How to resolve AdBlock issue? He is survived by his widow, Beth Katherine Hyde; his sister, Jeanne Keenan and family.
Born on Dec. 27, 1943, in San Francisco his family is of German/Irish descent with roots going back before the SF 1906 earthquake and fire.
Since his passing many tributes have already come in from his friends, collectors, fans and fellow painters including Mark Henson, Paul Nicholson and Brad Moore.
His ashes will be interred in the Veterans Circle at Kelseyville Cemetery 3375 Bell Hill Road on Feb. 22, at 2 p.m. He will be missed.
Who was Nick Hyde?
Nick Hyde was an artistic genius. After graduating in 1963 from Sacred Heart in San Francisco he attended the Academy of Art until his induction into the Army in the spring of 1966. He was also a complicated man who painted his way through his stint at the Army. When he was not painting murals in the mess hall he was a Master at Arms in the army during the Vietnam war while serving in Germany.
His “visionary works” have been displayed in galleries and museums on both coasts, from the San Francisco Palace of the Legion of Honor to the Smithsonian Institute, as well as taking part of a U.S. State Department traveling art show to the Orient in 1978 (where his painting “BethAnn” was held hostage at the Tehran Airport).
He also had his art published on sci fi book covers, several magazine articles and one cover, and was included in the "Visionary Art" book, prefaced by the well known museum art curator Walter Hopps. Several paintings were in print in poster format and note-cards for years.
He was accomplished in the mediums of intricate and detailed pencil drawings and oil paintings, and as time went on the subtle discipline of simplicity of watercolors was intriguing. He spent every day of his last year drawing into the wee hours of the night following inspirations of pictures of ancient wonders of the world from the beautiful books from the Lake County Library. "I love antiquity, the wonderment of past civilizations, the mysteries of the unknown in mankind and nature, the workings of us and the world we are."
Nick's palette expanded and grew from childhood. He often told the story of when he was in kindergarten and was intent on finishing the replica of Queen Hatshepsut temple out of blocks when his teacher called “nap time.” A tantrum may have occurred as he was pulled away from what he wanted to finish, he never forgot the experience of someone disturbing his concentration.
His sister said that he was always drawing, Nick said he was always drawing. his old Sacred Heart high school buddy Jim Schultz who had also relocated from the city shared at Nick's last art show at the Lake County Museums that in school Nick was always drawing.
Evolution of Nick Hyde's style
Nick drew his inspiration from many sources but always said that it was the Dutch 14th century master's Van Eck's famous painting with the mirror on the wall most intrigued him. Particularly the use of shaping atmosphere within spaces in a painting that caught his eye, in “The Arnolfini Portrait.” If you look carefully at Van Eck's painting of a miller's wedding you can see how he put references to the three-dimensional world in the mirror.
Nick's drawing “Abraxas Rigging” is a prime example of his playfulness when you see his Volvo wagon out the window, the painting on his wall (Daisy), the fireplace, cat and the boat he loved working on.
Many influences from Goya, Da Vinci, Rembrandt and Hieronymus Bosch can be seen in Nick's works including his flea market treasures which have found their way into many of his prisma pencil drawings and paintings, from a little dragon boat, a mustached balloon rider to a silver cup for pencils.
He incorporated elements which intrigued his mind. If you look carefully at “Urp” and the “Estate of Man” you will see how also Bosch's “Garden of Earthly Delights” intrigued Nick's surreal side. Nick always referred to himself as more of a surrealist rather than psychedelic ... he hated that term, but you can see influences of the new age free flowing shapes as backgrounds to his art in the paintings Abraxas, BethAnn and Urp. Nick spent a lot of time in front of a canvas ... it made him happy.
Paintings – In his own words: Surrealism, visionary and landscapes
“After years of drawing in high school I graduated from Sacred Heart High School and began attending art school at the Academy of Art. I was raring to go when I was stopped and spent 2 years in the Army during the Vietnam Era in Germany from 1966-68. After my release I went straight back to the San Francisco Art Institute where I began painting 'Cryptyde' when my teacher suggested I start in the middle, well always being the rebel I put the dot to the right of center and began there drawing clouds. Of my paintings of that time ‘Cryptyde’ was the beginning of the successful psychedelic series along with ‘BethAnn,’ ‘The Estate of Man’ and ‘Urp.’ ‘Abraxas’ is probably my personal favorite of those Surreal days, it has a play of humor entwined throughout that even to this day brings a chuckle. It was a time when the New Age Era was just beginning to bloom (1969), when the possibilities were endless, boundaries were boundless - what a time to paint without questioning the whys. Those were wonderful days in magical times.”
When he was finished diving into the grittiness of surrealism Nick took up the challenge of painting landscapes. There were many landscape artists whose works were in poster format that were on display in every poster shop where Nick's posters were found. He especially loved the surreal nature of the imagery of the Pre-Raphaelites of the late 19th century. George Wanless*, chief collector of artwork for the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art at the Utah State University referred to his Green Landscape painting(s) as an example of the style of Post Pre-Raphaelites but a branch possibly, a title shared by his artist contemporaries Gage Taylor, Gilbert Williams and Bill Martin ( see "Visions" book ).
“I moved into painting landscapes with "The Green Landscape", "Golden" and "The Bridge”. I felt it was a good idea to ground myself a bit and to my great delight I discovered a good landscape has everything in it that surrealism has. They were a wonderful experience, it felt good to be grounded in these beautiful forests.”
“My most successful paintings were printed in posters & notecards and the "Visions" book published by Pomegranate Press. There was an effort made to establish a San Francisco Visionary Art Movement in those days where my works played a strong role. (A few of these "ancient treasures" are still available - see website www.nickhydeartist.com )”
https://www.hjnews.com/education/usu-art-collection-owes-a-lot-to-george-wanlass/article_bc902349-2975-5997-8e8f-585d6fda96f0.html
About the Prismas and Dyslexia
Nick was dyslexic, his eyes had trouble staying on the words as he became entranced by the spaces which started forming shapes instead of words. Drawing on black stock gave him a unique advantage as it allowed his imagination to bring forth shadows and shapes opposite than from drawing on white paper. To bring light up from the dark is a difficult thing to do.
“The drawings that I call Prismas are color pencil on black stock. Pencil drawing was my introduction into art. There is an immediacy to the medium of pencil. It allows my spontaneity to flow. When I was a young boy at school I had very poor classroom attention, my nervous energy was always doodling on the pages of the text books. I eventually paid some attention to these doodles and carried them a little beyond the doodle stage. One of the things I noticed was that these doodles were very sub-conscious and interesting. You could look and wonder what they were about or what was meant or said. To this day I still like to draw in that subconscious, non questioning manner. I like to walk down the path of a drawing, relying on my spontaneity from step to step. It keeps me alert and genuinely curious as to what is to come. I also attempt to have a general sense of an overall concept that is being formed in these initial moves and hopefully all comes together at the end.”
The late Walter Hopps, former Curator of 20th Century American Art, National Collection of Fine Arts, Smithsonian Institution wrote:
“The powerful nature of Nick Hyde’s art stands in certain ways vividly apart from his visionary colleagues. Rather than scenes of cosmic calm, serene process, or peaceful resolution, Hyde pours forth effulgent compositions of both hallucinatory intensity and tumultuous activity. The myriad visual events and details brought forth in an all-at-once total vision in Hyde’s paintings give rise to a unique tension between what seems the most violent of struggles and the most delicate of dances. In maintaining qualities of such polarity Hyde reveals a mastery of a sinuous, insinuating line structure that both divulges and dissolves images.” -Visions, Pomegranate Publications, copyright 1977.
For more information about the work of Nick Hyde please go to his website at www.nickhydeartist.com . His friends and collectors Jim and Margaret Dailey have honored their collection of Nick's pieces at www.surrealsight.com .
