The lighthouse thing was not a deliberate choice. I often look for a picture that reflects something that feels concordant with the moment I’m in, weather being one of the easiest ones. There are a lot of beautiful snow scenes, of course. I’m not a huge fan of snow as a practical thing, but it looks beautiful. It is winter, but so far we haven’t had a lot of snow.
After a week of mostly black and white prints, I wanted something colorful, so I turned back to William Hays, whom you may remember as a Vermont painter turned printmaker to increase accessibility of his works. This piece is set in winter and has some snow, but it’s not primarily a snow scene, and it is in fact a lighthouse scene though I wasn’t specifically looking for one. The color scheme in this print is somewhat muted compared to many of his others–reminds me a bit of Andy Lovell.
As always, the stellar lithographer Stow Wengenroth brings happiness to my heart. This is one of my favorite prints of his, which I’ve been saving, and I think New Year’s Eve and the end of my 12th week of sharing a print a day is a fitting occasion to share this one.
If you’re curious about how Gloucester Harbor sits in relation to the rest of Cape Ann and the mainland, here’s a nice detailed map (from the late 19th century).
This one is pretty uncomplicated. Gorgeous pic, no back story that I was able to find (and nothing in the picture to suggest there should be.)
Name that artist! For those of you who are regular viewers, one glance at the picture will likely tell you who the printmaker is. We’ve looked at his work before, but I don’t think we’ve ever seen sailboats, birds only once, and rocks several times but not together with birds.
The look of the boats and the fact that there are two shown makes me think perhaps this is a race. I feel the motion of the bird and of the boats, and of course the texture of the rocks is marvelous.
SPACE
INTENTIONALLY
LEFT BLANK to avoid the spoiler
Who is it? Yes, it’s Stow Wengenroth. I could stare at his prints for hours…
I’ve been at this for ten whole weeks, and haven’t missed a day, which I find somewhat shocking. At what point do I stop counting and just keep going?
A week or so ago, I introduced a new (to this space) artist named Grietje Postma, who is a master of the intricate and complex technique of color reduction relief prints. Exploring the same gallery website a few days later, I discovered another artist who is also an incredible master of this same technique. (I presume that this is not accident–did one of them introduce the other to the gallery? Or does the gallery’s “curator” have a particular interest in this technique?) In the intervening week, I’ve been trying to familiarize myself with this new artist’s body of work, and background.
William Hays discovered painting as a teen, and his passion for art led him to formally study sculpture in Alaska. After graduating, he moved to Vermont, and for the next twenty years devoted himself to painting, mostly in oils. His wife suggested making his works more accessible by trying his hand at printmaking, which he quickly mastered and of which he became a passionate practitioner. Within five years, he had switched almost exclusively to printmaking. He carves his reduction prints in both linoleum and wood.
Hays creates landscapes exclusively. His style, even more than Postma’s, is a close to photorealistic style like Wengenroth’s, but in color. HIs choice of colors in most cases is much closer to reality than Postma’s. He sometimes chooses to use some non-realistic colors to add to the mood of the piece.
In honor of the season which is starting to feel more real and present, I’ve selected a piece called Ice Dawn. This is a striking print which feels like it really reflects the feel of the season. (See what I did there?)
I’ve been showing Wengenroth prints pretty much every week since the beginning, and I’ve referred to his typical New England Scenes like lighthouses, but I just realized I’d never shown one of his prints of a lighthouse. There are so many to choose from, it’s a bit daunting. I was looking at some of his lithographs just as the sun was going down, so today’s print caught my eye.
I am incredibly grateful for having discovered this passion for art. Of all the artists whose work I enjoy (and the list keeps growing, a little overwhelmingly!), none evokes that gratitude more than Stow Wengenroth. Born and raised in Brooklyn, living in Long Island for many years, he moved to Rockport (one of the most beautiful places I know) 4 years before his death in 1978. Today’s print, Moonlight, shows two boats grounded at nighttime low tide in the harbor at Rockport. Look at the quality of the moonlight–it’s a glow! Look at the shadow cast by the boat in the foreground. Simple and so beautiful!
Wow, that guy was amazing. Today’s print is not just beautiful; it’s entitled Serenity, which I felt in need of, and gazing at this print did help. Does it do anything for you?
Yesterday I broke one of the few rules I set myself. I chose a print that visually I didn’t love. It’s meaningful, the concept excited me because of Frasconi’s Art in service of Justice bent, and the (probably intentional) convergence of the Kent State and Melville poem things. My intention was only to post prints that were visually exciting, that grabbed me viscerally, whether with pleasure or other feelings. The Frasconi thing grabbed my brain, not my gut. Sorry about that. (There are some Frasconi prints I find gut-grabbing, and I’ll probably come back with one of those at some point in the future.)
To make up for that, I’m going to share another Stow Wengenroth print. You may remember him as the lithographer who does mostly New England scenes that are gorgeous and so detailed. It’s so difficult to choose because I have yet to find a print of his that I don’t love. After much deliberation, I chose “Along the Canal”. So evocative! Just looking at the picture make me feel like it’s spring.
[I think this is the Blynman Canal in Gloucester, MA, connecting Gloucester Harbor to the Anisquam River, allowing passage from the eastern shore of Cape Ann to the western without going all the way around]
Wednesday’s print: Stow Wengenroth (1906-1978) was a prolific lithographer whom Andrew Wyeth once called “America’s greatest living artist working in black and white”. The bulk of his lithographs were New England scenes, including landscapes and seascapes. (Sue Fendrick he lived in Rockport!) He also did a number of New York City scenes. He achieved incredible detail and texture in his prints, all with lines of black and intervening spaces of white. As with Koitsu (yesterday’s artist), I love so many of his prints that I had a very difficult time choosing just one for today, and as with Koitsu, I will likely come back to Wengenroth again. This is called Flat Rock Cove. The texture of the rocks just knocks me over. Some of his prints are so detailed that at first glance they look like photographs, but when you look again, you can see the texture that distinguishes a print from a photo.
