Two Candy Sticks 2004

Wayne Thiebaud painted these two candy sticks in his signature style, probably in California, with thick paint and strong colors. I'm really looking at the shadows here, and I'm wondering if they’re the real subject of the painting. Thiebaud has put so much weight into that violet-blue hue. The shadows give the painting a very particular feeling. A feeling of nostalgia, and an aftertaste of candy. Look at how the artist has applied paint to describe the stripes on one of the sweets! The blue stripes are so intense that they look like gashes. The artist has added a layer of yellow around the rim of the plate and near the bottom edge of the painting as well. Painting like this reminds me of other masters, like Morandi for example, it is part of a long conversation. The painting is not just about candy, it is part of the conversation about how to see. Painters are always challenging one another, inspiring new ways of expression. We embrace uncertainty, and leave plenty of room for interpretation.