Jamie Wyeth's talk at the Strand Theater in Rockland, Maine was sold out. I had purchased
a ticket the first day they were available for 30$! I was very excited to listen to Jamie speak today.
I was seated in the balcony. He started the talk by telling a story of losing his front tooth on the boat
ride from the island where he lives to Rockland. He spent a half an hour searching the floor of the boat
for his tooth. He found the tooth and put it back into his mouth. He said he hoped the tooth remained
during the talk but if anyone in the front row sees a tooth go flying to catch it and return it to him.
He spoke with a noticeable lisp during this story but the lisp was lost very quickly. We all thought it
was funny and laughed accordingly. He was asked a series of questions about things by his interviewer.
Sometimes Jamie's answers were very different than what one might expect leaving the interviewer
speechless. He was asked about when the use of neon colors came into play? He uses neon enamel
paint in some of his painting along with acrylics and oils. I thought it was amusing when Jamie was talking
about his exhibit at the Farnsworth Museum. The museum currator asked for him to come to speak to him.
Jamie had to get into his boat, come over to Rockland, and walk to the Museum. The museum curator asked
him only one question during the hour interview. Jamie answered the question in four words. Then the museum
currator took over the entire conversation for the rest of the hour. It took the museum curator five years to put
the show together. Jamie said that it is really the curator's show because he did not have anything much to do
with it. He did go to the opening. His wife Phyllis had told him to always go to the openings to show respect
for all the work that was put into the show. He said most of his paintings come from his day dreams. He spends
most of his time day dreaming on the island looking out to sea. He likes being on the island because there are few
distractions. If he were in a city he would always be going to all the Operas and all the events. He told a story about
painting the roots of a tree. He said after the second painting of the roots of the tree, when he finished the painting,
the tree fell over, and the man who lived there died. That left the interviewer speechless. We all laughed. He said
the he and Phyllis his wife would talk about what he would paint for the season. I thought that was interesting.
It sounded like Jamie Wyeth was mostly a studio painter. He was asked what he was working on presently. He
paused and looked down. He said he normally did not speak about what he was currently painting. He paused
again. Then he told us about the subject of the painting. He said Linda Bean, who recently passed away, was obessed
with his Grandfather NC Wyeth. She had purchase places he had lived in. He was asked to be in the boat procession
carrying her body to the resting place. The scene would be similar to a painting NC Wyeth had painted. Jamie Wyeth
described being in the second boat. An Eagle did a figure eight above them. There was also an animal in the boat. He
said it was way over the top almost. He is trying to paint that scene. He said Linda Bean was sometimes a pain in the ass.
There were some gasps. It was true. He spoke very candidly not holding back about how he felt about museums and
people. That made the talk very interesting. I wished there were more questions about how he worked.
A lady gave him a present and he put it in his pocket. You can see he is wearing knickers.
He wears two different colored socks. He has pirate looking shoes on his feet.
Jamie Wyeth and his interviewer. I enjoyed the talk so much. I hope I described the talk
well. I wanted to pay respect to one of my favorite painters.
Fog coming off the ocean at Acadia National Park.
With the admission to Jamie Wyeth we were all granted free admission to see his exhibit.
Funny but I went to see his exhibit but was still processing the talk that I was a bit dazed!
I do remember seeing a doll house looking display of a meat room. A room where a butcher
might work. I saw a stuffed small dog sitting on a boat cushion. I saw Andy Warhol painted life size in
the doorway of a real screen door. I really loved a bit of neon color in his works. My favorite painting
was a small New England home with a spruce tree and neon green grass. The seagull paintings were great.
Loved all his portraits captured in unusual ways.
He told a story of disliking to do portraits of people he did not know. At 17 his Dad asked him to do a commission he did not want
to do. He had to drive a distance, stay in a hotel, be in an unfamilar town, meet a stranger to paint at 17 years old!
No one liked the finished portrait. There was screaming and crying. This was in 1963.
Here is Jamie Wyeth's portrait of Doctor Helen Brooke Taussig (1898-1986)
The painting is now at John Hopkins Hospital.
He had painted a woman doctor. He said he supposed the problem with the portrait was he
had not made her out to be like Betty Crocker.
I am sure I learned many things from Jamie Wyeth. He told very entertaining somewhat shocking stories!
His work is well done and fascinating.
Good night.
