Andy's Window

Jim Waid

About Jim Waid, Tucson Painter One of the ironies that most living artists recognize is that, with few exceptions, one’s own home town is seldom aware of the quality and talent of many of its own. For instance, the great … read more >

Three Trees

On a hot summer day in St. Louis when I was a boy of twelve, our pick-up baseball game in Forest Park was rained out in the third inning. Seeking quick shelter until my mom could come later at the appointed … read more >

The Role of Shape/Pattern in Art (and in Life)

The Images that accompany this essay are student work, randomly selected from my recent cut-paper class assignments at The Drawing Studio. In our Drawing Fundamentals classes, we break down the elements of drawing, for example, ‘line’ or ‘space’ or ‘light … read more >

From the Archives: William Kentridge

I originally published this essay two years ago. Because William Kentridge continues to inspire and influence me as an artist and as a teacher, I’ve decided to repost it, with the addition of a few more images. Whether you are reading … read more >

On Stan The Man

My earliest memory of baseball was in St. Louis in 1940 as a 9-year-old, where we all played every second we could – stick-ball in the streets after school, and sand-lot pick-up games on the weekends. Grandma Irene (who was … read more >

The Art of Mezzotint Printmaking

Of all of the many technical approaches to copperplate printmaking, one of the richest and rarest is the art of mezzotint. At TDS we have the good fortune of having a master of the medium as one of our printmaking … read more >

The Art of Collecting Art

Why do we collect? What is collecting art? What do you collect? Anyone lucky enough to have a home accumulates things: stuff we use and need, sit and sleep on, prepare meals with, and so on. We also collect sentimental objects that have less obvious utility: … read more >

On Thomas Bewick (1753-1828)

I am always intrigued by those artists of the past who, through drawing from observation, invented a unique place for themselves in their own time. For example, I have written about Beatrix Potter, who actually created the category of books … read more >

Giorgio Morandi and the Role of Personal Inspiration

As a young artist studying in Florence, Italy in 1958, I happened one day into a gallery that was showing some small modest paintings of bottles and other little table objects by an artist from Bologna. As I contemplated each … read more >

Portraits Among Friends

Regular readers of Andy’s Window may have noted that my essays have recently focused upon some of my Tucson artist-friends. At my age of 84, I realize that our flow of work and ideas has been constantly interweaving with each … read more >