Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/772281
Betty Crocker could pop out and be right at home there. Illustrators were taught what was the common parlance in the period. I never learned illustration. I would have made much more money if I was an illustrator. But I have a passion for painting particularly of the 18th and 19th centuries, and of popular prints. Particularly I'm very interested in how events were presented to the public and how they understood them and what amused the public. WdG: You said something that I want to pick up on: you see yourself in the painting. You've said before that artists don't have a luxury that more academic historians have, because you have to fill in every square inch of your "text," your canvas. PW: Indeed. I have to think about things that would be . . . for example, if you were writing a book about George Washington or someone important, the drainage system would be certainly of no importance. But if you're doing a picture, maybe the drainage system is in a central part of what you're painting. You can't just smudge it or go impressionistic and hope for the best. That's the sort of tension—it's like the struggle between good and evil. You have to keep painting what you want, but you have to want what's real and what was real in the period. WdG: Tell me what kind of sources you consult to create this perfect surrounding? "Perfect" in the sense of complete. PW: There was no TV in New Zealand; it didn't start until I was ten. I was the last kid raised without TV. So books were extremely important to me. Architectural plans—those were incredibly helpful because it's an essential part of so much of my work. I had quite a technical education, so I did drafting and I can read plans. I got a good education for what I finally ended up doing. It was, like, perfect—but who would have guessed? I consult historians. I have extremely knowledgeable friends and people I can call up. Almost without exception, they are incredibly generous sharing their thoughts and knowledge, because I am not in competition with writers. In fact, I feel like GEORGE WASHINGTON, ARCHITECT, 36" x 48" oil on canvas This painting was commissioned to explain the expansion and development of George Washington's Mount Vernon, for which he was the architect. Washington was a man of extraordinary and diverse talents and great taste, as exemplified in his home. 35 THE CAPITOL DOME