WAIM 173: Artist Wayne White

Wayne White knew he had an artistic gift at a very early age. By the time he was in first grade, White had begun making drawings of The Beatles and selling them to kids for a portion of their lunch money. At six years old, Wayne White had made his first dollar in the art world, and in many ways he never looked back.

While Wayne was certainly blessed with innate talent, growing up in rural Tennessee meant there were no outlets for a creative kid. Wayne tried his best to play the role of athlete, largely to impress his father who was also a coach, but his athletic prowess was mediocre at best. Eventually, by middle school, White began engaging fully in his artistic inclinations, making a path for Middle Tennessee State University as soon as he had finished high school. The University offered little more than a basic arts program, but for Wayne it was the first time he had been around a group of people who were also motivated and energized by visual art.

After finishing his degree and then working in the Nashville advertising scene for a year, White set off for New York City to try and make a name for himself. For more than three years, White worked day jobs while scratching out creative work on the side. He helped to make ends meet by performing underground puppet shows at events and parties. Eventually, this work dovetailed perfectly with a new kids show that was in production for CBS. Wayne White would go on to be a key member of Pee Wee’s Playhouse, building puppets, set pieces, and other ephemera for the entirety of the show’s run.

In addition to his puppetry and his work on Pee Wee, Wayne White has become legendary for his thrift store word paintings, where he takes a second hand painting and adds hand lettering, often with satirical or snarky messaging to create a whole new piece of art. White initially thought that these paintings were nothing more than a lark, until he staged a show at a local cafe, which in turn led to a proper gallery showing, and eventually a full show and a massive retrospective book called Maybe Now I’ll Get The Respect I So Richly Deserve, which was done in collaboration with the designer Todd Oldham.

With a cache of incredible visual work in his catalog, Wayne White was even the subject of the 2012 documentary, Beauty Is Embarrassing, a lovely portrait that is a combination of White’s personal and artistic journey as well as his artistic philosophy and workflow. During our conversation, Wayne and I cover the allure of used things and we dive into the beauty of junk. Wayne shares his battle with overthinking things, and he even shares some advice on listening to the process when doing creative work.

Let’s get into it.

Cheers,
Matty C