Emerging Artists | Slade Wheeler

Diving into details

Slade Wheeler, Past Tense, oil, 12 x 9.

This story was featured in the July 2016 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art July 2016 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story.

Legendary architect Mies van der Rohe once said, “God is in the details,” and those famous words could also be a mantra for Slade Wheeler. The California artist creates highly detailed trompe l’oeil works that can take up to two months each to complete. The tromp l’oeil style requires tight, realistic imagery to create an optical illusion that an object exists in three dimensions. “I like to dive into the details,” Wheeler says. “I can enjoy painting rust on an object. On a micro level, so much can be revealed.”

The artist grew up in Orange County, south of Los Angeles, and early on he displayed a talent for art. Upon graduating from high school and needing to make a living, Wheeler accepted a position at an art-supply store where he framed works for artists, museums, and galleries. In his spare time, he pursued his fine-art career, enrolling in anatomy and composition classes at a nearby college. In 2004 he got his first big break when a fellow artist invited him to show his Rembrandt-inspired portraits. The show became a major turning point when a wealthy businessman bought all of Wheeler’s paintings. Believing in the artist’s talents, the patron also offered to pay him a stipend, which allowed him to quit his day job and focus on painting for three years. By the end of the agreement, Wheeler had discovered his love for trompe l’oeil works, which these days often have a touch of the surreal.

Today he makes his home with his wife and family in Bass Lake, a small town near the entrance to Yosemite National Park. His studio is filled with objects waiting in the wings to star in his paintings, including microscopes, musical instruments, and vintage photographs. Clocks, a favorite pocket watch, and rusty watch gears are also on hand; time—past, present, and future—is a recurring theme in Wheeler’s oeuvre. He relishes incorporating everything from candles to compasses to express his visual metaphors and allegories. The possibilities are “boundless,” he says. “I like the idea that I can use everyday objects to put together a thought-provoking piece.” —Bonnie Gangelhoff

representation
Meyer Gallery, Santa Fe, NM.