He's Greek To Me:

I visited my daughter, her husband and Miss M last weekend. Everyone is doing better than expected and it was comforting to see them together in their own little love nest... to see the puzzle pieces back in their proper place.

It was such wicked weather that we stayed in most of the time -- snuggling by the fire watching movies. Miss M dictated that we watch "Sleeping Beauty"... a lot. I didn't mind though, "Sleeping Beauty" has always been my old Disney favorite. And as I watched, I marveled again at the art of Eyvind Earle (1916-2000).

Have you ever noticed how different "Sleeping Beauty" is compared to, say, "Snow White" and "Cinderella"? Eyvind Earle is why. "Walt Disney wanted to this film to look like a living illustration, inspired by medieval art, not the typical Disney style. He wanted it to stand out from its predecessors by choosing a different visual style. So, Disney artist Eyvind Earle was made the film's color stylist and chief background designer, and Disney gave him a significant amount of freedom in designing the settings and selecting colors for the film. Earle also painted the majority of the backgrounds himself. The elaborate paintings usually took seven to ten days to paint; by contrast, a typical animation background took only one workday to complete."

Eyvind Earle was an American artist, author and illustrator, noted for his contribution to the background illustration and styling of Disney animated films in the 1950s. His life is fascinating, too much to cover in this blog. But The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rahr West Art Museum, Phoenix Art Museum and Arizona State University Art Museum have purchased Earle's works for their permanent collections. His works have also been shown in many one-man exhibitions throughout the world. (And if you happen to live in or near Albuquerque, New Mexico, an exhibition of his work begins today through March 4, at the Palette Contemporary Gallery.)

In Earle's words:

"I don't try to convey an idea or emotion, and I'm not at all interested in art that is supposed to reflect our times. Greek art, which is as excellent today as when it was created, certainly doesn't reflect Greece 2,500 years ago. It simply is beautiful, superior possibly to anything done since."
"There is a great force pulling us, and the more it manifests, the more creative we become. Art is an attempt to delve into this mystery, to pick one detail out of the infinitude of infinities and make it clear."

He continued to produce serigraphs until he died in 2000 --his "screen paintings"--earning financial and critical success in an age when loveliness has nearly become passe. While other artists strive to impress with anger or social relevance, or to beguile with nostalgia, a public weary of the present and doubtful of the future, Eyvind Earle pursued beauty. This quest predates the Greeks, but Earle's strength of vision and craftsmanship made it compellingly his own.