Fechin house

Yesterday I finally visited Taos Museum of Art and Fechin House, Taos, New Mexico. I was fortunate to see 5 paintings and 2 lithographs by Nicolai Fechin along with his house and studio he designed. It was truly an eye-opening and inspiring experience. I got to see so many things I did not or could not see even in the finest reproductions in the books on his work. His expressive yet highly refined brush strokes and incredible use of colors were truly exciting and educational. I tried to soak up as much as I could while I was there. His architecture design was also incredible. He designed all wood works and hand carved them himself. The lady we talked to at the front desk said Fechin had painted during the day and carved wood during the night. He was in the truest sense, a total artist.

Fechin House.

Fireplace on the first floor.

A litho print based on his drawing.

Portrait of his wife Alexsandra.

Portrait of his daughter Eya.

Father Fishing.

Manicure Lady.

Self-portrait.

His Daughter Eya's playroom.

Hand made light fixture.

Exterior of his studio.

His studio.

 I would LOVE to revisit this place.

Nicolai Fechin's drawings

Ever since I learned about Nicolai Fechin and his art, especially his drawings, I was truly inspired and have been trying to change my drawing style. To me, his drawing presents itself as a perfect combination of realism and abstraction, control and chaos. He does this artistic tight rope walking based on his hawk-eye observation and incredible drawing skills. He just nails the shapes with lines so sharp and decisive that they almost cut into the flesh, renders the flesh tones with exquisite subtlety, then, all of a sudden, he lets it go and leaves the rest of the drawing in a controlled chaos filled with expressive lines and tones that are as beautiful as the rest of the work. The way he makes the peripheral information seamlessly blend into the background is so effective, the background of his drawing stops being an empty space and starts to turn into some kind of latent drawing without anything actually drawn in it. I just find myself gawking at his work, speechless, sighing... One day, maybe one day, I might be able to draw like him (wishful thinking)...