John Wentz is a contemporary painter whose work is an exploration of process and technique. Working within the classical idiom of the human figure, his goal is to reduce and simplify the image to it's core fundamentals: composition, color, and mark making. Paint application and brush strokes are broad and simplified as a means to connect and convey these ideas to the viewer in a way that only painting can.

John was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. His interest in art began at the age of 6 when he first discovered Batman and Spiderman comic books. After years of copying comics panel by panel he worked in the commercial arts as a muralist, billboard creator and freelance illustrator. After learning to paint by doing airbrushed billboards, he decided to pursue Fine Art and work in oils. Since then, he has had 3 solo exhibitions in San Francisco and numerous group exhibitions both nationally and internationally. His works have appeared in many publications and have won multiple awards.

Topics Discussed In This Episode:

Giving up
Gerhard Richter
Tech affecting art
Barriers between museums and the public
Would you make art if the world ended?
Wentz moving to Paris
Advice to artists and creatives
Movies
"Naive" painters

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Last Man Standing with John Wentz | AD 116