Think, Look, Make

I can easily say that Wayne Thiebaud transformed my understanding of painting. After finishing high school, I took an art history class at my community college. The instructor declared that if any of us aspired to become artists, we should go to UC Davis because some of the best artists in the country, people like Wayne Thiebaud and Robert Arneson, taught there. Arneson's bust of the slain George Moscone had recently propelled him to international fame. I knew nothing about these people but I read about the art department and decided to apply. Its graduate program was ranked #1 in the country. As the first person in my family to attend college, even to finish high school, this was a scary but exciting step. Going to Davis meant I was serious about studying art, and would no longer be burdened by familial expectations of shepherding.  I took at least three classes with Wayne- drawing and painting, and a class on "Theory and Criticism" of painting. This last class was perha...