But he also paints from life. He points to the woman in the short skirt in his Two Seated Figures He likes to say he steals from the best. The woman with the pinkish cupid-like knees is his favorite muse, his wife of 51 years, Betty Jean. Other pictures in the show reflect their life together: scenes from Laguna Beach, where they have a second home; the streetscapes of San Francisco, where he had a studio in the s; a pair of beautiful drawings of their two sons as little boys.
Thiebaud has two daughters from an earlier marriage. As we move through the galleries, we begin to collect a dozen or so museum visitors, who are surprised to discover the celebrated artist in the midst of his own show. They listen to every word of his mini-tutorial, and two take his picture with their cellphones.
They represent a new direction in his work begun about 15 years ago and inspired by an almost forgotten corner of nearby countryside. As the road winds along a levee, high above the Sacramento River delta, the banks are dotted with funky fishing stations and bait and tackle shops; houseboats are moored to creaky docks; orchards and farm fields spread out like counterpanes on either side of the silvery water.
Thiebaud comes here to sketch, then returns to his studio to paint. With wildly shifting perspectives and geometric patterns created by sharp curves and hard edges, the delta paintings recall his vertiginous San Francisco cityscapes. In Brown River , some fields are painted in traditional perspective while others tilt up precariously, like a view from a roller coaster.
Thiebaud sometimes paints patches of fields in unexpected hues—candy pink or baby blue—with tiny stands of trees and toy-like farmhouses along their edges. But the British philosopher and critic Richard Wollheim was an early champion.
It is early in the morning in a leafy Sacramento neighborhood, and Thiebaud is standing in a modest one-story building that has been converted into a private gallery for his works. The earliest work is a portrait of a fisherman in a black rain hat, painted in boldly expressive brushstrokes when he was only He later turned to commercial art, illustrating movie posters for Universal Pictures and working in the advertising department of Rexall Drugs.
Wayne Thiebaud, River Lake, Oil on canvas, 60x60in. Later in his career, Thiebaud began experimenting with playful versions of traditional genres. In his River Lake , above, Thiebaud explores perspective, or point of view, in a landscape. Thiebaud does not include a horizon line—the horizontal line where the earth meets the sky—so the water and sky blend together.
At the same time, the parallel lines in the dark brown field in the middle ground seem to lift upward, as if seen from above.
These two conflicting perspectives appear within the same image, confusing the space. How does Thiebaud play with space, texture, light, and perspective in each of the paintings shown here? How do his compositional choices transform traditional genre paintings into contemporary compositions?
Later in his career, Thiebaud experimented with landscapes. To make his River Lake , above, he uses multiple perspectives. He does not include a horizon line where the ground meets the sky. This causes the water and the sky to blend together. Thiebaud uses confusing perspectives on purpose, asking viewers to look closer. How does Thiebaud play with space, texture, light, and perspective? How does he re-create traditional genres? Click the Google Quiz button below to share an interactive version of this secondary skill builder with your class.
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Latest Issue. All Issues. Art on Demand. Switch Homepage. Check out Scholastic Art At Home for our favorite stories and tools to kick off your year. Sharing Google Activities 2 min. Learn More. Wayne Thiebaud, Page of Sketches with Ties, Wayne Thiebaud, Rows of Ties, Oil on canvas, 24x24in.
Chicago, IL. Accession How is the tie hanging on the right in this painting different from the other ties? Why do you think Thiebaud separates it? Click the Google Quiz button below to share an interactive version of this secondary skill builder with your class. Click Download PDF for the non-interactive version. Contact Us. What You Get. Editorial Calendar. State and National Standards. Funding Guide. Google and LMS Integration. Curricular Topics. Toggle navigation. Subscribe Log in.
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