Art Comes From Art.

I wasn't familiar with Wayne Thiebaud. But I found his philosophy interesting. If I understood correctly, it wasn't enough for him to study art history, to know it on an abstract level. He insisted on immersing himself on a physical level. He would copy the work of his favorite masters, pushing art history right into his muscle memory. (He loved to assign his art students the same task.) The process left him with a visceral connection to the varied currents that have flowed together to become art today.

Betty Jean Thiebaud, filmmaker, teacher, and the wife of renowned Sacramento-based painter Wayne Thiebaud. That's her above, you'll see a lot of her in his work.

Look familiar?

"Clown In White Tie" In the original the subject is looking downward, I like this better.

"Electric Chair" from the mid-1950s. His version was more realistic than the original.

"Woman In Tub" from mid-1960s.

"The Art Historian" from 1971

"Girl in Striped Blouse" 1973-1975

His brightly colored food paintings were extremely popular. They make people happy.

"Girl with Ice Cream Cone" 1963

How do you get from "Lamentation Over the Dead Christ," to "Girl with Ice Cream Cone"?

This is a very different look.

Yet another style.

And this style, very linear and realistic.

And there were more clown pieces too, which is usually a dealbreaker for me. But I was drawn to this one, titled" "Clown Walk"

I need to return to this exhibit, there were so many pieces, and so many different styles. I arrived in the late afternoon, and before I knew it they were ushering people out the door.