The second issue of l'Art de l' Aquarelle is coming out soon with an article about Wayne Roberts. I was honored to write for that feature a small tribute, translation below. This issue will be entirely in French, but after that there will be an English version of the magazine available.When I got back into watercolor six years ago, I spent a lot of time scouring the Internet to learn what had happened during my absence, and who was doing what. It didn’t take me long to discover Wayne Roberts, and when I did, it was something of an epiphany. Here was an artist who was pushing the limits of the medium, not just technically, but even more importantly, in terms of imagination and creativity. He seemed to be able to paint any subject in virtually any style, abstract to representational, at the highest levels. Rather than settling into one comfortable, formulaic approach -- a trap that countless artists succumb to -- he was “all over the map,” and in a way that suggested not superficiality, but rather, profound breadth. I revere this quality because to me the finest artists are explorers. Wayne is a tireless explorer who has blazed trails I had never seen in water media. As if that weren’t enough, I realized that some of the best ideas I ever had for a painting, Wayne Roberts had already done! And done so well, there was no point in my even trying. I started referring to him as The World’s Most Dangerous Man With a Brush.
How does he do it? I believe that artists of this caliber are born, not made. However, something more has to account for this kind of genius. Wayne’s deep interest in science, mathematics, medicine, and music keeps his mind in a constant state of assimilation and heightened awareness, which at any moment might channel a thought or emotion through the pen, the violin, or the paintbrush. Wayne’s insatiable curiosity about the world is reflected in his paintings, which deal with concepts of the large and small; the dark and light; the celestial and terrestrial; the spiritual and physical. As a musician myself, I was fascinated to learn that Wayne has devoted years to an ever-evolving work, The Principles of Nature, which, based on my understanding, is a sort of Unification Theory combining the mysteries of music and visual art through scientific analysis. This is something that has occupied my mind for many years, but I didn’t have the slightest notion how to go about organizing or expressing it. This type of monumental work is best left to the bona fide Renaissance Men of the world. Wayne Roberts is such a person, and I feel truly privileged to behold his many astonishing and unique talents.
For information regarding subscription email Sonia Seince at s.seince@megastar.fr
See the No. 1 issue July-September post.
