Tag: impressionism

Night Tides (for Craig “Doodlebug” Irving)

Finally finished my latest Cinefield®. For each one, my ambition is to make it better than the last in some way. In this case, it is my most rhythmically complex.

I seek to engage the viewer via creating works which offer new things to be noticed with every view. Ideally, I inspire (and maybe even awe) but if I only offer a momentary respite from the unpleasant aspects of daily life, then it’s all well worth it.

Aside from the labor intensive aspect of each Cinefield®, other information:

Each piece is comprised of one or two photos which I personally took. There is no digital magic, I use the old school method of my trusty tiny scissors and adhesive applied with brush on an 11×17 inch piece of heavy paper.

I always see the design in my head ahead of time. However, what piece is put where is in the moment improvised. I do a basic schematic on the paper the fine details reside within my inner eye. I also put a phrase which ultimately becomes hidden by the mosaic. The inspiration for this was the beautiful movie The Phantom Thread in which a master tailor did similar thing with his couture. There is such a call for meticulous detail in what I do and it’s so painstakingly executed that I have always likened it to the little old man making amazing shoes on Saville Row type of thing so these two things inspired me.

I cut up the photos into tiny, tiny pieces and they are carefully lain out on sheets. I look at the sheets as I work selecting what goes where in that moment. Do not ask me how i know, I just feel it, each selected piece seems right for where it is placed. The entire thing is very labor intensive, i see tiny paper snow flurries in my dreams often when halfway through a piece.

The work is copywritten and not for use without permission.

by Wayne Wolfson

Promise / Flowers

An amazingly busy but rewarding week. I decided to do two small paintings. My paint set up in the studio is now a mix of several companies professionally rated half pans.

Once one is at a certain point quality wise, it becomes a matter of preference which is dictated by the artist’s style but also the inherent properties of the equipment. In explaining this concept to a fellow jazz-head I gave the analogy that it is the equivalent of Miles and his horns. No matter what he played on, his distinctive voice was ever present. However, he did have certain horns he used for ballads, for cookers et al. In this way it is a collaborative effort between artist in equipment. So it is with the various papers and the set up of watercolor half pans I utilize.

Both these pieces are done on Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches

by Wayne Wolfson

Annabeth / Croc Clip

Just in time to once again hit the road, I have now integrated the new paints which I had been trying out permanently into my studio & travel palettes.

Of course I have note added all of them but that is just matter of color preferences in what I use for my work. I have found that once a thing, be it whisky, paint et al is of a certain quality it is not a matter of which is better but more personal preference.

Certain brand’s colors are better for specific things than others i.e one brand’s red or pink better for base coats in showing skin while another better for showing bruises, capillaries et al.

Now that I know the new paints, i have started experimenting with them on all different types of paper.

Annabeth first time using tan paper w/my new set up. Strathmore Toned Tan Mixed Media Paper 11×14 184 lbs

Croc Clip Talen Art Creations Multi Media pocket Pad 4×4 inches

If interested in what comprises my new paints see previous four posts which give details

by Wayne Wolfson

Paris Painter II

The lighting in my new studio is different, but I feel I have a handle on it now. I am well into the swing of things. I’ve mostly been using my semi new to me pocket pad for painting. Drawings been spread out all kinds of paper. 4×4 inches

I discovered a new to me paint company. They have been around since 1830. Among many greats, Matisse and Renoir got their watercolors from them. They remain very artisan. Just looking at the paints you see the difference in pigments. They also have proprietary colors.

paints are not paints, each hue has its own distinct properties and then this varies even more from company to company.

Not knowing if I would like them, I just bought five to try. This is why on my first piece skin doesn’t have volume & mass I usually achieve. I instantly liked the paint, it handles diff than anything else I have used. Decided to go all out, new 5×7 paper, new paint.

Maestro. One my fave statues in all of Paris.

by Wayne Wolfson

Zam-Zam

This is my last painting in America for a while. It is Watercolor & French cotton paper 5×7. (As has become my practice I will use whatever paint is left in palettes to do a pocket pad piece too)

I was very pleased with how it came out.

I am always looking for interesting people to draw, feel free to email me photos (people only) if you think you may have something of interest.

Do not forget about my newest release, available in paperback & kindle:

by Wayne Wolfson

Whammer (Selfie)

Finished my painting. I had actually done a study for it beforehand which is not my usual way of working.

A bunch of us used to sit around and play games which were tied in with the life of being an artist. One was: describe your technique or mission in one sentence. For me it has always been “The gooniness of flesh”.

I want to show the heat generated by the flesh, the blood coursing below the surface, the splotches, the bruises.

Probably couched in grandeur terms, this was one aspect of the power of the work by the tronie painters as well as the mannerists painters. Even Jenny Saville’s earlier work has elements of this beauty and power.

I often do self portraits as showing myself as I am does not offend nor disappoint me as it may were it someone else emerging from my brush.

It is a truth and truth for me is always beautiful.

It is 11×17 Watercolor on tan paper.

Quick Sketch Study

Always looking for interesting things to draw/paint. Email me if you think you have something.

by Wayne Wolfson

Northern Symphony

Finally finished my latest CINEFIELD®. Although it felt as if it took forever, I am very pleased and proud of the results.

The entire piece is from a single photo which I personally took and then printed up many times. I used my trusty pair of (tiny) scissors to cut out the pieces and then glued them to 11×17 piece of paper using adhesive and small brush.

My goal was to offer up a work that one could go back to many times and notice a new thing each time. I always have the design in mind beforehand but which piece I use where is completely discovered in the moment. I cut out sheets of tiny shapes which are arranged on a table by what will become the work. In this way you can look at all my complex CINEFIELD® as completely improvised.

(I’m the Charlie Parker of collage)

Northern Symphony 11×17 (C) Wayne Wolfson. Not for use without permission

Addendum: I used to live in a city that often had weekend “art walks” or art & wine block party type things. There would be kiosks for photographers etc who had “art” but each thing was reproduced hundreds of times and in various sizes. There is nothing wrong with this so long as you realize it is less buying art and far more in line with buying a postcard/poster/print.

I have CINEFIELD® prints available but each print is only done twice and one of the two is for my own archive. My site goes into all technical details. I have gotten emails asking what is available as the site currently only lists a few as available. If there is a Cini you are interested in get in touch with me, it could be that I just had not had prints made yet.

by Wayne Wolfson

Cinefield® Miles

For all my work, I’ve always had two main goals. To develop a discernable voice and to create works which in some manner effect the viewer. The first was achieved via lots of sweat and singular concentration, while the second will be a life-long mission.

The problem with having a recognizable voice is that one can either unintentionally or out of laziness lapse into mere mannerisms. This is to be avoided at all costs. It is the motivation behind my constantly leaving my comfort zone and trying new things.

For Miles I sought to make it different than what had come previous. It can still be recognized as a sibling of the predecessors as the medium does to some extent effect the voice. The mission for this one was that I wanted the viewer to be able to go back multiple times and find new little moments occurring within to notice.

As is always the case with these works, I only use photos which I personally took. For this piece, I was fortunate to find an area which was trying to entice night people with entire buildings being lit up in purples and pinks. These colors being new to my Cini palette were a great way to further the newness I was trying to achieve. I would combine an overall different color palette with an increased rhythmic complexity.

There is no digital magic, I used my trusty scissors to cut out tiny pieces and a brush for adhesive. The piece is 11×17 inches.

I always have a sort of soundtrack when I do Cinefield® pieces. I do not merely listen to same albums over and over, the soundtrack is what i start out with and as the day goes on other things are put on. They serve as an initial mood setter. This piece’s soundtrack:

Miles Davis Big fun

The Soft Pink Truth Is It going to Get Any deeper Than This

Bennie Maupin & Adam Rudolph Symphonic Tone Poem For Brother Yusef

Mozart (Rene Jacobs conducting) La Clemenza di Tito

(C) 2024 Wayne Wolfson not for use without permission

by Wayne Wolfson

Anniversary of a Close Call

With each of my Cinefield® pieces I try to one up myself or stretch forms in some manner. For this piece, I wanted to create a work where one can go back and even with repeated viewings find new little moments. I feel it succeeded, this being the most rhythmically complex piece I have ever done (so far!).

In the past, I have not gone into certain aspects common to the creation of all Cinefield® pieces as I was conscious of it sounding too close to boasting. All the images are from photos which I personally took. I always have a rough outline of what I am doing in pencil on the paper. However, when I look at the photos I use, often limiting myself to one or two which I just print in multiple copies, I do not know what will go where. I can have two copies of the same photo and cut them up completely differently. All the pieces are very tiny. I do not know what tiny piece goes where until I am laying it down.

I work with anywhere from one to three 11×17 sheets on tiny paper confetti sized pieces. I stand at table looking at the paper w/pencil outline for design and then see what I have cut up and where I feel it should go. What this means is that every Cinefield® which represents hundreds of hours per piece, each work session is an act of complete improvisation.

This piece is 11×17 . no digital magic, just my trusty scissors and adhesive applied with brush.

A.I & art. There is still a misconception about A.I generated artwork. A.I, if you ask it to create a city scene, does not spontaneously create a work from scratch. It pulls different aspects of pre existing work by others to create a sort of frankensteined version, more often than not without permission of the original artists. Copyright your works before doing anything with them, this includes posting on social media. If your work blatantly shows the artist’s hand i.e it looks done by hand, it’s not as much a worry as mediums such as photos et al.

by Wayne Wolfson

Cupid Disguise

Read enough biographies on artists and regardless of medium and era a commonality becomes apparent. It is what I call The Sweet Spot. This is the time when the struggle/work for the artist to achieve their distinctive voice has been achieved. All the work which goes towards fostering the skill to do so now takes no more effort to motivate into action than a health habit. And there is now an audience which gets rid of the abstracted “someday,,,” aspect the lack of which causes the “Why am I doing this again?”.

There is an audience but not so big that the artist, even if only on a subconscious level, incorporates into the equation all the expectations of fans, critics and gallerists. There is the luxury of being able to work and experiment giving no thoughts to consequence.

More often than not, the artist recognizes this golden age only after they are well past it. If lucky, in old age they may get a second shot once established as an institution or national treasure but this is not always guarantied.

I feel fortunate, for among other things, recognizing that i am in the sweet spot. I decided to try a bunch of new things for this painting. Why not? I am very pleased with how it turned out. To me, it does not look radically different from my other paintings despite all new things I tried.

Cupid Disguise 11×17 Watercolor & Paper

by Wayne Wolfson