We recently attended a beautiful exhibit at Forest Lawn Museum focusing on the work of Eyvind Earle. Magical, soothing and colorful are the first words that come to mind when I think of his work. But before I get into the show, can I just say that I’ve never been to this museum? I’m so ashamed to admit that I’ve lived in LA for, wow, 12 years! And I did not know that Forest Lawn had a museum. A wonderful museum, at that. Great space, views, all of it.

Eyvind Earle: The Exhibition of a Disney Legend

OK, so back to Eyvind and the Exhibit of a Disney Legend. The show is a centennial celebration of the artist’s work and is the first major exhibition in LA in over 25 years. Admittedly, when I was invited I did not know too much about the artist and his entire body of work, but I knew that he created several background paintings for the 1959 film Sleeping Beauty, which was all the reason I needed to attend. His work is stunning. Who doesn’t want to wonder, marvel and get lost in beautiful art work? After all, that’s what Disney is all about. I wanted to see these paintings up, close and personal.
The exhibition did not disappoint. There was even a short film featuring the artist painting away on several canvases at a time, which gave us insight into how he created his pieces. We were surprised to learn that they were all from memory. He lays out a black pattern at first in acrylics then slowly builds up in oils. The simplicity of it was fascinating.
This is from memory? He had quite a magical mind with a very beautiful glimpse into the feeling behind what I saw and remembered.
If you’re in LA, take up drive up Forest Lawn to see Eyvind Earle: The Exhibition of a Disney Legend. The show is filled with more than seven decades of Earle’s oil paintings, watercolors, drawings and sketches. The show ends January 1st.

Images courtesy of Eyvind Earle Publishing