What possesses people to make art? What to paint and how to paint it? Paintings can take on so many different appearances. When does the act of painting become something profound for the painter and the audience? I have found that the best work is the most personal.
Some years back I found myself in Palm Beach Australia in a friend’s home with many large paintings, none of which I was attracted to; but in a corner, a very tiny painting in a frame that was much bigger and thicker than the painting of a sailboat grabbed my attention. I asked to meet its author. The way Wayne Magrin put the paint down on that sail told me I had to look!
We met. Wayne paints narrative paintings on wood like a sign painter. Painting signs of life near and on the water. The manner and strength of these works invoke a memory of the 20th century, ribbons of fleeting moments of joy transformed into sturdy undecipherable narratives that take you along for the ride!
Since our first meeting, I have been constantly surprised and moved by Wayne’s imagination and the way he expresses it in paint on wood!
At first, I saw his small paintings and I begged him to make some larger works.
I have quite a few! You should see them.
Thank you, Wayne.
Julian Schnabel
August 22, 2022 li Galli Italy.
Image: Trevor and the Captain2022, oil on board, 153 x 153 cm
