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I can’t imagine Ted really being productive without that view.
— Audrey Geisel
For 43 years, Dr. Seuss’s daily inspiration was his studio’s Pacific vista, a spectacular 180-degree panorama of the coastline from Oceanside to Mexico. His wife Audrey recalls, “I can’t imagine Ted really being productive without that view.”
The majority of Dr. Seuss’s children’s books, from 1948 to 1990, were written and illustrated in his hilltop sanctuary, constantly in sight of this dazzling spectacle of nature. Many of Ted’s Secret Art paintings were also created looking out at this oceanic spectacle, including two major seaside paintings that directly reflect his wide range of artistic moods.
These two similar—yet emotionally contrasting—paintings are masterful seascapes inspired by the scene from Dr. Seuss’s studio, not to mention his distinctive states of mind.
Freebird, a long sold-out limited edition, depicts a yellow Seussian bird, sailing contentedly midst waves rolling against a rosy sky, his incredibly long tail floating high above him.
The other significant rendering of Ted Geisel’s ocean view, Firebird, uses the same elements but with a far different implication. Here his flame-red bird is focused, navigating with great resolve the invigorating seas of life.
Though Dr. Seuss’s books have an ingenious quality of effortless simplicity, he worked painstakingly hard to accomplish the appearance of whimsy and ease. Freebird seems to present the quality of effortless simplicity and Firebird the hard work needed to attain it.
Ted found the constantly changing patterns of light and color fascinating. He liked to compare the ‘mood,’ or color, of the day to his own emotional barometer setting.
Dr. Seuss wrote and illustrated forty-four books before his death at age eighty-seven in 1991. In 1973, he wrote the text for My Many Colored Days—his book about feelings and moods. In 1992 Audrey Geisel brought the text of My Many Colored Days to the attention of his editor. On the flyleaf of the posthumously published book, Audrey is quoted: “Ted had a panoramic view of ocean and land from his study, and he found the constantly changing patterns of light and color fascinating. He liked to compare the ‘mood,’ or color, of the day to his own emotional barometer setting.”
My Many Colored Days — An excerpt from Dr. Seuss’s Text:
Some days are yellow.
Some are blue.
On different days I'm different too.
You'd be surprised how many ways I
change on Different Colored Days.
On Bright Red Days how good it feels
to be a horse and kick my heels!
Dr. Seuss, a master of exaggeration, transformed Firebird from a simple being into an iconic creature with just the addition of a tail.
Ted’s trademark “tails” date back to Dartmouth College in 1931 (left), when he returned to his alma mater for Winter Carnival and created an ice sculpture in front of the Phi Gamma Delta House which had a 50-foot tail.
Other wonderful examples include the feathery fins in the Flower Fish artwork, or the bill in Sawfish with such a long snout, he needs an assistant to help him about.
