n.c. wyeth | Shepard Hildebrandt

It was so cool to make this mural in my community. In many ways this was a dream come true for me. It gave me an opportunity to emulate the illustrative style of one of my favorite artists, N.C. Wyeth. And it’s a wall in my neighborhood that I’ve been looking to paint for years. I am very grateful to the Sayler Park Village Council and Butch Davis of the Wooden Boat Shop for making this mural a possibility! Thank you to the community and to the Sayler Park Historical society for your financial support of the scaffolding. And I’m thankful for all of the logistical help from my husband and the guys at the boat shop and at Parnell’s. All of you have helped me make this mural a reality, and for that I am very grateful!

For more pics of the mural and the unveiling, you can visit my facebook mural album here.

This spring I rediscovered Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic book, Treasure Island. The first time I read it, I was about 12 or 13, so it was really neat to revisit this tale of adventure and the life of pirates and heroes. I’m a super fortunate girl, because my dad has a wonderful collection of old books, and so I actually read the 1911 Scribner’s version with the N.C. Wyeth illustrations.

The illustrative style of N.C. Wyeth was a big inspiration for me in doing the Ohio River Mural on the Wooden Boat Shop. Maybe in looking at a few images by N.C., you’ll be able to see the influence on my color palette and handling of edges:

‘The Giant’ and ‘David Balfour’ by N.C. Wyeth

I have always loved the Wyeths–N.C., Andrew, and Jamie–as well as Howard Pyle, the teacher of N.C. Wyeth. I have to admit, as an artist and teacher myself, I am completely fascinated by this incredible lineage of art-making that started with Pyle and his influence on his student N.C., and then carried on through son Andrew and grandson Jamie. The book Wondrous Strange is a little gem that shows works from all four generations, and I have often marveled and pored over the images that chronicle this artistic legacy.

And so I would be remiss in not also leaving you with some images by Andrew Wyeth, Jamie Wyeth and Howard Pyle too!
Enjoy:

‘Attack’ and ‘Marrooned’ by Howard Pyle

‘Airborne’ and ‘Trodden’ by Andrew Wyeth

‘The Rookery’ and ‘Thief’ by Jamie Wyeth