Herb Wickham's landscapes are ties to days gone by

The paintings and pencil sketches of lonely back roads and aging homes and barns that are on display this month at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri could be familiar to many art patrons.

"It might be a trip down memory lane for some," said Murielle Gaither, executive director of the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri. "The artwork depicts the last ties to our area's past. They'll likely recognize some of the scenes in Mr. Wickham's pieces."

"Mr. Wickham" is Herb Wickham of Jackson, the arts council's featured artist for July. Wickham's landscapes featuring countryside scenes and dilapidated structures have long been favorites of art enthusiasts in the region.

"He is an incredibly talented artist," Gaither said. "His sense of heritage and tradition lends heavily to his work."

Herb Wickham, right, talks about some of his paintings during a show of his work July 5 at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri. (Adam Vogler)

Wickham, 79, is a former art instructor and football coach who taught for 36 years in the Jackson and Poplar Bluff, Mo., high schools. He said he didn't start painting for himself until he retired from teaching.

Herb Wickham, middle, talks with Dub Suedekman, left, and Jim Outman during a show of his work Friday, July 5, at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri. The show was held as part of First Friday, where galleries in Downtown Cape Girardeau hold openings from 5 p.m to 9 p.m. with food, drink and the opportunity to talk with the artists about their work on the first Friday of each month. (Adam Vogler)

"I retired in 1992 and had the time to paint what I wanted," Wickham said. "Since then, I've done over 400 paintings. It's what I like to do."

Wickham's artwork concentrates on landscapes he finds in Cape Girardeau, Bollinger and Perry counties.

"I like rural scenes," he said. "It's what I focus on. I tour the back roads and find landscape scenes to paint or sketch. Some of them contain rundown barns, and I've painted dozens of them over the years."

Old, decrepit houses are something Wickham also looks for.

"When I see an old house that's almost falling down, my imagination takes hold," he said. "I start to wonder about the people who lived there. Where did they work? What did they do for fun? I like to think about things like that before I start painting."

Wickham's talent and love for painting are qualities he discovered while attending Southeast Missouri State University in the 1950s.

"I was playing football and majoring in good times," he said. "In my second year, I hadn't declared a major, but I decided to take an art class. The next thing I knew, I was majoring in art along with physical education."

Wickham began teaching art and coaching football in Poplar Bluff in 1955, and in 1960 he assumed those same duties at Jackson.

"I liked being around high school students even though it was maddening at times," he said. "I was known as an irascible teacher. But the students were better to be around than some grown-ups."

Nearly 35 pieces of Wickham's artwork are on display and for sale this month at the arts council. Most are large 3-by-4 feet works depicting landscapes, creeks and wilderness.

"One painting was a night scene of two cowboys driving a herd of cows through a gate," he said. "I'd had it in my home for a while, and I put a higher price on it thinking nobody would buy it. Well, somebody did, and my wife misses it."

As advice to other artists, Wickham suggested not relying on photographs very much.

"If you take a picture of a landscape and paint only from that, you're just painting a picture of the picture," he said. "Paint what you're seeing first and then use a picture to touch up a few details."

Wickham's work will be displayed at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday until July 26. For more information, contact the arts council at 334-9233.

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent address:

32 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, MO