Wayne Thiebaud
Rabbit

It’s time.  I’ve been pretending to work since school finished a month ago.  And yes, I’ve bought the supplies I need for my next project(s) and made some sketches, but my brain just wasn’t ready to start.  However tomorrow is June first and I promised myself that I would be really up and running, up and at ’em, nose to the grindstone (insert your own cliche here) before month’s end.

Wayne Thiebaud
Shoe Rows

I was thinking yesterday about teaching art, which I hope to do someday, and I made up an exercise for my (imaginary class).  I would make all of my students (it’s a large class because I am a very popular teacher) stand in a circle around me.  And I would spin dramatically, throw out an accusatory finger at someone, and say, “Who is your favorite artist and why?”

Wayne Thiebaud, now in his 90s, and still painting

If you did that to me, I’m pretty sure that I would say Wayne Thiebaud.  Some artists I won’t cross town to see, but for Wayne Thiebaud I would go anywhere.  It’s his color, his combination of reality and fantasy, his amazing brushstrokes, and the way my heart stops for a moment when I see those landscapes (I call it an artgasm, but sadly I didn’t make that up).  So I’m posting some of my favorites here, as inspiration.

I love these blue shadows!

And I’m off to the studio, after a quick trip to buy my lottery tickets: Powerball, Lotto, and Megamillions.  SO many of my friends are rooting for me to win, but don’t buy tickets themselves.  They are clearly smarter than I.

Wayne Thiebaud
Around the Cake

Thank you Susan Stephenson (a wonderful teacher) for introducing me to Wayne Thiebaud.  By the time you read this I’ll be painting.  But my question to you is, “Who is your favorite artist and why?”

Wayne Thiebaud
Black Shoes