Justin Wisniewski Week: "For us..."

This week I'm going to present my own work. I'll give some background information as well.



"For us there is no spring, just the wind that smells fresh before the storm."

I like this little drawing, and it was the first piece I sold in the UK (at the Atkinson Gallery in Sommerset.) Just before moving to Scotland, the art gallery I worked for had an exhibition of paintings and sculptures by Julian and Barbara Stanczak. I have a great deal of respect for Julian as a painter and as a person and I was very glad that he agreed to let me draw his portrait.


This is one of the last pieces of mine that I would characterize as negative or melancholy. My preference now is for including negativity as a foil for optimism.

I wanted the composition to look sharp and perhaps a little dangerous. At the same time, I always try to integrate the design into the rendering (more or less). This is an effort to lend the feeling and compositional energy of the design to the subject.

The title of this drawing comes from an unusual source. It's the only title I've ever used that was a quote from someone else. It's a line from Conan the Barbarian which is a silly movie (that I like) and although the source may be silly, I still think it's a beautiful (and sad) line.