Tag: expression

Pastels

I continue to delve into pastels. The medium is similar to painting but also different. Every medium has its inherent properties and then within the medium different companies equipment has it’s own voice too.

Both pieces are on 5×7 multi media paper

L

MH

spontaneous pics by me as i worked:

A brief word about AI/co-piolet et al:

An aged rocker from the sixties was asked their opinion on writing a song w/ A.I. To paraphrase he said “Well, I guess it is all right so long as they are the one writing the song.” That is not how it works, but being of an older generation & famous chances are, tech is not as necessary part of their life as a regular Joe a few decades younger. It is safe to assume that he lumped it in with email and social media, a new thing he uses a little, often via personal assistant.

AI does not create anything, it collects existing things that others made and Frankensteins them into an often cheesy looking thing. With Co-Piolet whoever decided to name that version of AI that was savvy. I see many authors put an image done with co-piolet up and they will say “It is a creation, i set the parameters.” So if you say “I want to see a rainy street in Paris” or “I want an empty dock overlooking a bay at sunset.” you still have not created anything, a machine then hunts for components other people made and constructs a thing.

For those who have tenuous grasp on the tech a broad example:

You invite friends over for an Italian dinner. You then proceed to go to various neighbors homes who are just sitting down to dinner and you take things off of each table without permission and bring them back to your place as to put it all together for your Italian meal. Just because you named the style of meal does not mean anything, it consists of all stolen things others cooked.

The shame of it is, there are so many good artists out there who would probably gladly lend an image in exchange for credit and link back to their site. If you are a band, an author, anyone who needs to marry an image to what they are doing, take a minute away from self promoting and do a search for artists on any platform, drop them a line.

by Wayne Wolfson

Almost Blue: August 9 Selfie & Blue Pullover

The ever present phones in everyone’s hand has ruined the casual museum goer’s ability to enjoy a painting. Now, a painting must look photorealistic to be “good” because everyone is used to viewing art via their phones. No one wants to see an artist’s brushstrokes or any evidence of a thing done by human hands.

Phones allow people to capture the minutia of their lives instantly. It has almost become de rigueur, even for the most informal of photos for people to do a sort of post-production tweak. Skin is smoothed, other imperfections sanded down. Just as people do not want to see evidence of an artist’s hand in a painting or drawing, photos now may only vaguely suggest one’s age. Unless it is the point of a photo (like those amazing black and white photos of aged people whose crags make them look akin to sculptures) wrinkles, imperfections et al are verboten.

One of my greatest pleasure and something I never tire of is portraying flesh with paint. I did not feel like dealing with anyone but wanted to indulge in my raison d’etre, showing the gooniness of flesh. August 9th, I am looking in the mirror about to shave. Monk’s elliptical patterns float through the half open door.

Gazing in the mirror:

“Wow, good thing I am talented.”

Almost Blue: August 9 Selfie 9×12 Rembrandt paper (this is one of my personal favorites of all my paintings)

Blue Pullover 11×17 Tan paper

by Wayne Wolfson

Two Paintings: Ro & Swinger

The temperature in my studio is once again safe to be in. I had finished the Ro piece before my brief exile while Swinger lay almost done the entire time of my banishment. I am very pleased with both pieces.

Swinger has special history. Over a decade ago the place I had lived part of the year every year in Paris for a long time had art supply stores all around it. I had a preference for specific things from each store i.e my pencil store, my paint store et al.

By happenstance I became pals with one of the guys at the sore closest to me. It’s proximity meant that i often walked by it and would pop in just to walk the isles, grabbing pencils or little notepads which I really didn’t need. We would chat.

He started letting me use his employee discount, plus coupons and samples. The very last time I saw him, I was so loaded up with supplies (lots free non-sample things) that when returning stateside I needed an extra bag for all the goodies.

He followed a proto-Coachella girl to Ibiza, then all around the hotspots for EDM festivals until he vanished in the ether.

Swingers is the very last piece of paper from all the paper swag he had given me. Obviously, I did not use it non-stop but I did use it steadily in-between all other papers I was exploring.

I would like to think that he got the girl or maybe he realized he didn’t need to get the girl, that it was about the adventure. And now, like Ulysses, he is heading towards a land where people do not put salt on their food.

RO 9×12 Rembrandt Cotton Paper

Swinger 7×9 Cotton Paper

by Wayne Wolfson

Pastels

As I get closer to the release of my next story/essay collection I have continued to explore pastels. I have done about nine of them in-between my painting and drawing. I enjoy the medium and each one is better than the last. I am still in my naissance and so have not even begun to explore the different types of papers & pastel companies yet.

I will be systematic about it first using up what I have then furthering my explorations.

Soundtrack as I worked:

Verdi Aidia (Toscanini conducting RCA Red Seal)

Duke Ellington Ellington Uptown

Miles Davis Black Beauty Live at the Filmore

El Jazz y Chapo Echoes from Another Cosmogony

Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky

Doodlebug TV (of Digable Planets) on youtube

All Pastel 5×7

Campanelle

by Wayne Wolfson

July Fourth

I am about a week or two away from my next short story collection coming out. As usual I continued to paint and now, further delving into pastel medium.

For my paintings, I usually do them in twos and one always in my trusty pocket pad.

Chloe 5×7

Not Shy II 4×4 pocket pad

Fourth of July Prayer

Thomas Paine, Herman Melville, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Edgar Alan Poe, Jelly Roll Morton, Lois Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Bourbon, Rye, Jazz, Stetson Hats, Skyscrapers, Hank Williams, Robert Johnson, Bill Finger, Zippo Lighters, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, Kodak, Coca Cola, Baseball, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Muhamad Ali, Rap, Hip-hop, New School of Journalism, Chuck Berry, Bo Didley, Fats Domino, Blue Jeans, The Automat, Bob Dylan, Noir films, Humphrey Bogart, Ernest Hemingway, Edward R Murrow, Gene kelly, Fred Astaire, Harley Davidson, Maverick Directors of the 1970’s, Patti Smith, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, New York School of Painters, Andrew Wyeth, Dashiell Hammett, Jim Thompson, Edward Hopper, Hedy Lamar, Louise Brooks, Carole Lombard, John Lewis, MLK, Rosa Parks, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Golden Age comics, Robert Williams, Blue Note Records, Pinball Machines, Judy Blume, Fred Rogers, Life Magazine,

Our differences are our strengths. Until we drop the pervading tribalism and fear from being prime motivations for our actions, we will continue to be a shadow of what we had been and what we can still be. This limitless potential is another strength.

It is up to all of us. And, this is perhaps the one remaining aspect, for now, of our former Greatness.

W.Wolfson July 4,

by Wayne Wolfson

Kubla Khan’s Dance Off

I just finished reading Jean Paul Sartre’s essay on Baudelaire. While I didn’t agree with everything he said, it was very enjoyable. Baudelaire very much lived a solipsistic life. As I am not a huge fan of his work and knowing history of France during his era, I think to some extent his attitude was to the determent of his art.

It definitely can be no fun, you go to a concert and in-between songs as you wait to hear a favorite the singer starts preaching or having the work in service of specific message for an artist’s entire oeuvre.

However, it is also weird to be living through turbulent times and make no comment upon them ever. Like most important things in life, there is a delicate balance.

Previously, I have made comments, so and my mission is humanistic not political. I will only say now that I hope my work serves as a brief respite from all daily troubles and bleak news we all must deal with.

Edie Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches

Sun Hat 5×7 Paper

by Wayne Wolfson

Two Works

I had been talking to someone about what appears in my works. More often than not it is someone from my inner circle or a thing from my life not staged but as is (a shirt hanging off the back of a chair, a demi tasse with its dregs offering up a fortune-tell). What had made the impressionists radical more than the naturalism of how they portrayed color/shadow/light was their portrayal of people and things.

In lieu of the typical historical and mythological subject matter were people from their lives and every day objects. Back then, this was more radical than it seems now.

There is a weird dichotomy with painting now though. We accept the everyday as subject matter but also because of movies & television, expect things connected with painting whether it is a work’s creation or the painter having a chop bump up to be dramatic, moviesque.

Half-pan watercolors at least for me with the exception of the few colors I use in every piece, last me. Often I would finish a piece and have paint left in my palettes. I started doing smaller pocket pad pieces with what was left. There were few motives behind this.

It is sort of pagan, my way of honoring/offering up thanks to the process I will spend my life happily serving. This (at least in my mind) is akin to when Romans would offer sacrifice before or after a journey or successful battle. I have the money and it’s not cost prohibitive to just dump what little paint is left each time out, although cumulatively it would add up. This is my version of the great chefs who have the “use every part of the animal” philosophy.

I have my methodology down, I do pencil for both paintings, the start to work on the larger first. With these two, I had only done the smaller as I had been in middle of final edits for my next story collection. I finished, very pleased, and then realized that I had given no thought to the second painting.

With the luxury of no deadline nor expectations I decided to experiment and do second piece radically different in every way. I used bigger paper which I randomly grabbed out of a tabouret, I worked on it in completely different way. These challenges created by leaving the comfort zone of the established are a way to foster growth & chops.

When I first started doing the water soluble graphite works, it added to my painting and then it ping-ponged where that medium was added to by painting. I recently took up pastels and although I am still very new to that, I see some added technique to my painting. That and this spontaneous challenge have definitely added to my painting even if not necessarily apparent to the viewer.

“Not Shy” Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches

“Magic” (selfie) 5×5 inches

by Wayne Wolfson

New Licks

David Hockney just passed away. He had works which I admired but he also had things which by general opinion didn’t hit the mark. That is fine, it doesn’t detract from the powerful works. Regardless of medium, one of components of what makes an artist great is growth/evolution and the willingness to continue to explore and take chances.

In the age of social media the personal goal of an artist has now become “fame”, to have a high number count on social media. Regardless of era and medium the true first goal of an artist is to create an individualized voice which emanates from their work.

I want a voice, a style but to never lapse into mere mannerism. One way to avoid this is to constantly challenge myself, using different paper, different pens different sizes of paper and even switching between mediums. To some extent always be one part student, one part explorer

Randomly, I decided to try my hand at soft oil pastels. Like everything I do, i am self taught. I enjoyed the medium and right out of the gate got some of the effects which I had in mind. In two days I did five pieces, all 5×5 or 5×7 inches.

For any work, an artist’s voice i s ever present but medium does to some extent dictate the cadence. Miles had certain horns which he only used for ballads. I always see a piece done in specific medium before even starting. The pastels gave me an expressionistic density different from my painting and different from my lyra works. i like all the mediums and will continue to switch between them as to continue to evolve. I was pleased with the results but am also sure as I continue to use the pastels I will get even better.

First

by Wayne Wolfson

Two Songs About Two Women

I went through some of the tabourets in my studio, not that they were in any sort of major disarray. It was more a tightening up of the organization and despite how much I shake things up as to remain limber in using different types of paper I knew there were some pads which lay in the drawers forgotten about.

After the brief time it took to reorganize, randomly I grabbed a pad. A 9×12 which is not a size I often use and which looked squatter than its measurements. Foer both pieces I used my usual studio set up of half pan paints.

NH 9×12 Watercolor & Paper

Mumbai. (She was also from Mumbai but did not merely play at being a DJ & good person.) Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches

Advice to artists you prob. don’t want to hear:

Any artist, especially one just starting out on their journey wants validation. To have someone who is not a friend nor family accept a work provides sort of boost. It assuages the doubt that one will be able to “make it” as an artist and also provides a safety barrier from the naysayers.

However, there are a lot of online journals and blogs out there which simply look terrible. Artists still place their works on them as it is a sort of validation. This always surprises me. An online journal/blog which looks terrible is akin to going into a restaurant which has a bad smell.

An insult to injury is the new trend of a lot of these wanting a submissions fee or asking to “buy me a koffi”. You would be better served just doing your own thing under your own power. Often the fee is explained as you are paying for the venues bandwidth or maybe the editor’s time in choosing who will appear. The reality of this is you are paying for validation, the venue’s money is made from the fees collected. You are paying for the “honor” of temporarily working for the venue.

Do your own thing. It may not feel as good or exciting for the ego but most of these online journals no one has heard of anyways and the decisions makers behind them often have no or little foundation.

There are some good journals to be found out there still, they are not all crap just dont depend upon them for validation.

Furious Pure is good, editors who are articulate and serious and diverse talent too. (disclaimer I was featured in issue 8 but I will continue to read each new issue)

by Wayne Wolfson

A Couple of Songs

Still in edit mode for novel. Did two paintings in-between all the rain,

Pebs 9×12 inches Rembrandt cold pressed fine grain

Gum I used my ever present Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches

Bonus: Was cleaning my brushes and did a loose scrap paper Self Portrait with built up paint.

by Wayne Wolfson