Best known for his paintings of cakes, pies, pastries, and toys, Wayne Thiebaud had not planned on becoming a visual artist. He apprenticed as a cartoonist at Walt Disney studios...
Best known for his paintings of cakes, pies, pastries, and toys, Wayne Thiebaud had not planned on becoming a visual artist. He apprenticed as a cartoonist at Walt Disney studios and intended to work as a commercial illustrator, but his friend Robert Mallary turned him towards a career in fine art. Thiebaud was friendly with Franz Kline and Willem de Kooning, but avoided their Abstract Expressionism in favor of a figural style. Though Thiebaud is most often grouped with the Pop art movement for his subject matter, the artist considers himself just an old fashioned painter, and not a card carrying Pop artist. He remains best known for his still lifes of confections - sometimes painted from his own memories - which he considers interpretations of Americanness. In his works, objects and their shadows are characteristically outlined in multiple colors, creating a visual effect Thiebaud calls akin to vibration.