A fellow Ringling student recently said he'd had George Kaiser for two years but never saw any of his work. When I was at Ringling, I rented a room from a guy out near the airport. These were hanging in his living room. I talked him into trading them to me for a couple of landscapes that I did. They are signed "George Kaiser 1947" and tell the story of a shipwreck....one guy doesn't survive. The other one sets off into the jungle. Pretty cool.
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Hmmm...I only had Kaiser one year for figure drawing and I don't think I ever saw any of his work either.
Very cool-I wonder if they were illustrations for a children's book at one point?
Steve- I took these in to class to show him and he sort of laughed and told me that he used to line up a dozen or more sheets of w/c paper and do several paintings at a time...trying to make a little money. His guess was that these were done to sell. This would have been right after he started teaching at Ringling(1946)
Martin, I had Kaiser for 2 years as well and might have seen any of his work once. Funny, I once took a large sheet of watercolor paper and taped off a grid. Then I had some girls from schools shoot it with a couple of waterguns I had fill with colored water. After it dried, I removed the tape and made landscapes out of all of them. Sold everyone of them at the school art sale! Kaiser's story reminded me of that!
Girls with water guns??...Hmmm...I'm gonna give that some thought. I think McCurry used to assembly line his semi abstract landscapes...big ones. He said local hotels/restaurants loved them.
I know someone that has one of McCurry's....she refused to sell it!
I just noticed the dead guy in the water-probably not the best subject matter for a children's book. ha
I had Kaiser for a drawing class. The second half of the year we were painting a still-life. He came up to me and told me "I think the point of this exercise is to make your painting look better than your pallet". I'll never forget his kind words of encouragement.
Mary- I had him first year drawing. We were outside in a group drawing palm trees. He came up behind me and said, "Those look like toilet bowl brushes stuck in the ground". I actually realized he was right. Later, a drawing I had was missing after a show in the main lobby. He told me that someone must have taken it. I found out the next year from a first year student that he had it and had shown it as an example of what he was looking for in a particular assignment. I would have gladly let him have it but I don't think he gave out compliments very easily. Still, I think I learned more from him and his way of teaching than any other teacher.
He didn't really speak to me too much. The only thing he ever wrote on any of my assignments was "You're an excellent draughtsman, loosen up."
Still try to stay loose in doing artwork....a stumbling block for many artists!
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