We were lucky to catch up with Fred Wessel recently and have shared our conversation below.
Fred, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
My professional art career began as a lithographer, an art form that I practiced professionally and taught at the Hartford Art School for 35 years. In 1984, a two-week trip to Italy had a profound and enduring impact on my artistic journey. My purpose was to trace my Italian heritage and immerse myself in the art of the Italian Renaissance. I firmly believe that all visual artists, particularly realists, should experience and study this art firsthand. Little did I know that this trip would have a dramatic, both direct and indirect, influence on my subsequent artistic endeavors.
Witnessing the beauty, sensitivity, harmony, and preciousness of Italian Renaissance painting, particularly the works of Fra Angelico, Simone Martini, Ghirlandaio, and Botticelli, left an indelible mark on me.The ever-changing inner light that emanates from gold leaf, judiciously applied, and the use of pockets of rich, intense colors illuminate the picture’s surface, impressed me deeply. I was also mesmerized by the eggshell-like surface and the breathtaking luminosity of these extraordinary works.
Since the Bauhaus, the term “precious” has carried a negative connotation in many art schools. However, in Florence, I found myself in the Botticelli Room of the Uffizi Gallery, tears streaming down my face as I was enraptured by the sheer beauty surrounding me. Here, “preciousness” was elevated to new heights. Semi-precious gems like lapis lazuli, malachite, and azurite were ground up, mixed with egg yolks, and applied as paint pigments, resulting in dazzling and breathtaking colors!
This Italian journey compelled me to delve deeper into the fascinating world of egg tempera painting. Bill Patterson at UMASS and Rudy Zallinger from Yale and the Hartford Art School, two esteemed associates who shared my passion for this medium, generously guided me during my initial attempts to master it. It was my great fortune to have Zallinger teach with me at the Hartford Art School, a part of the University of Hartford. Rudy was a renowned artist who painted many of the three-page pullout illustrations for Life Magazine, including “The Age of Mammals,” “The Tropical Rain Forest,” “The Age of Reptiles,” and the children’s book “The Golden Book of Dinosaurs.” These magnificent illustrations were created using egg tempera. I would often bring my initial, somewhat clumsy attempts with the medium to Rudy, who not only pointed out my successes but also my shortcomings.
The slow and deliberate application of tempera paint, with its limited blending options as compared to oil paint, has resulted in its popularity experiencing fluctuations over time. Fortunately, it happened to be during one of its upswings when I stumbled upon a remarkable group of tempera painters, including Scherer and Ouporov, Koo Schadler, and Michael Bergt, who were also rediscovering the medium. These artists and I formed lasting friendships, eagerly sharing our newfound insights and innovative approaches to working with egg tempera. Cennino Cennini, a 14th-century painter and author, meticulously documented the techniques employed by his contemporaries. Studying his manuscript, “Il libro dell’arte,” a comprehensive guide to late Medieval and early Renaissance painting, coupled with annual trips to renowned Italian museums, significantly enhanced my proficiency in this intricate medium.
Fred, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Figurative paintings formed the basis for my earliest tempera work starting with a portrait of my daughter who was 13 years old at the time. I happened upon a Pollaiuolo portrait of a woman during my time spent at the Uffizi Museum in Florence. The silhouette of the Renaissance garbed lady set against a lapis lazuli blue background stopped me in my tracks. I was inspired and determined to do my own version of this hauntingly beautiful painting. At that time I had two galleries that showed my art, The Arden Gallery in Boston and the Sherry French Gallery in NYC. Sherry offered me my first solo New York show and was adamant on my including this painting of my daughter which had to be for sale. I was extremely happy with this painting that took me 3 months to complete and I was torn about the possibility of it being sold. In the end I put the piece in the show and happily/sadly it was one of the many pieces sold during the exhibition.
I continued painting models that I knew well, clothed in sumptuous gowns that I borrowed from a variety of opera and theater companies. I painted my models from both life and from photos. Now my infatuation with the gold backgrounds I researched in Italy began to start creeping into my paintings and necessitated my need and a desire to learn all that I could about the gilding process. I continued painting my Renaissance Ladies in their fanciful outfits until 2006 when my wife Lee-Ann inherited her Dad’s 18th Century sundial which I immediately was determined to work into a painting. Thinking of Vermeer’s dimensional figures set in front of the flat space of his background maps evoked the concept of painting my model, Becca (one of my students at the Art School), against the flatness of a star chart of the constellations. These constellations and the overall design were tooled with silversmith punches into 23k gold. I found Felice Stoppa, an amazing star historian from Milan on line. He was an admirer of my work and I of his and we traded a silver point drawing I did of his daughter for a limited edition book of the first Royal Astronomer,John Flamsteed’s, star chart constellations. We developed a lasting friendship and Felice’s help with constellation research was invaluable to what was to become my Constellation Series.
This series of paintings continued until the beginning of COVID when I no longer was able to bring models into my studio. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I have been obsessed with making my art as beautiful as I possibly could and launched a series of Flower Icon pieces to hopefully share that beauty with the viewer. My friend and mentor, Jack Beal, once told me his mission was to make art “that was so beautiful it would be difficult to ignore.” I strive to fulfill Jack’s goal in this new series of work. These paintings attempt to link the spiritual, radiant beauty of an icon painting with a purely secular flower, elevating it with a “saint-like” presence. I often start by doing a silverpoint drawing, drawing with a silver stylus on a panel prepared with a ground of calcium carbonate (whiting) and rabbit skin glue). This under drawing is then covered with a fully developed ink drawing. 23k gold leaf is then applied to the panel using the traditional water gilding technique. After the gold is applied, it is burnished and tooled with select agate burnishers and a variety of metal punches. At this point, the painting begins. Thin layers of color (pigments mixed with egg yolk) are carefully applied by alternately glazing and modeling with transparent and semi-opaque colors. The colors in the painting are achieved by placing one translucent layer over another, letting the under-layers show through like light through a stained glass window. The painting can have as many as 20 layers of color with each layer contributing to the radiance and glow of the finished piece. With the painting done, semi-precious cabochons are often added to complete the composition.
The frames on the larger paintings are an integral part of the piece’s presentation adding a decorative band of sgraffito whose design is usually inspired by some detail in the tempera piece.
Have you ever had to pivot?
From the very early age of 8, when I discovered Jon Gnagy, a TV “learn to draw personality,” I became infatuated with making art. I looked forward to my Saturday mornings spent in front of the TV with Jon and the various chalks, pencils, and special erasers that came in the Jon Gnagy kit that my parents gave me for Christmas. Additionally, I had a neighbor friend of my parents, an aeronautical engineer who loved and was quite adept at drawing. My “uncle” Perry, as he was affectionately known, would graciously lend me his drawings to copy, and then he would gently critique my efforts, both my successes and failures. Thus, from a very young age, I cultivated a deep love for creating art. This passion was further nurtured by my high school art teacher, who possessed unwavering belief in me, provided heartfelt encouragement, and took a special interest in my artistic growth, pushing the boundaries of my art to its utmost potential. I wholeheartedly attribute my successful career in art to his great support and guidance.
This was during the era of the space engineer, and my father, like many other fathers at that time, guided me towards the technical field of engineering. He would tell all who listened how his son was going to become the first college grad and engineer of the family. My high school curriculum was filled with math, science, and I was even required to study German because the Germans were among the leading engineers of that time. Art was relegated to being a hobby that filled the rest of my time.
When it was time to choose a college with a very good engineering program, my guidance counselor, who knew of my passion for art, wisely directed me towards Syracuse University, which had excellent programs in both engineering and art. She assured me she believed that I would excel as an engineering student, but she also encouraged me to “hedge my bets” and select a college that offered the flexibility to transfer between departments with minimal disruption and the preservation of my accumulated credits. So with slide rule in hand I set off for my new school and the start of what I believed would be my life’s career.
My first semester in Engineering was a complete disaster. I detested Calculus, Physics, and the brilliant engineering students who surrounded me, all of whom were raising the grading curve on exams. I received the only “D” I had ever received in my Physics class and was incredibly unhappy with the course of my studies. At the end of this semester, I gathered all my courage and called my Dad. I fearfully asked if I could transfer into the Art School. I knew I was going to break his heart, but I felt I had no other choice. To my great joy and astonishment, he told me that he just wanted me to be happy with my life choices, to follow my heart, and to do whatever it took to make the change. I was accepted into the School of Art and this proved to be one of the most important decisions made in my life.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Creating my artwork has become an integral part of my identity and a daily necessity. For better or worse, it has significantly shaped my persona. During rare periods when “life” interfered with my studio work, I lost touch with my sense of self. Immersing myself in the creative aspects of painting is incredibly meditative and helps me find my spiritual and emotional center. As with many of my artist friends, significant chunks of time seem to magically vanish during a painting session.
However, the most gratifying aspect of all is connecting with my viewers and sharing my artistic vision. I show them visual combinations and harmonies that they might not have noticed before. For example, the Renaissance artist understood that combining gold with lapis lazuli in a painting created one of these great visual harmonies. My painting, titled “After the Rain,” aims to elevate the simple, perhaps overlooked beauty of raindrops adorning day lilies to a realm of iconic grandeur. After a morning rainstorm, I was rushing by my neighbor’s yard on my way to do an errand when I almost missed these beautiful flowers. I halted in my tracks determined to share this simple yet exquisite tableau with future viewers.
Creating a secular icon that can share that meditative glimpse of beauty, peace, and refuge from the often chaotic world with my viewers is both my mission and my reward.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fredwessel.com
- Instagram: fredwesselpaintings
- Facebook: Fred Wessel Studio
Image Credits
Photo Credit Image of me working : photo by Justin Tennison