage and mustard!

While we are in the mood --

Cold jelly and custard!

Please pudding and saveloys!

What next is the question?

Rich men have it -- boys,

indigestion!

Food, glorious food!

We're anxious to try it,

Three banquets a day --

Our favorite diet!...

No song could be more appropriate for the abundance of an Edwardian's dinner table than this refrain from the musical "Oliver!"  The time period of the play was Victorian England and relates even more to Edwardian tastes.

Wrotham Park, Bently Heath, Hertfordshire by Rob Farrow

Excess was the order of the day for the upper class. You dressed to impress (with up to six changes of clothes in a days activities), fed to impress with up to twenty-two courses at one single dinner party! Dinner was leisurely and could take hours before it was finished.

Turkish rug:  Bonematta

Country houses were often redecorated for the new social season in expensive velvet and silk upholstery, fine art and tapestries hung on the wall, expansive gardens gave eye appeal through large windows in large rooms. 

Outside there could be golf played on a private course, horseback riding, croquet and tennis, grass of course, the new hard tennis court was not traditional and was considered "coarse." 

The Prince of Wales who became Edward the IV, set the precedent of rich dishes and opulence, particularly liking French cooking with it's rich sauces.  

The group he socialized with was known as the Marlborough Set and were the wealthiest in England, although Edward liked people from all walks of life and got along well with everyone.

Prince Edward VII, with Prince George the Prince of Wales, later George V (left) with his grandsons Prince Edward of Wales, later Edward VIII and Prince Albert of Wales, later George VI.

It is known he had mistresses but it is not as generally known Edward was a loving, kind and thoughtful person (although he did not always consider his wife, Queen Alexandra), one of England's most popular kings. His son George V was greatly saddened when he died, they had more of a brotherly relationship rather than a father/son relationship.

Food took center stage on the tables of the rich at "week end" parties they called "Friday through Monday" using the description week end indicated you worked for a living since it included the days Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
  

We can all relate to croissants as pictured above and were eaten by the Edwardian especially if the family employed a French pastry chef.  Croissants were birthed from the plainer, donut like Kipferl biscuit in 1839 by a Paris pastry shop owner, an Austrian artillery officer, August Zang.  

The shop quickly became a success and was located on 92 rue de Richelieu.  Ten years later Zang returned to his country to become a press magnate, the shop continued to be a success for some years.

There were rules with all the "appropriate" tableware; glass stemware for water, wine, spirits.  Separate forks and spoons were used for soups, entrees, salads and desserts.     

Up to 50 pieces of china, crystal and silver could be used for each guest at one dinner!

The first class restaurant, A La Cart, on the ill fated Titanic (below). The Titanic had five first class restaurants in addition to a second and third class restaurant.

A menu for a first class restaurant on the Titanic (below).

In to-days dollars it cost $100,000 for a first class ticket, second class was $3,500 and third class was between $250 to $300, not a  small amount of money for those who had little.  

With every amenity provided for in first class there were many styles of staterooms to choose from, every whim was considered:  Louis (IV,V and VI) Empire, Jacobean, Georgian, Queen Anne Empire, Regency, Old and New Dutch. 

The country house estates grew flowers in hot houses for the dining table and other rooms.

Henri Fantin-Latour artwork (1836-1904)

The working class rose in power after WWI with increasing servant/labor costs and taxation the estates began to break up. There were less who could afford the high cost of maintaining a large estate.

 

Suzanne Powers Art Gallery: http://suzanne-powers.artistwebsites.com/

A Contemporary Digital Collage of BBC Sherlock

Clues flying at the speed of light - Sherlock brains his way unraveling mysteries!  The excellent cast and production of the BBC Sherlock series have caused me to want to create a collage that has a contemporary feel and looks somewhat like a traditional collage made with paper scraps with some of the images looking cut out.

It is more involved than many of my collages with more images on different layers (see below).

This is a new look for me and a style that I have dreamed about doing, kind of contemporary without a lot of fussy detail which I seem to do without trying! 

Although some would argue this design is not exactly simplistic, I like that I did not have to be exact in cutting some things out (time consuming), with some images having a rough cut look and not much shading except to use the photo editor curves to lighten or darken some images.  One of my first attempts at painting are in this image.  I painted Sherlock's scarf, as small a thing as that can still not look right if you are not careful.  It wasn't as hard to find the right color and paint it as I thought, so little by little I think I will be doing more painting.

The way this image turned out has given me confidence to want to do some shading with the paint brush and maybe color some areas to emphasis an object in another project.  I did have to do some resizing of images which is normal and makes designing in a digital editor a joy.  Objects can be reduced and not enlarged because pixels can become stretched.  Sometimes I do enlarge as long as it is not stretched too much and put a texture over it.

I got the idea to add to this image the Union Jack for some extra punch although I still like the above image for it's simple design.  I kept these images somewhat dark for a mysterious look somewhat like the BBC

 
dark blue toned ad image with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman looking as though they are on a case in the dark of night.

I am currently working on another project, a Downton Abbey image.  It is always a challenge to try to find images that will have the right look and get the overall style I have in my mind.  A lot of the time I get ideas as I am working on a project.  I am trying for somewhat of a period look, it will be interesting to see how it turns out.  I thought I would share it in the unfinished stage so you can see some of my process.

The image has a large white border around it, I'm not sure what I am going to do with the border, I may make an invitation out of the whole image as if inviting the viewer to a garden party or skeet shoot.  I'm still working out the coloration and not finding the colors of the textures easy to erase so I may get rid of the textures and try painting the different colors.

I see myself gradually getting more and more into painting which is a very good thing.   Painting can be less cumbersome than trying to add textures (I often add two and three to get the right color and effect) and sometimes taking some of it off.  Textures have their place though.

Right out of the program editor (see below)!  I used a color photo of the real Downton Abbey, Highclere

 

Castle (see above), which I desaturated (made into a black and white image) and then used threshold to turn it into a black and white line image.  There is also an old photo of a real servant standing beside a color photo of a yellow and black Rolls Royce. Believe it or not when you view the servant at 50% he turns out to be a handsome young man with white powdered hair!

My gallery website:  http://suzanne-powers.artistwebsites.com/featured/sherlock-holmes-ii-suzanne-powers.html