I just found out about this a few days ago, thanks to a posting on Another Mark’s blog (that being Mark McDonnell, a very talented artist who out-draws me any day of the week), that a friend and fine artist by the name of Gene Wiskerson passed away in July.
While I was working at Walt Disney Television Animation I started to attend the Thursday night drawing classes. Gene was one of the artists in the class. He was a talented/experienced sculptor who spent years with the Imagineering division at Disney. The class turned into a great experience that welcomed many styles of art and solid discussions of color, composition and of course communicating through a drawing. What made it really unique was the the feeling that we weren’t competing, and we could all learn from one another. I don’t know about your experiences, but often drawings classes turn into a competition, with people trying to be ‘better’ then one another. I think Gene helped bring an open attitude to the class, and while there is always need to improve and learn, you can do it without a wholesale competition between artists. He always had great comments and was generous with his time and a very genuine person. He did beautiful charcoal drawings and we suffered together when Diana, the instructor, would have us try and complete all drawings with less then 6 lines. I wasn’t sure to post about this, but I keep thinking about his passing and I dug out some sketches of his I had from hand-outs from the class. I miss knowing he is around, thinking about art, and doing those beautiful drawings. The drawing posted here is from a handout from the class. He made it look easy, which we all know is what good artists do.
Thanks for this.
I grew up watching this man who was my father come into his own, seeing his art grow, watching the way he was with his friends and with animals, and it seems to me that it really never matters how well you think you know a person, there is always so much more to them than you can ever imagine.
The outpouring of love he has received, and myself by default, has been enormous.
I really hope that everyone gets a chance to see all his art, the things he created for me as a child as well as some of his more recent drawings…
I want everyone to know and understand that what we no longer have was a presence that molded all of us.
I seem to have more poems in me than art right now, but I know that all of artists are feeling a little bit of him flowing into us in these last weeks. Hold onto that, you’ll be better for it.
Gene’s Daughter,
Laurel
A beautiful tribute Mark. I was sad to hear about Gene’s passing from Eugene. I didn’t know him well, but I enjoyed being there in class with him. He was a really kind, warm person who had so much to share.
I’ve said it before, but I’ll post it here, too. One of the most admirable things about Gene was that he was already great at what he did, but he was still always learning more. I remember with special horror when he would look over some hideous scrawl I had thrown onto the page and, after a thoughtful moment, he would say something like “Hmmm… I really need to get this kind of simplicity in my drawings.”
How could this be? Gene could draw rings around me with his eyes closed and he was finding something in my pathetic scratches that he could learn from?
We should all be more like this - inquisitive, humble (no matter what our abilities are), but still confident enough to take constructive, positive lessons from the people around us - no matter who they are - and direct it into better and better work. That’s probably the lesson Gene taught me that I find most valuable.
I miss Gene. Terribly. He gave me so much and we all clearly did not have enough time with him. It is now October and I am JUST feeling the true pain of this loss in our lives. Thank you Mark for so clearly expressing what Gene was so good at. He made creating and the creative spirit such an effortless thing. He touches my life still and I am so glad he touch your life so profoundly too.
Blessings,
Deborah
Deborah,
I hear you. While I can’t calim to be one of Gene’s closest friends, knowing he is gone leaves me in a darker state of mind. I think it is because the drawing class where I met him was such a highlight of my life at that time, and people were so friendly and fun (compared to my full-time job at the time in management) And immediately when I saw Genes art I was like ‘Oh wow…He KNOWS what he is doing!’ And yet, he was so open and willing to admit what he felt he could do and not do and always had a very unique approach. His passing makes that part of my life, that chapter, seem like that much longer ago. I always knew those were unique and meaningful days in my life, and I’m glad I lived in those momnets better then I have at other times in my life.
-M