William Wendt Sketches

William Wendt Sketch "Girl Under a Tree"

William Wendt Sketch "Haystacks"

William Wendt's painting "Haystack" 16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas.

Keith at my gallery in La Jolla (K. Nathan Gallery) just picked up William Wendt's sketchbook at auction, the sketches in it were done somewhere around 1910. He has taken the drawings out and had them each beautifully framed for display. Keith was generous enough to give me a great deal, and I had the pleasure of being able to add this particular double-sided sketch to my personal collection (above).

I really loved the drawing of the girl sitting under a tree in the shade, especially since I have been focusing so much on the figure lately, plus I admire William Wendt's work so much anyway. It appeared to be the only figure in the entire sketchbook. On the reverse was this drawing of a haystack. I was excited to discover this corresponding image to go with it. The sketch appears to be the preliminary drawing for Wendt's painting, "Haystack".

WESTLAKE

This new oil on canvas is called, "Westlake", and it is 12 x 16 inches. Westlake is an area just west of downtown Los Angeles, along Wilshire Boulevard. Once upon a time, this was one of the most fashionable ares to live in LA. And even though the area has lost it's upscale residents, it hasn't lost it's obvious beauty. I think that the contemporary architecture of the LA skyline is best viewed from afar, I really like how the hazy atmosphere seems to naturally mass the shapes of the buildings. Almost like Sam Hyde Harris' paintings of early California with his hazy mountains and trees in the distance.