Elemental

Most artists look for something fresh to paint; frankly I found that quite boring. For me, it is much more exciting to find fresh meaning in something familiar. -- Andrew Wyeth

Frost bite, Andrew Wyeth

A few months ago, I watched a PBS documentary on the American master painter Andrew Wyeth. Besides documenting Wyeth’s life story, the program also introduced me to his style and technique. Wyeth was well known for his egg tempera paintings and dry brush water drawings. He was widely derided by modern critics despite his quick rise to fame and the popularity of his work. He quietly persisted in the face of the post-war Modernist tides. Despite the challenge of being labelled as a mere illustrator, he continued to hone his skills mastering the arcane techniques of egg tempera, a demanding and challenging medium. Wyeth was well known for some of his famous paintings that carry narrative implications, one such painting being “Christina’s world”. In addition, a lot of his work depict scenes and ordinary objects found in his immediate surroundings. As he said, “I don’t really have studios. I wander around people’s attics, out in fields, in cellars, any place I find that invites me.” He was prolific during his career, and he was known to continue working until the end of his life.

After watching the program, I felt a kinship to Wyeth’s work. To me, Wyeth’s work is raw, quiet, and contemplative. While I do not wish to replicate his work with my photography, I feel I share his sensibilities as an artist. A lot of his work are direct observations of commonplace scenes and objects, yet they are conceptual and abstract in nature. They have very subdued color palettes, almost monochromatic, with occasional splash of colors -- a few red apples placed on the windowsill, or a yellow jacket hung on the wall. His paintings’ bare and bleak style may not exude immense visual power at first glance, nonetheless we can’t help but feeling captivated because of their quiet intensity.

Ice pool, Andrew Wyeth

"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show"

—Andrew Wyeth

I share Wyeth’s sentiment for fall and winter being his favorite seasons to create. In New England, the landscape is dreary, colors fall to the wayside during those quiet seasons. One is left with the bare stage to exercise your imagination after the vibrant casts from the summer have made their exits. Wyeth’s depiction of the countryside surroundings inspires me to go explore areas that may not look to hold any photogenic interest on the surface, and I learn to be more observant of the environment I am in. With his superb drawing techniques and keen observational ability, Wyeth was able to make ordinary subjects meaningful without them looking tedious. Wyeth’s ability to elevate the mundane into meaningful is something I very much aspire to.

Brickyard pond in winter, Puiming Webber

Trapped, Puiming Webber

#Creativity #Inspiration