Looking for an unusual gift? There's no need to go beyond Arkansas' borders
by Ron Wolfe as it appeared in the Style Section of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, December 2, 2003

The first time I saw one of Les Waite's paintings, I did what nobody should. Touched it. It had such a soft, quilted look, I believed it was made fo fabric. But, no – acrylic paint and marker on tight canvas.
As Waites colorful paintings attract more and more attention, they lend to more guesses.

"My work is always compared to puzzle pieces and stained glass," he says. But, no – 
These are paintings he describes as "fluid thoughts built around a casual line," or "just images that come to mind."

Right now Christmas comes to mind in the window of River Market Artspace, downtown Little Rock, where several of Waite's holiday paintings are on display.

His "Old Man With Cane" turns out to be Santa Claus with a peppermint stick, and "Christmas that Shines" is Santa, sleigh, and reindeer on the fly. "So Close" describes a drama about to happen, as a thankful dog grabs the roast turkey.

Gallery owner Debra Wood says of Waite's style, "It's bold, it's very visually appealing. A lot of people think it's three-dimensional. It's interesting, trying to figure out how he did it."

"Christmas that Shines" also is available on greeting cards the gallery sells, $12 for 10 cards. Waite, 34, does a new card each year. His bag includes lights, trees and snow, even Rudolphs nose.

"You have to remind yourself of what says Christmas to the majority of people," Waite says.

He looks at Christmas the same as when people commission him to paint a dog, or a house, subjects already done more times than "Jingle Bells." The trick is to find " a new perspective, something to make it more than it actually is."

Santa's face, for example, seems made of interlocking pieces, black and white.

"It's not a conscious effort to include all races," Waite says. But finds that people often see meanings and messages in his work.

He sees lines and patterns – "doodling taken to the extreme."

His style evolved from the idea of transferring a doodle from his telephone notepad onto canvas, such a little thing turned into a big painting.

"Wouldn't it be cool?" he wondered.

"I've always painted," Waite says. "I started with oils when I was about 12." But this new way of thinking brought him a different look.

He might start with a random line, building from a swoop or a squiggle to the finished image. A billowy line, what is it – a cloud or a curtain?

Now, he says, "I have a set style," but it lends to a surprising array or subjects. He paints land and seascapes with curling waves, steam trains, fireflies.
Fanciful as Waite's paintings might look, he likes to ground some with photo reference. His web site at www.leswaite.com shows the progression from a streetscene photo to the finished painting.

Another piece shows an office building. People looking busy in all the windows. A lone figure is headed out the door, going the wrong way. The title is "Downsized."
But most are happy, sociable scenes, like the works he shows at the Sufficient Grounds coffee house in Little Rock's Hillcrest district. They practically buzz with good times.

"They are scenes from around town, things you might see if you go out for drinks with friends," he says.
Be he is seldom like one of those figures he paints, gabbing with a glass in hand. He is home painting.
Working as a graphic artist for ALLTEL, he paints at night and on weekends.

Waite is a 1992 Mass Communications graduate of Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. He has a master's in Communications from Stephen F. Austin State Univerisity in Nacogdoches, Texas, and once worked as a telemarketer. (Color that job "something I'd never do again."

Now, he sells his paintings on the Internet and ships his work around the world.

In fact, Waite's paintings cover almost as much ground as that guy with the red-and-white cane, Santa Claus.
The catch is, he has to start his Christmas paintings months early to be ready for the season. While others are basking in summer, he is looking for inspiration in tree ornament.

Once the work is done, Christmas feels like it's over.
Just about now is when he finally sets aside his peppermint paints to remind himself the real merrymaking is yet to come.

"Christmas is family dinners and buying last-minute presents,"Waite says. "You have to force yourself back into it." back to news