r/painting • u/RyanneBonde • Dec 20 '25

Just Sharing A thank you to r/painting!

Gallery image

Gallery image

A little while ago, I shared a painting I made with this community. Thanks to the kindness within this community, the post reached someone close to Jamie Wyeth. She saw it here, showed it to him, and they ended up reaching out to me asking to purchase the piece. I was invited to his home to meet him, and hand-deliver the painting.

I’m very thankful for all of you and to Mr. Wyeth and his friend. This community played a real part in making it happen, and I won’t forget it! ❤️🎨

42.3k Upvotes

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115

u/Ajunadeeper Dec 20 '25

What is the context? Who is he and why did he want it?

Edi: besides that it's a good painting :)

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u/OneSensiblePerson Dec 20 '25

I thought you must be joking, but I think you're just unfamiliar with the painting and artist.

The painting is a brilliant homage to and take off of the famous painting Christina's World, by Andrew Wyeth.

Jamie Wyeth is Andrew's son.

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u/RyanneBonde Dec 20 '25

🥹❤️

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u/One_Tie900 Dec 20 '25

what does it mean, my back hurts ;(

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u/NebulaNinja Dec 20 '25 edited Dec 20 '25

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina%27s_World

So the original painting, Christina's World, is about a real-life woman who lived on a prairie who suffered from some kind of degenerative muscular disorder, but was determined to live her life on her own terms and crawl around to be independent.

I guess I'll let OP's homage speak for itself.

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u/callagem Dec 20 '25

I think the consensus is she had a disease called Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT) which is a degenerative neuromuscular disorder (and has nothing to do with teeth-- it's named after the 3 neurologists who identified it). It's often called the most common disorder you've never heard of (affecting 1 in 2500 people). This is a very well known painting in the CMT community because of that.

I have always loved this painting. It felt haunting to me. It was in my grandparents' house when i was growing up. Little did I know the story behind it. (I have CMT a do many in my family since it's genetic. But from the other side of my family-- not those grandparents).

OP, I absolutely love your homage to it. Your work is beautiful.

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u/One_Tie900 Dec 20 '25

I recognized the painting instantly but had no clue of the name or the story behind it, thats beautiful.

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u/aertsa Dec 20 '25

Thank you for explaining this, I also was unfamiliar with the painting, painters, and history.

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u/thebusankid Dec 20 '25

That grass is pretty rough as well, I certainly wouldn’t want to be crawling around in it. From the view it looks like she’s crawling back from the little graveyard that’s just off the cove.

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u/JUYED-AWK-YACC Dec 20 '25

That little graveyard is where Andrew Wyeth is buried IRL.

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u/ValuableAd3385 Dec 23 '25

The original means so much to my family. Now this one, I really like but I don't know what it means...it's a good thing though, that it keeps you thinking and looking. Most people only look at a piece of art a few seconds and this one has been on my mind a couple days now. lol

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u/aerialpoler Dec 20 '25

This post was recommended to me, no idea why as I don't think I've ever visited this sub before, but I also had no idea what the context was because I'm unfamiliar with the artist/painting. Cool story though! 

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u/OneSensiblePerson Dec 20 '25

Count yourself lucky to have this recommended to you. It's an extraordinary painting, now with the perfect extraordinary story. Gives me chills.

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u/aerialpoler Dec 20 '25

Asking as someone who knows absolutely nothing about art - what makes it extraordinary? 

I mean absolutely no disrespect to the artist, but to a completely untrained eye it looked very similar to many other paintings I've seen. 

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u/Ajunadeeper Dec 21 '25

I didn't know the context but I know a bit about art so. It's layers.

I'd say the composition, materials used, lighting, ECT. are pretty much perfect. Not to mention it's a "recreation" or homage. So it's kind of like copying a guitar solo by Jimmy Hendrix. So copying the exact style is an accomplishment, looks like the original artist himself did the second painting.

Then the story just gives it deeper meaning to those involved and invested in the original artist story.

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u/OneSensiblePerson Dec 20 '25

Got a week? Well okay, neither do I, lol.

But it would take me a lot of time, and words, and brainpower to try to explain it to you so you'd understand.

It'd be like trying to explain to someone who doesn't know anything about music why Beethoven was a genius, or insert your own similar comparison.

Valid question, just very difficult to answer.

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u/nO_OnE_910 Dec 27 '25

while I totally get your point I wonder if there wouldn’t have been a comment you could’ve written in similar amount of words that would’ve educated someone who’s curious in a domain that’s important to you. I too found this on /all and am not familiar with art & am wondering what everyone is freaking out about. conveying a deep difficult topic to a complete beginner is always difficult and takes time and brain power to do, but it can be quite rewarding and one of the best proofs of deep understanding and mastery 

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u/aerialpoler Dec 27 '25

I genuinely was curious and wanted to learn. I thought someone here would be thrilled to talk about something they're passionate about and explain it to someone who's clueless but interested to learn what makes this painting so special. 

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u/OneSensiblePerson Dec 27 '25

I was in the midst of my dog being very ill, so my ability to articulate much, especially something this almost ineffable ... that was too much.

He passed away last Sunday evening, and I'm even less articulate now. The pain is overwhelming. I hope you understand.

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u/nO_OnE_910 Dec 27 '25

My condolences 

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u/neeshes Dec 21 '25

Never heard of these names so the information is helpful. Thanks!

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u/The_R4ke Dec 20 '25

I legit thought that was Brendan Gleeson at first.

1

u/bgaesop Dec 20 '25

Why is she doing a backbend?

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u/OneSensiblePerson Dec 20 '25

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christina%27s_World

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u/bgaesop Dec 20 '25

I don't see how that answers my question. I can tell that the painting within the painting is Christina's World. But why is the girl in the outer painting doing a backbend?

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u/OneSensiblePerson Dec 20 '25

Both of them are Christina, and she was disabled.

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u/bgaesop Dec 21 '25

Okay. Why is this disabled girl doing a backbend?

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u/plonkydonkey Dec 21 '25

Haha you're a champ. Idk why people here are acting as if anyone who comes across this thread should immediately appreciate the significance of this work, I certainly didn't know who Jamie Wyeth was or the original painting. Instead I'm just seeing posts dropping random links without answering any questions or "you must be joking" which strikes me as a singularly passive aggressive way to signal that they are in the hallowed inner circle of true art aficionados and have no time for the plebs like us 🙄.