Watercolor Artists/Teachers

...We Three Meet Again... (2003), Birdsall

I am inspired by the artwork around me, especially when I encounter multiple works by the same artist all in one place. At Fred Hutch's South Lake Union House, where we've been staying while my wife recovers from a stem cell transplant, I saw two watercolor works by Byron Birdsall.

The first of two paintings is of three birds in a snowy scene (probably Alaska). It's my favorite.

Giorno di Shopping in 
Monterosso, Birdsall

The second is a scene in a popular market on the Italian Riviera, and it looks like a photograph, until you get up close to it. 

Both were painted by Alaskan Watercolorist, Byron Birdsall (1937-2016). In a career that spanned 50 years, Birdsall painted thousands of watercolors/oils, including Alaskan scenes, panoramic landscapes, and even some portraits. I keep discovering more sprinkled around the apartment building.

Born in Buckeye, Arizona, he taught history for 6 years in California, then moved to Alaska to work in advertising, eventually taking up painting part time. Many professional artists, like Norman Rockwell, whose paintings were published in the Saturday Evening Post, worked in advertising.

Other artists who were also teachers:

White Bird of Paradise (1939)
O'Keeffe

American modernist painter, Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986), a student of Arthur Wesley Dow, also earned money for her own education working as a commercial illustrator and teacher.

She taught and continued her studies at the Teachers College, Columbia University. BTW, my mother grew up in NYC and lived in an apartment near the university. And my grandfather owned and operated a flower shop nearby.

O'Keeffe decided to become an artist at age 10, and received art instruction from local watercolorist Sara Mann.

O'Keeffe also taught and headed the art department at West Texas State Normal College.

Dead Rabbit with Copper Pot (1908)
O'Keeffe

This early O'Keeffe painting is reminiscent of Andrew Wyeth's Road Kill (squirrel). Both chose somewhat disturbing or unusual subjects. I apologize for the 'dark' image. I much prefer her modern colorful takes on closeups of flowers.

I and the Village (1911)
Chagall

Russian/French Artist, Marc Chagall (1887-1985) was also an early Modernist like O'Keeffe, although he is more commonly associated with movements: Surrealism, Cubism, Expressionism, Fauvism. Over 75 years, he produced more than 10,000 works. Probably his most famous painting is I and the Village (1911). In 2011, my family and I visited the Chagall Museum in Nice, France. His large artworks literally filled the walls!

He studied painting under realist, Jehuda Pen, and then in 1907 he went to St. Petersburg, Russia and studied art for three years with stage designer Léon Bakst.

Following WWI, at a war shelter in Malakhovka, Russia, Chagall taught art to Jewish boys. The school was once an orphanage for refugees.

The Blue Bird (1968),
Chagall

Chagall often included birds such as chickens and roosters in his dreamlike, symbolic, religious-themed surrealistic works.

Le Havre, The Port (1884). Boudin

I'm super thankful for Eugène Boudin, who taught Claude Monet and encouraged him to switch from drawing to painting outdoors. Check out Beach Scenes & Women with Parasols/Umbrellas, a post from June of last year, including some of my favorite Monet paintings.

Fishing Boats at Étretat (1885). Monet

I also appreciated the opportunity to visit Seattle Art Museum's Monet at Étretat exhibit in 2021. See my SAM Visit - Monet at Étretat post from August 2021 for more of Monet's beach paintings. Going to a museum is a great way to see multiple works by the same artist, especially at an exhibit in their honor.

My next tour will be the Alexander Calder exhibit at SAM next Thursday. I know, like me, he studied mechanical engineering but I'm unable to find evidence that he ever taught art. I'll continue researching for my next blog post.