jessewaugh

[jessewaugh]

New Hope (Narcissus at Chisworth)

After having been deathly ill during the winter, I was given new hope by a photo of yellow narcissus my friend sent me.

All of the white paint is inspired by the whites used by John Singer Sargent in some of his paintings - which I think are stunningly beautiful.

[jessewaugh]

Pink Orchids at Hampton Court Flower Show

Watch me glaze my newest painting Pink Orchids at Hampton Court Flower Show!

[jessewaugh]

Pink Orchids at Hampton Court Flower Show

Watch the video below of me glazing Pink Orchids at Hampton Court Flower Show:

I was terribly sick with a tropical disease called leishmaniasis for three months beginning in November last year. I believe it was provoked by an overdose of antibiotics given me after I’d had a boil lanced. It all spiraled downwards to the point that I was about to die several days after Christmas, so at the behest of my good friend Keith Williamson I checked myself into hospital here in Catalunya. I had to be hospitalized for the entire month of January.

I’m out now, and I made this painting for my very kind neighbor Dr. Jon Ubick, who has helped me tremendously over the past two months, for which I am very grateful.

Pink Orchids at Hampton Court Flower Show seems to me to be influenced by my recent acquisition of a complete van Gogh monograph by Taschen. I’ve been looking at his paintings - especially the later ones - and I think the overall effect of the broad brush strokes in his paintings subconsciously caused me to manifest a not dissimilar aesthetic in this painting.

In fact, I became so enthralled with van Gogh’s paintings that I paid two data analysts to assess which traditional French canvas size (see image below) van Gogh used the most in the last two years of his life — and it turned out my guess was right — it was size 30F (‘F’ for ‘figure’) or 92 X 73 cm. I’d also found a blog post referencing no less than three letters from Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo stating that he was using French canvas sizes 15F, 20F, 25F and 30F. Following are links to the van Gogh letters which suggest he used 30F the most: Letter 1, Letter 2, and Letter 3.

And here’s a collated data analysis of the dimensions of Vincent van Gogh’s last 413 paintings - all of the known paintings he did during the last two years of his life 1888-1890 — which I consider his strongest period. Note the Most Common Size field at the top: It shows that his most common French canvas sizes were 30F followed by 20F.

I buy my canvases pre-stretched from Barna Art in Barcelona, and they adhere to making canvas stretchers in the French tradition - which is known on the Continent as the “international measure” or “international dimensions” for canvases. Following are images of Barna Art’s canvas size chart. Notice it corresponds exactly with the antique chart pictured above. I just ordered a number of 30F-sized canvases because the size is not too big, not too small.

This is the first finished painting on which I’ve stamped my logo on the back of the canvas (see images):

[jessewaugh]

Stained Glass Interior of Sagrada Familia

I made this watercolor while I was sick last December. I love how it captures two things: the colored light shining through the stained glass, and the Gaudiesque curvature at the top beam-like ceiling.

[jessewaugh]

The Winged Self

The Winged Self is a commission for a private US collector, and is inspired by the beautiful Rosicrucian concept of “focusing on the inner Divine Perfection of each individual”. The Winged Self is manifested as a pure white rose on a winged cross. My interpretation of this concept depicts more roses as the wings and body of the central white rose.

Special archival technical notes: This is the first painting I have freehand-painted my logo signature, rather than using my signature stamp - as is done with oriental art. The second special note is that this may be my first entirely non-toxic painting, in that I used no solvents or other noxious chemicals in the painting process — although it may be varnished with Gamvar in the coming weeks.

The Winged Self continues my exploration into artist-as-curator subject selection - in which I choose subject matter solely based on its Pulchrist value regardless of its origination - and is after a photograph by GLady.

[jessewaugh]

Koi Rush

Koi Rush is an experiment to see if I can act as a curator-as-artist in order to separate myself from the self-consciousness that comes with creating original content — I chose someone else’s photograph as a source not as an over-intellectualized exercise in conceptualism or irony, but so that I could find a Beautiful subject in an unbiased manner without the baggage of having to judge my own source creation. This may seem lazy, disingenuous, or a cop-out on my part, but it is a genuine attempt to create the most Beauty I can with painting - for Pulchrism. By freeing myself from the constraints of source creation, I am free to choose images and subjects I find to be Beautiful.

Koi Rush is therefore after an image by a Thai photographer named Prathaan. If feeds into my love of sacred Japanese garden / shrine themes.

[jessewaugh]

They Need Never Cede Control

Can the powers that be actually succeed at dominating the world? Or will their very extreme totalitarianism defeat it’s self? This is a question I’ve had for a long time, and a line from the lyrics of one of my songs that I wrote in 2004 seems to be a concise explanation of the truth about what actually happens when an entity tries to fully monopolize. The song is called “Fun“. And it’s on my album “After The End“ on Spotify.

[jessewaugh]

Catalan Modernista Japonisme in Sitges, Barcelona

I found a most lovely example of Catalan Japanese-inspired (or it could be chinoiserie - Chinese inspired - or simply general orientalist) modernismo on the ceiling of the entrance hall of an old, unrestored and completely original Art Nouveau modernista apartment building in Sitges - a beach town west of Barcelona, Spain. 

The ceiling mural painting depicts sparrows or blue tits on what I’m guessing is a lilac branch in front of scattered bamboo. 

It really struck me as a lovely painting, in an atmospheric setting, and the completely unretouched, original Art Nouveau environment really gave me the feeling of being back in that time.

What’s most interesting about the mural is that it is a thoroughly modernista overlay of a distinctively oriental theme. That makes it a very Beautiful and unique example of a rare crossover between genres. 

It is located at Carrer Sant Bartolomeu 26, in Sitges, Spain. 

[jessewaugh]

YouTube Popularity Contest, PEAK SOCIAL and the Truth Movement 2.0

I think YouTube has become a frenzied popularity contest and I'm sort of bowing out of it to an extent. It's finally dawned on me what's happening - I've known it for a long time, but now I have to address it.

I think the Truth Movement has had a second wave on YouTube over the past two or three years. The first Truth Movement was of course on the internet after 9/11. So I'm calling this more recent incarnation Truth Movement 2.0. It is certainly a valid Truth Movement, but it has now become so popular that truthers are competing for popularity and views - and this, in my mind, threatens its legitimacy.

Social media in general has certainly peaked - with Facebook's massive devaluation being an outward sign of this phenomenon, but people's declining interest in social media being the real cause of what I'm terming 'peak social'.

Yes - I'll try to stop saying "um" so much -- but it's hard.

[jessewaugh]

Starting an Informal Vlog to Tell My Story

I’ve been trying to figure out what the best format for my videos might be. So I decided to try making informal personal blogs. There are so many ways to try to game YouTube in order to try to get the maximum number of views and subscribers and best monetization and all that kind of stuff, but I’m thinking maybe the best use for me on YouTube is just to record daily diaries or journals which give an idea of what I’m doing that day, what I’m painting that day, and maybe what I’m thinking about that day. Hopefully this can serve as a communication tool, but also - perhaps more importantly - as an archive of the progress of my work, but also as a contribution to the overall record of my life.

[jessewaugh]

Taco Bell is Dead to Me!

I generally avoid fast food, but once every year or two I crave a vegan Taco Bell burrito and tacos. They are crap quality, but those little salsa packets taste too good for me to give up. 

At least that was the case until now. Taco Bell just opened its second branch in Barcelona, Spain. So I decided to go crack myself out on my yearly fix of Taco Bell hot salsa. 

They have these new touch ordering screens that look like big iPhones where you can omit ingredients, but as usual I ended up having to order from the guy at the counter - who actually turned out to be quite helpful and knowledgeable about what’s vegan. He correctly ordered vegan food for me. 

I’d noticed on the touch ordering display that the bean “frijoles” burrito image showed black beans — but I suffered cognitive dissonance keeping the hope alive that they would still have refried pinto beans. 

Of course my hopes were dashed, upon delivery of my tacos. Rather Spartan with only the vegan ingredients left after excluding the non-vegan ones, the burrito and tacos only had whole black beans and a bit of rice inside them!!!

This was a disaster. I cannot understand why people think that black beans are healthier than pinto beans - in what alternative universe is this the case? And refried beans - which can be either pinto or black - simply have oil and salt added to them generally - which makes them taste good - and oil and salt are good for you in proper proportions. So this Taco Bell shift from pinto to black beans is obviously a giant corporate marketing decision to influence public perception of their food to make it appear healthier. 

Needless to say - it is still just fast garbage — factory processed chemical concoctions designed by scientists to look like food!

Oh well, I guess in the greater scheme of things this is a good thing for me as it is the only fast food I’ve ever craved. I get a vegan sandwich at Subway once in a blue moon if I’m desperate but otherwise I don’t go near fast food joints and I eat extremely healthily. 

Good Bye Taco Bell!

[jessewaugh]

Is the Alt-Right Being Played?

Is the Alt-Right being duped by its own leaders? People will readily cite that the Left is controlled at the top by nefarious forces like George Soros, and that organizations like Antifa are riddled with government agent provocateurs, but those same people who question the legitimacy of the Left refuse to consider that they may be being played by the same puppet masters.

So I’ve got some questions: Might Richard Spencer be an FBI intelligence agent provocateur? Is Tommy Robinson covertly working for MI5?

Here’s a scenario I’d like to put forth merely as a hypothetical possibility for discussion - it is not meant to offend anyone who considers themselves to be part of the Alt-Right: But what if Donald Trump is nothing more than a puppet whose function is to galvanize White America into a malleable collective which can be then guided in certain directions which best suit globalists? 

What if the current racial and gender tensions in the US and elsewhere are the result of plans artificially concocted by secret think tanks whose goal is to divide and conquer in order that they may mold society to fit their aims?

What if Alex Jones is a pied piper tasked with steering conservatives in pre-planned directions which lead to them unwittingly aiding their own enslavement?

I ask these questions not because I hate Alex Jones, or Donald Trump, or Richard Spencer or Tommy Robinson for that matter. I ask these things because I do not like to see people hoodwinked — and I don’t like lies!

So let’s imagine for a second that Richard Spencer does, in fact, work for the FBI as controlled opposition — that his purpose is to provoke people to behave in certain ways. How might that change how he is viewed? Let’s do the same for Tommy Robinson - what if he is actually a plant whose job it is to divert his followers’ attention away from goals which would actually benefit their identity group? Why would it matter if Tommy Robinson were merely an actor who didn’t actually believe in the ideals of his constituency?

Donald Trump - as dynamic an individual as he no doubt is - has essentially been working in show-business for decades now — does that not qualify him as an actor? So let’s suspend our disbelief for just one moment and consider the possibility that Donald Trump is actually acting a part in a greater scripted drama - the purpose of which runs differently to his stated goals. How would this affect his validity as president of the United States?

What if Alex Jones is what’s termed a “gatekeeper” - a ruse responsible for leading his followers on wild goose chases which end them up far from their original trajectory? Would you still trust him if that were the case? How would you react? Would you look deeper to discover the truth about who you’ve been listening too? Or would you continue following the leader and accept the conclusions he prescribed for you?

I’m very interested hear your take on these issues so please comment below. 

[jessewaugh]

The Alex Jones InfoWars Ban is a FAKE HOAX!

I believe that Alex Jones is complicit in his own banning. I think he is taking a dive like a boxer in a rigged match, so that we fear speaking the our mind and the truth. As far as I know, Alex Jones and Paul Joseph Watson both work for the private intelligence agency Stratfor, which is based in Texas. I think that the banning by Apple, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, et al of Alex Jones and his website Infowars is not only a collusion, but is also a rigged, false flag conflict in which Jones is a willing combatant. It is FAKE NEWS.

DO NOT BE AFRAID TO SPEAK YOUR MIND!

[jessewaugh]

Portrait of Thomas Darnell, Pulchrist

Portrait of Thomas Darnell, Pulchrist is a portrait of artist Thomas Darnell, a gifted fine art painter known for his floral, landscape and abstract paintings.

Click here for more information about Thomas Darnell.

Following are detail images and studio shots of Portrait of Thomas Darnell, Pulchrist:

[jessewaugh]

HERE COMES THE RAIN

This is a cover song I did of "Here Comes The Rain" by the Eurythmics / Annie Lennox. I recorded it inside of Tranquil Turn Temple, which was the concrete block building I built in Glastonbury, England in 2010 at Tranquil Turn - my Beautiful little compound in the Somerset Levels.

The video showing rain and wind was also recorded from the window of Tranquil Turn Temple.

[jessewaugh]

JESSE WAUGH Search RESULTS!

As a very independent artist, it fascinates me to watch legacy media dying out, while new media usurps its position of dominance. Artists are afforded an entirely new way to promote their art and message now that the usual promotional and networking routes ("dead trees media", galleries, agents, "connections", schmoozing, even museums) have been in large part outmoded by online media.

With an adequate bit of narcissism, but more with just a healthy appreciation of the power of the internet to change things and bring in the new, it is with great satisfaction that I witness the increasing archival presence afforded my work by numerous online entities, such as encyclopedias, databases, commons, archives, catalogues, libraries, and search engines.

For someone like me, who has a serious fetish for archiving, all of this archiving of my work and myself and - most importantly - the art movement which I created and to which I belong -- simply could not be more satisfying.

It is with that in mind that I wish to share screenshots of various searches for my name "Jesse Waugh" on several different search engines. I do this to document the growing archive of my work - not so much to stroke my own ego - as the archiving of my work is something about which I am happy and proud.

Pertaining to this, the thing that I value the most about it all is Google's recent recognition of Pulchrism as an art movement!

Following are screenshots, for the archive, of search results for "Jesse Waugh" on a number of different international search engines:

[jessewaugh]

Anagathusia

Anagathusia is a short art film by Jesse Waugh starring Gerardo Alberto Nuñez. Agathusia means 'noble sacrifice' - like seppuku or sati or harakiri (hari kari). So by anagathusia I mean wasteful, ignoble suicide despite any good intentions. Anagathusia would include pointless self-sacrifice. I apply this concept to the current situation facing the West, in which it suffers from what I would describe as "suicidal altruism". 

What positive entities must realize is that there is NOTHING we can do to fill the abyss of the negative. Attempts to satiate it by force are unnatural and born of hubris. If we love ourselves, others and nature, then it behooves us to accept that gender is balance, and that hives manifest hierarchies. We can fight that Truth all we want, but such a fight can only end in self-destruction.

Self-sacrifice may or may not have served a valid purpose for humanity in the past. But it is a form of human sacrifice no matter how you look at it. Individuals sacrificing themselves for the group seems like an insect behavior to me. Perhaps it is hubris on my part to think we can come up with a better solution.