Tribute to a great artist, teacher and friend: Ned Mueller
A great artist, teacher and friend
Back in the mid 1990s I was privileged to attend a presentation of the artist Ned Mueller....Here was a giant man, with gentle laughter in his voice, showing us slides of his work....and I was dumbstruck! Who was this man who could paint such expressive studies and epic studio landscapes and figurative pieces, and also exquisite portraits, with equal facility in both oil and pastel?
A few years later, with a move to the midwest imminent and thinking I may never get another chance to study with him, I summoned up the courage to give him a call to ask if he would mind taking a look at a few of my watercolor paintings. With that same warm kindness in his voice, he boomed a hearty, "Sure!" over the phone, and we agreed to meet halfway between his home and mine, which turned out to be the parking lot of the athletic club where he worked out!
So, I arrived a few days later, at the appointed time, with hammering in my chest, and pulled out this watercolor painting I had completed recently during a live model session in the studio of Clark Elster:
My watercolor painting brought to Ned for critique, 1997
Ned's assessment? Something like, "Well, that's a good piece!" I don't remember the exact words, because I was a bit flustered, thinking, "What am I doing here in the parking lot of an athletic club in Bellevue, Washington, with this illustrious painter, showing him one of my paintings?" What I do remember are Ned's absolute kindness and the sparkle in his eye.
After returning to the Pacific Northwest a few years later, I finally had the opportunity to study with Ned in a series of weekend workshops. Upon entering his humble home, the smell of homemade soup (which he had made to serve us for lunch) and the sight of hundreds of art books in his cozy, pleasantly cluttered living room, along with a large sunflower painting by artist Del Gish on the wall told me I had found a kindred spirit. Hauling gear down the hallway and stepping into his studio, that conviction deepened. Here was a room, filled with light, paintings, more books, photos, notes, tables, and easels. It was a sanctuary of art...a place where beautiful paintings were made. We students, about four to six of us, would cram ourselves in. Ned would begin each session with a demonstration painting, using a photo reference, and emphasizing the importance of blocking in large shapes. He would joke about putting a building in a landscape as it might sell better. We learned about his travels to Guatemala and Asia, the painters he admired (Clyde Aspevig, Scott Burdick, Dan Gerhartz, and many Russian painters), and a career that started at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where a demonstration of talent was necessary to be part of the program. Ned, the giant of a man, told us that he had always wanted to play football, but he wasn't big enough as a youngster to consider it. It wasn't until after he was in art school that his stature would have made it possible, but by then, he was firmly entrenched--and so capable--in the world of art. As he gently and skillfully guided each student, he would intersperse the teaching with humorous stories, continued over that bowl of homemade soup.
Imagine my thrill, several years later, after moving to Laguna Beach in 2006 and living there only two weeks when Ned was the first artist I saw painting on the first day of the Laguna Plein Air Painters Invitational! What an amazing stroke of providence! Always quick to appreciate the talent of fellow artists, he insisted that I observe Scott Burdick paint. As the week progress, Ned invited me to paint with him. One day on the beach, I was struggling with the painting and Ned gently said, "It's harder than it looks, isn't it?" A few days later, I joined a group--composed of Ned, Scott Burdick, Kim Lordier, and a few others--while they painted the model. In a "seize the moment and let the paint fly" mindset, I began to build up very colorful shadows. What did Ned, the humble and kind artist and friend, do when he wandered over to take a look at my work? He said, "Hey Scott...come look at this!" I was struck at the warmth and kindness of the man who would take the time to invite me to participate in the plein air events that week, while all the while, needing to skillfully and carefully produce a body of work to be presented at the Laguna Art Museum the following weekend.
In the years since that Invitational, I follow news of Ned and take great delight in his success. His work continues to garner the highest praise and accolades. He is a signature member of the Plein Air Painters of America. He is on the faculty of the Plein Air event to be held in Monterey in April this year, and last year, his painting took second place in that event. The year prior, his painting won first place at Plein Air Easton. And these are just recent awards. Praise for his work began decades ago and continues to the present, and will, I'm sure, into the future.
Ned is a giant in many ways: tall in stature, huge in humor, large in kindness and warmth, and great in all things art. I am fortunate to count him among one of my first instrumental teachers, and first, last, and always, a mentor and a friend.
To see more of Ned's beautiful art, click HERE...
