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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12 Paintings 12 Intimate Stories

click links to view larger images and see individual intimate stories
OR
click here to view a slideshow of the paintings in sequence

"MENTOR" Self Portrait Mentor Huebner (c) 1963 Oil on Masonite 30" X 24"	"MOJAVE GOLD" Mentor Huebner (c) 1953 Oil on Masonite 24" X 30"	" A PALACE OF FUN" Mentor Huebner (c) 1955 Oil on Masonite 24" X 30"
"THE BISTRO" Mentor Huebner (c) 1962 Oil on Painter's Board 22" X 26"	"SEXI BEACH BAR" Mentor Huebner (c) 1962 Oil on European Painter's Board 22" X 26"	"SAINT MARKS IN VENICE" Mentor Huebner (c) 1962 Oil on European Painter's Board 22" X 26"
"THE GRAND CANAL IN VENICE" Mentor Huebner (c) 1958 Oil on Masonite 24" X 30"	"THE FOREIGNER" Mentor Huebner (c) 1969 Oil on Masonite 24" X 30"	"HENRY FORD BRIDGE" Mentor Huebner (c) 1963 Oil on Masonite 24" X 30"
"MORTAL WOUND" Mentor Huebner (c) 1957 Oil on Masonite 24" X 30"	"BOURBON STREET" Mentor Huebner (c) 1953 Oil on Masonite 22" X 26"	"CALIFORNIA GOLD" Mentor Huebner (c) 1959 Oil on Masonite 30" X 24"