Plein Air painting at the Kuerner Farm
I had an opportunity to live in the Philadelphia area for a year right after retirement. During that time, I lived near and joined the Brandywine River Museum of Art, through which I began plein air painting at the nearby Kuerner Farm, a National Historic Landmark.
Andrew Wyeth grew up over the hill from this bucolic farmscape where he created many of his best known works of art for more than 7 decades. Anna & Karl Kuerner were German immigrants who settled in Chadd's Ford after WW I. Wyeth's fascination and relationship with this family were the subject for hundreds of tempera paintings, watercolors and drawings.
My plein air coach was Karl J. Kuerner, (Karl's grandson) a renowned artist who was trained by Carolyn Wyeth. Karl watched "Andy" create his art work while being mentored by him and taken under his wing. Andy was all about pure, deep emotion and told Karl to "paint what you love." Karl J.'s realistic style reflects the Kuerner farming tradition and Pennsylvania ancestry.
This experience was like being in the "Field of Dreams" movie for me - Andrew Wyeth had been my favorite artist FOREVER. To be able to stand in the exact same spot to create my work, as he did to create his masterpieces was exhilarating! Often times, Karl II would be nearby as we were painting and give us the background details of the scene when Andy had been working there. My painting "Sanctuary" was painted in the barn where Wyeth's "Spring Fed" was created and Karl II shared humorous moments of trying to hold the cow still so Andy could capture a rendering. I was truly in "art heaven" when I painted there.
To see works based on my time at Kuerner Farm, please click here.
To learn more, visit https://www.brandywine.org/museum.
To see Karl J. Kuerner's artwork please visit https://www.karljkuerner.com/
