Study of “onions” by Andrew Wyeth

Study painting by Yukiko Hatheway

After mostly painting with sumi ink and gansai paint (Japanese watercolor paints) for the past year or so, I missed the colors produced by my collection of Windsor & Newton and Daniel Smith watercolor paints. I particularly missed the different blue and umber/sienna colors. What to paint with these colors was another problem. Then a painting came to mind – “onions” by Andrew Wyeth.

Andrew Wyeth is by far one of my favorite painters. I can spend hours looking through his art collection book and get lost in his world. His subjects from his landscape to his beloved people are very American. However, I find his subdued colors and intimate feelings for his subjects (or for what they represent) speak to my inner self which I consider more Japanese than American. He obviously felt at home in his solitude, yet the windows in many of his paintings seem to symbolize the connection to the outside world. On the other hand, some windows seem to represent an invitation to the inside of the buildings. Such connections are sometimes a relief and also sometimes a threat to perhaps anyone who values his/her solitude. These were some of my thoughts while I painted the study of his painting. It’s hard to let go of those moments where I am lost in his world. Prussian blue, cerulean blue, Payne’s gray, yellow ochre, raw umber, raw sienna, burnt sienna and burnt umber were the colors I once again enjoyed reacquainting with.

Not surprisingly, the original painting by Andrew Wyeth is part of an art collection belonging to a museum in Japan. I hope to see the original someday.