~Technical Studies - Wayne Thiebaud's Technique and Approach

For my technical study, I chose to look to the inspiration for my series: Wayne Thiebaud. His background as a cartoonist adds some very fun and interesting influences to his paintings that bring them more life. That's why I wanted to paint the subjects of my series in a similar style. Artistically, I an drawn to his subjective use of color and his approach to art that is both child-like and professional. But what I am especially interested in studying is his signature application of paint.

Here is a picture I took of Wayne Thiebaud's "Girl with a Pink Hat" at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The figure is expertly rendered, presented in a "buffet" of fully saturated, unexpected color. Consistent for Thiebaud is the application of thick and creamy paint that we can see in this piece. If we look closely, we can see how Thiebaud drags his brush with white paint right along the outer edges of the figure, then carries those strokes outside horizontally to the edges of the canvas. I admire this discipline paired with creativity,

 “I think an artist’s capacity to handle the figure is a great test of his abilities,”  said Thiebaud. In "DELICIOUS, The Life and Art of Wayne Thiebaud, author Susan Goldman Rubin responds to this quote, saying, 

   "That’s true. And an artist’s capacity to paint row upon row of cakes and pies is a great test of his sanity. This man must be crazy sane."

I begin the technical study with a 6"x 8" canvas panel loosely replicating a cropped area of "Girl with a Pink Hat". I do a quick freehand sketch directly on the panel laying out basic shapes.

I start adding more color using Thiebaud as a guide. I try to replicate the color in his cool and warm shadows, while also making some of Thiebaud's so-called "arty strokes".

To achieve a look of thick paint, I first try a dollop of white paint poured directly onto the panel. From here I will drag the brush along the outer edges of the figure, then outside to the edges in horizontal strokes. 

After the white paint has dried, I realize that this approach may not work best. The paint thinned out a lot more and cracks began to form in the paint.

Next, I tried applying Dick Blick's Acrylic Gel Medium thickly to the panel. I laid down the gel with the same strokes used previously. Once it dried, I was happy to see that it had not chipped the paint or lost its thickness. I can duplicate this process with gel medium and white paint to achieve a much thicker, textural look for the empty spaces surrounding the figures in my own series.

I am already applying what I learned from my technical study. I will work with more gel medium (Dick Blick brand specifically, the best I've used so far at $18 a quart) and modeling paste, another medium I have just started using. The gel medium dries on completely transparent and helps saturate color, It dries exactly as it is applied to the canvas - there is no dripping or thinning. This allows for thick applications that may be a little hard to control. I will work on refining my strokes with the gel around and outside the figure according to Thiebaud's approach in "Girl with the Pink Hat",  I will experiment with modeling paste a bit as well, which dries on completely opaque unlike the gel medium I use.

It is my hope that this improved thickness of paint outside the figure will add textural interest to an otherwise static white background. Additionally, I want my subjects to be looked at, One good way to ensure that viewers will actually give the figures the attention they deserve is to treat the entirety of the composition with the same reverence.

Series Painting #3: In progress

For this painting, I had to composite two pictures together digitally. I took the face from one photo sent to me and composited it onto the body of another pic of the subject.  I projected the image on canvas and loosely sketch it on with a pencil. Adjustments will be made later.

Using my composited photo as reference, I begin with painting the face as usual. I start out painting loose, keeping in mind some of the dark the darkest points (shadows, core shadows, pupils, etc) and basic shapes. I will continue to add paint and refine from this stage.   

After lots of refinement, I start to get more of a likeness. I now begin paying down color for the body, once again considering darkest points first and highlights last. A black and white plane is laid out under the subject that matches the same height as the other two paintings (8 inches up from the bottom of the canvas). I will further refine this surface in all the paintings so that it matches better. 

This painting is still in progress. I will continue to refine shapes, improve the blending of shadows to highlights, build up white paint around the subject, and add more subjective color. 

UPDATE: Here is the painting as of now, October 25th. I soften the features and increase the likeness. More details are added to the body and thick gel medium and modeling paste is applied to the area surrounding the figure.

Series Painting #2: In progress

For my second painting in the series, I start with a very rudimentary pencil sketch of the subject to get a basic idea of where features should go.

I start to define the shapes of the face by blocking in some of the darkest tones. Basic highlights are suggested, but they will be refined later. 

The process of layering values over the face begins to really saturate the canvas and thicken the paint. Features of the face get more refined in relation to the source photo. I begin to add more subjective color as well as thick white paint around the subject's head.

I begin to work my way down the previously projected sketch of the body, again referring to my source photo. Basic blocks of color are put down to remind me up important lines in the sketch.

I continue to put down more basic color patterns and begin to saturate the canvas in these areas. The ground is placed beneath him.

I will continue to work on this painting over the weekend and post more updates along the way. :)

*UPDATE*

I went on to add more detail to the figure's pants, shirt, and couch. Thick gel medium is applied around the figure and painted over with white.

More detail is added, as well as more shadow. I apply a thin wash of forest green paint to push back the figure in space. This painting is still not finished, but it is most definitely getting closer.

Series Painting #1: In progress

Initial sketch is laid out for the painting on a 30"x40" canvas.

I quickly start laying down color.I work off information provided by the sketch to get the right shapes. Now I refer to the reference photo again to process information about highlights, shadows, and tonal shifts. I tryvro think about the subject-a tattoos as shapes rather than symbols. This way I don't paint what I think I see/ know, only the shapes and lines as they are presented at that moment in the photo.  

More of the painting gets roughed in. I add more shocks of color to emphasize my own style and some of the characteristics I admire about Wayne Thiebaud's technique. I apply modeling paste to the white space around my subject. This will make my applications of white paint appear thicker and creamer. Another layer of acrylic gel medium will further saturate color and thicken paint.

This painting isn't finished yet. I will continue working on this piece As I begin sketches for my next in the series.

~ Series Proposal with Historical Context

Series Proposal

For my series of paintings, I would like to bring attention to the individuals that many people express prejudice towards for one reason or another. My plan is to present these individuals through full figurative painting on canvas as close to actual size as possible, with their eyes aimed directly at the viewer. There will be no smiles. I want my subjects to challenge the viewer to look them in the eyes and acknowledge them just as they are, when in real life they may rather avoid eye contact and keep walking. It is my goal to bring attention to the people who face discrimination in our society so that we may better grasp the humanity of these individuals. We cannot become so detached from those we consider lesser than ourselves that we forget how much we truly have in common. At the end of the day, we are all just humans trying to survive in an unfair world.

In order to achieve these conceptual goals, I need to have a strong and interesting approach technically. I am inspired by artist Wayne Thiebaud, who is famous for his thick and creamy application of paint and his vibrant, almost electric colors. My own style utilizes vibrant and often unexpected color as well, so I will attempt to continue this style in my series. It is my hope that the use of unexpectedly pop, energetic colors combined with somber subjects will increase the viewer's interest in my paintings. Additionally, I don't want my audience to simply feel bad for my subjects. I want them to be compelled to keep looking at them and to see value in them, and to this end I feel my artistic approach could be beneficial. Therefore, I will attempt to achieve a fairly realistic likeness using abstract colors and thick paint. Additionally,in order to link my paintings together as a series, I will have ALL subjects in the same position: seated and looking into the camera without smiling. How they choose to sit is up to them, and their body language will say something else about each subject. They will be centered on large canvases, and surrounded by thick white paint.

When it comes to choosing my subjects, I will only use people who have given me consent in person to photograph and paint their likeness. I will talk to each subject personally and incorporate their own description of themselves into the titles. Most of my intended subjects are already friends of mine, and I see firsthand how other people treat them. As a result, this series will become even more personal to me.

As I draw inspiration from Wayne Thiebaud, I must consider the historical and cultural context in which he worked. Born in Arizona in 1920, Thiebaud was inspired by  cartoons and comic strips like George Herman's "Krazy Kat". He would go on to establish himself as a cartoonist,  even working as an animator at Walt Disney Studios for a brief time. Thiebaud also did poster work and drew a regular comic strip while in the Air Force, during World War II. His interest would later shift towards painting, where his background as a cartoonist would inject distinct influence. In 1956, Thiebaud moved to New York and saw his work affected by the historical and cultural context of its time. Here he was in the middle of the Abstract Expressionist movement. The work of Franz Kline and Willem de Kooning caught his eye and he became interested in their use of thick paint.  His history as a cartoonist lended a playful and colorful approach to the subjects he painted, and the inspiration he drew from the Abstract Expressionist movement showed itself in his thick and creamy application of oil paint. Even his work as a poster designer during a time of war impacted his work, as so many of his paintings were vibrant still lifes of American food and toys. As a result, Thiebaud's work didn't reflect the sadness and death of war times. Instead, it reflected the artist's own optimism and playful nature, as if it were a deliberate effort to create something fun and beautiful in a cruel world. Wayne Thiebaud's art makes the viewer happy - not to mention hungry at times, when they look at his positively mouth-watering paintings of cakes and pies. Not only do I enjoy the aesthetic of Thiebaud's work, I admire his artistic approach and attitude toward his subjects. I will take this with me while creating my own series.

As an artist, I too am influenced by the historical and cultural context I live in.  Like Thiebaud, I too grew up fascinated with cartoons and comics especially. I used to draw my own comics as a kid, including an ongoing superhero comic inspired by the superhero stories I was exposed to at that time. As I grew older, I became more aware of the suffering of other people. The world we live in now is a very chaotic, uncertain one. Within the U.S alone there is so much prejudice and violence on the basis of racism, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Of our two choices for president this November, one is a racist and sexist man who inspires violence and hate in his millions of followers. Racial profiling and discrimination is out of control as police kill more and more innocent people for the "crime" of being black. The gap between social classes is larger, and the rich judge the poor harshly. Xenophobia remains prominent in our country, and so many Americans look at the rest of the world with distrust. My heart breaks to see all this violence and hate. We are all just people trying to find happiness for ourselves and our family. We all just want to survive.

In conclusion, I would like to make this series a study of humanity that encourages us all to face our own prejudice and sympathize with people not so unlike ourselves. Hopefully my ten subjects can offer a variety of perspectives on life and on how we view those around us. Though we may come from many different places and identify as many different things, we can't forget that which unites us and makes us all beautiful.