Harri & Mag: Wyatt Waters

I had the great pleasure today of going to the Mississippi Museum of Art to a book signing by Robert St. John and Wyatt Waters of their new cookbook, An Italian Palate.

Wyatt is my mentor and former teacher, so I can never get enough of him and his work! He is a genuinely nice guy and is always an inspiration to me.

Robert St. John and Wyatt Waters

Additionally, I was able to view the stunning watercolors of Wyatt Waters at his current show, "An Italian Palate." There are 65 of his paintings that he did when he and Robert spent a few months in Italy two years ago.

I snapped some of my favorite pictures as I wandered through the gallery.

Love this Vespa!

And this Italian car is the essence of Italy!

Amalfi coast

Tuscany

Florence

Wyatt is an en plein air artist, which is a French expression meaning "in the open air," and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors. It was during the 1870's that the "Box Easel," typically known as the French Box Easel or field easel, was invented. It is uncertain who developed it first, but these highly portable easels, with telescopic legs and built-in paint box and palette such as the one used by Wyatt, made treks into the forest and up the hillsides less onerous. Still made today, they remain a popular choice even for home use since they fold up to the size of a brief case and thus are easy to store.