Paul Soupiset

Blog

  • Looking Back: Stations of the Cross, 2012

    Looking Back: Stations of the Cross, 2012

    In 2012, I created the second and third Stations of the Cross, for use at Covenant, a church just outside of San Antonio. This version of the Stations follows the more modern versions suggested and sanctioned by Roman Catholic popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI)

     

    Station II, 2012. 12″ x 12″ x 4″ scratchboard on panel in pine box. NFS.

    Station III, 2012. 12″ x 12″ x 4″ found objects on gessoed panel in pine box. NFS.

    Second station: Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested

    While Jesus was still speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived, accompanied by a crowd with swords and clubs, who had come from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. His betrayer had arranged a signal with them, saying, “the man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him and lead him away securely.” He came and immediately went over to him and said, “Rabbi.” And he kissed him. At this they laid hands on him and arrested him. —Mark 14: 43-46

    Third station: Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin

    When day came the council of elders of the people met, both chief priests and scribes, and they brought him before their Sanhedrin. They said, “If you are the Messiah, tell us,” but he replied to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I question, you will not respond. But from this time on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?” He replied to them, “You say that I am.” Then they said, “What further need have we for testimony? We have heard it from his own mouth.” —Luke 22: 66-71

  • Looking Back: Cairn, 2012

    Looking Back: Cairn, 2012

    Dry-stacked cairn, Paul Soupiset
    October 13, 2012, 25 minutes.

    “…The cairn only fell over once while I was stacking this iteration, but the wind picked up Friday about 5pm, and when I returned to the boulder in the evening, all but the base had fallen over. Patience, yes, but the slower you’re willing to move, the easier it is. The rocks sort of tell you where they wanna go.…”

     

     

  • Looking back: bewildermefly

    Looking back: bewildermefly

    This painting is about eight years old. It has appeared in GENERATE Magazine and in packaging design for an Eric Peters album, The Birds of Relocation. 

    bewildermefly,
    Paul Soupiset, ca. 2009; acrylic and mix media, ±54″ x 60″
    collection of Steven Gonzalez / photo: Steven Gonzalez.

     

  • Articles 01

    Articles 01

    Articles 01, 2017. 12″x12″x2″ encaustic, acrylic and Uni Posca white ink-paint on birch panel. For sale. 100.

  • 4 New Works, September 2017

    4 New Works, September 2017

    I put the finishing touches on a few paintings/assemblages this weekend/week:

    • Lunargrope II, 2017. 12″x12″x2″ acrylic and Uni Posca white ink-paint on birch panel. For sale. 85. Sold.
    • Ghost Ranch I, 2017. 12″x12″x2″ acrylic and Uni Posca white ink-paint on birch panel. For sale. 85. Sold.
    • Labyrinth #12 (Dark Night), 2017. 12″x12″x2″ acrylic and on gesso board . For sale. 85.  Sold.
    • Lakebox, 2017. 4″x 4″x 11⁄2” ″ acrylic and found objects on birch panel. For sale. 25.  Sold.

    Lunargrope2

    Darknight

    GhostRanch1
    LAKEBOX

     

  • New Yeller.

    New Yeller.

    New Yeller, Summer, 2017. 30″ x 40″. Acrylic and pencil on gallery-wrap canvas. For sale. 150. Sold.

    Yeller1

    (This painting, New Yeller, is an homage to an earlier painting I did that’s
    in the collection of Steven Gonzalez. I’ll try to post it soon, too.)

     

    Yeller3

     

  • Design: Reconstructing Audible Sigh’s Album Art

    Design: Reconstructing Audible Sigh’s Album Art

    “Quite possibly one of the best Americana records of the 90’s.
    No, make that one of the best records, period.” — Paste Magazine

    Earlier this year, Bill Mallonee of Americana legends Vigilantes of Love (VoL) set up a Kickstarter campaign toward the release of what was arguably their most celebrated album, Audible Sigh, as a 180g vinyl reissue. The campaign created a limited edition of 200 copies of the album that Paste included in their 50 Best Alt Country Albums of All Times. Produced by Buddy Miller, and featuring appearances by Nashville greats Emmylou Harris, Brady Blade, Phil Madeira, Buddy and Julie Miller.

    My task was to re-create the iconic Audible Sigh album cover I had first designed in 1999 when Rhythm House Records was my client. No digital files existed in archives, at least according to the original agency. I then set out on a multiple-month journey to recreate the cover and re-interpret the inside art as a 12″x12″ four-panel gatefold album jacket. The work progressed slowly, in the margins of my time, usually in the evenings.

    I reconnected with Lex Thompson who fortunately still had the digital copies of the band photos. I researched and rediscovered an archival photo of questionable resolution that I had sourced and licensed in 1999—by a now-defunct company—as a fitting cover photo. I digitally re-created the typography, distress-marks, stencil overspray, and logo, and scoured my archives to find the pieces and parts of the back cover: a scrap of a wall texture, a scan of a mechanic’s claim card number, and a public domain woodcut of a bird. These were all reassembled as the album took shape.

    What follows are a few process photos from the job:

    VOL-AudibleSigh-Rebuild-Process

    Easter egg: in the original tray card, the two scraps of paperback text were inscrutible; this time around, I knew that the 12″ x 12″ footprint would mean some fan would be examining the art to see what the text said; I decided to recreate them using pages from Frederick Buechner’s Godric, a story dear to both the songwriter and me.

    VOL-AudibleSigh-Rebuild-Process2

    Bill and I worked through the liner notes’ placement, readability, and bandmate photos. in an iterative process:

    VOL-AudibleSigh-Rebuild-Process4 VOL-AudibleSigh-Rebuild-Process4B VOL-AudibleSigh-Rebuild-Process4C

    VOL-AudibleSigh-Rebuild-Process3

    VOL-Vinyl Record MockUp

    “Bill Mallonee… [has] remained fascinated with the shadowy emotional toils and struggles inherent in the American experience, compelling, insightful, [he] continues to probe through Americana rock and roll proving that sometimes the only story worth telling is that of the journey.”
    — Rolling Stone Magazine

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  • Magnificat

    Magnificat

    Magnificat, 2011. 251⁄4” x581⁄2” x 21⁄2” acrylic and found objects in plaster on wood panel. Custom-welded metal frame. For sale. 900.

    I created this Magnificat in 2011 at the request of Alamo Heights Methodist Church in San Antonio, Texas for their Advent series.

    Magnificat-Vertical

  • Standoffish: Aluminum Anagrams

    Standoffish: Aluminum Anagrams

    This casual series comprises a series of digital photographs of 4-inch black, anodized aluminum letters with threaded standoffs, set against caliche. All words are anagrams of the word “LODESTAR.” Photographed September 12, 2017 at Lodestar house in the Frio River Canyon in the Texas hill country.

     

    Soda2048 Lore2048 Slated2048 Rosa2048 Roasted2048 Salted2048 Dolts2048

  • Lunargrope I

    Lunargrope I

    Lunargrope I, 2017. 12″x12″x2″ acrylic and Sakura ink on birch panel. For sale. 85. Sold.