Deanna & Julie discuss Andrew Wyeth: Who was he? What were his paintings like? Why should we study him?

Join us as we chat about Wyeth’s subdued pallet and discover what it means to train your eyes to see color.

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Andrew Wyeth Discussion Topics

• Who was Andrew Wyeth?
  • Many artists in the family. His dad was a well-known Illustrator: N. C. Wyeth
  • Home educated
  • Learned by imitating his dad’s style
  • Later developed his own style
  • Married with children
• What were his paintings like?
  • American Regionalist
  • Started in watercolor with a looser style
  • Later used tempera paint in a detailed style with neutral colors
• Why study Andrew Wyeth?
  • To learn basic color theory vocabulary (primary, secondary, complementary colors…)
  • To experience mixing complementary colors to create an assortment of browns
  • To learn how to SEE the large variety of browns that exist in the world
  • To appreciate the classical model at work: imitation first and then develop your style
  • To have an opportunity to discuss “What is abstract art? Do the artist’s intentions matter?”

Works We Mention by Andrew Wyeth

The best place to see Andrew Wyeth’s art is at his own website: Andrewwyeth.com. However, it’s hard to link directly to a painting on that website, so these links lead elsewhere. We mentioned these pieces:

• Christina’s World (1948)
• Master Bedroom (1965)
• Snow Hill (1989)

Things We Mention

• Quiller Wheel (example: https://www.quillergallery.com/shop/Poster-Size-Wheel.html)
• CIRCE’s Andrew Kern talks about training children toward Attention, Imitation, and Memory
• MET and MoMA
• A previous Ridge Light Ranch blog post about Andrew Wyeth
• The Ridge Light Ranch Lesson Plan: Painting with Neutral Colors Like Andrew Wyeth