GRAND
CANAL IN VENICE
Mentor Huebner (c) 1958"
Venice, California
Oil on Masonite 24" X 30"
GRAND
CANAL
BY
Mentor
was a prolific artist and painted many scenes. There was no
one theme. Each painting's form and design was his art and not
its juxtaposition with any of the other paintings. He didn't
'think' themes. For him a painting's composition counted and
not its look in the midst of its 'associates'.
He painted since his late teens. At times the volume of his
work could appear to show preferences. But that would be based
on an incomplete view of his painting outpour.
If someone had never seen the entire body of his work, and was
only shown one small part, and it happened to have a couple
of similar topics, then they might be led to conclude that he
had been motivated to paint just one or the other of either
churches, or oceans, beaches, lakes, ports, ships, canoes, boats,
sunflowers, bougainvillea, hills, hay fields, fig trees, farmlands,
mountains, deserts, water tanks, yellow trash bins, amusement
parks, skylines, towers or bridges. But that wouldn't be true.
Mentor painted any scene that struck his fancy. No matter its
category. After a while though, it could seem there was a particular
topic he favored.
If anything really grabbed him, maybe it was water. All kinds
of water. Its colors shift with
changing light and so he'd have to paint fast to capture what
he saw. Water was as much a challenge to him as were the mountains.
He was also very romantic. So that motivated him. “The
Grand Canal in Venice”, Mentor’s painting of a graceful
Turn-of-the-Century Bridge in Venice, California shows the spot
must have had everything going for him. He captured a feeling
from its look and conveyed it in the painting.
It's dreamy.
Mentor always went painting with a happy demeanor and returned
home equally as pleasant.
He'd become very happy-go-lucky the last few minutes before
he left to paint. Art seemed to affect him the way a love affair
might affect someone. He was always emotionally super charged
when the moment came to go painting. His mood was such, that
if it wasn't for the painting he brought home...I might have
wondered.
"I'll bring you back a nice painting Honey."
And he always did.
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