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What Norman Rockwell Taught Me about Writing
Norman Rockwell (1894–1978) may well be one of the most important American artists of the 20th Century. His work is popular still today not only because he told stories in his paintings, but also because he captured universal experiences and displayed them on canvas. His finished works, however, are not his only contribution to the American creative scene. Even though Rockwell was deceased by the time I became aware of his process, this American icon taught me a valuable lesson about writing.
My wife and I visited the new Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, a few months after its opening in 1993. Our two daughters were pretty young at the time, so as I stood in the main hall, I was a bit distracted. I was pushing a stroller with four-year-old Katrina, I was holding hands with seven-year-old Maria, and I was trying to hold on to our tickets and read the Museum’s brochure while I put my change in my wallet and listened to both my wife and the nearby tour guide. In the midst of all that chaos, I heard a voice on the loudspeaker say, “If you move toward the main entrance of the Gallery, you will see an exhibit that shows the six steps that Norman Rockwell used as he painted numerous covers for The Saturday Evening Post.”
Six steps? How could there be six steps? At that point in my life, quite honestly, I didn’t think it could be…
