Objects in a Row

I’ve been looking at the work of Wayne Thiebald for a painting that I’m planning, and I think that his work could form the basis for our next painting challenge ‘objects in a row.’ I have attached a couple of paintings to inspire us. They are typical of his work in the 1960’s. The works use impasto paint and they use bright and exaggerated colour for the shadows and for the outlines of the shapes. This has the effect of us being able to view the work both as flat abstracted shapes and as three dimensional constructions. They are the forerunners of ‘pop’ art and they can be seen as an alternative to abstract expressionism. Unusually, one to the ‘Bay’ painters Richard Diebenkorn moved from abstraction to more representational painting and then back to abstraction

‘Shelf Pies’ 1961, Oil on Canvas, 24 x 18 ins

‘Three Boats’ 1966, Oil on Canvas, 12 x 14 ins.

I have also added this Wikipedia citation that explains the ‘Bay Area Figurative Movement of which he was a member.

‘ The Bay Area Figurative Movement (also known as the Bay Area Figurative School, Bay Area Figurative Art, Bay Area Figuration, and similar variations) was a mid-20th Century art movement made up of a group of artists in the San Francisco Bay Area who abandoned working in the prevailing style of Abstract Expressionismin favor of a return to figuration in painting during the 1950s and onward into the 1960s. Spanning two decades, this art movement is often broken down into three groups, or generations: the First Generation, the Bridge Generation, and the Second Generation.

Many of the "First Generation" artists in this movement were avid fans of Abstract Expressionism, and worked in that manner, until several of them abandoned non-objective painting in favor of working with the figure. Among these First Generation Bay Area Figurative School artists were: David Park, Richard Diebenkorn, Rex Ashlock, Elmer Bischoff, Glenn Wessels, Wayne Thiebaud, and James Weeks. The "Bridge Generation" included the artists: Henrietta Berk, Nathan Oliveira, Theophilus Brown, Paul Wonner, Roland Petersen, John Hultberg, and Frank Lobdell.[1] Many "Second Generation" artists of this movement studied under the First Generation artists, or were late starters. Among these Second Generation artists were: Bruce McGaw, Henry Villierme, Joan Brown, Manuel Neri, and Robert Qualters. Many Bay Area schools and institutions were important to the development and refinement of this art movement, including the San Francisco Art Institute, California College of Arts and Crafts, and the University of California, Berkeley.’ (Wikipedia).