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At the age of 5 or 6, Ned was introduced to the first how-to-draw television program hosted by Jon Gnagy. “During one episode,” Ned recalls, “Mr. Gnagy drew a circle and then turned that circle into a three-dimensional sphere while explaining light source, shading and shadows. I was so amazed that I could hardly breathe and my little head nearly exploded thinking of all the possibilities - Having the knowledge to create the illusion of mass on a sheet of paper, hit me like a lightning bolt - Learning to tie your own shoes and mastering the ability to stay upright on a two-wheeler, were of course pretty cool, but this was pure magic. I didn’t know it at the time, but because of that very simple lesson taught by an artist that I would never meet, I had been steered in the direction the rest of my life would take."
Tons of crayons, pencils, watercolors and reams of paper later, it came time for Ned to choose a profession. His knowing parents helped him make the decision by telling him, “you’ve always loved to paint and you need to give being an artist a try. You don’t want to spend the rest of your life wondering what could have been.” His father then proceeded to build a small studio in their backyard, and once it was completed told his son to “get to work and figure it out.”
Given that extraordinary gift, Ned happily went to work, and did indeed, “figure it out.” He chose to study some of America’s most distinguished realists. Among these artists were Andrew Wyeth, Jamie Wyeth, Edward Hopper and Winslow Homer. From them, Young learned that perhaps the most important subjects to paint were the subjects right in front of him. “If you allow yourself time to be aware of the wonderful instances when color, composition and circumstance unexplainably collide,” says Ned, “everyday objects and happenings can suddenly become mysterious and beautifully intriguing moments, that once discovered, can then be expressed with a painting and your experience shared with others.”
The sense of intimacy with his subjects is essential to Ned. He gets to know everyone and everything he paints. He considers even inanimate objects like a barn or a truck to be his friends. Young’s paintings are filled with straight forward, truthful images blended with memory and a roaming imagination.
A trip to the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania to view N.C., Andrew and Jamie Wyeth’s work — a spectacular surprise gift from his ever supportive wife, Melanie — eventually brought about three one-man-shows for Ned at the Chadds Ford Gallery; a memorable meeting with the creative genius himself, Andrew Wyeth; and a guest-artist position for the “Artists of the Brandywine” exhibition held in Pearl Buck’s historic home and museum. Ned has also exhibited in galleries in Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Park City, Utah.
Ned’s love for illustration has led to commissions from companies such as HarperCollins, Disney Hyperion, The Lang Calendar Company, The Legacy Calendar Company, Colonial Williamsburg for Lang, Wild Wings, and The New York Graphic Society. Sense of place is essential to Ned. He and his wife, Melanie, live in the lovely, small town of Brigham City, Utah, where they were both born. They have three remarkable children.
