F Scott Hess
@fscotthess.bsky.social
I am an American painter, writer, and conceptual artist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._Scott_Hess
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._Scott_Hess
Pregnant, 1985, oil/canvas, 72x68in. I painted my neighbors in Silverlake. She was many months pregnant, a condition that seemed a million miles away from my artist's day to day existence.
April 23, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Pregnant, 1985, oil/canvas, 72x68in. I painted my neighbors in Silverlake. She was many months pregnant, a condition that seemed a million miles away from my artist's day to day existence.
The Car Bomb, 1985, oil/canvas, 54x96in. A painting about the influence of media (television in those days) and an incident in the neighborhood of LA's Silverlake involving a car bomb at 4AM.
April 22, 2025 at 4:16 PM
The Car Bomb, 1985, oil/canvas, 54x96in. A painting about the influence of media (television in those days) and an incident in the neighborhood of LA's Silverlake involving a car bomb at 4AM.
Monopoly, 1985, oil/canvas, 67x67in. The men's shirts carry images by Picasso, Beckmann, Matisse, & Modigliani. Thinking about the influence of African art on Modernism, and the art world of the 1980s.
April 21, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Monopoly, 1985, oil/canvas, 67x67in. The men's shirts carry images by Picasso, Beckmann, Matisse, & Modigliani. Thinking about the influence of African art on Modernism, and the art world of the 1980s.
When I got back to the States after 6 years in Vienna, I was thrilled by the vitality of my country, but still clawed at its underbelly. X-mas BBQ, 1985, oil on canvas, 67 x 95 inches
April 21, 2025 at 3:41 AM
When I got back to the States after 6 years in Vienna, I was thrilled by the vitality of my country, but still clawed at its underbelly. X-mas BBQ, 1985, oil on canvas, 67 x 95 inches
"2nd Generation," 1984, oil on canvas, 71x68 in. A portrait of my first LA landlords, children of Lithuanian immigrants, who wore those funny hats at their wedding ceremony. How very American!
April 11, 2025 at 4:43 PM
"2nd Generation," 1984, oil on canvas, 71x68 in. A portrait of my first LA landlords, children of Lithuanian immigrants, who wore those funny hats at their wedding ceremony. How very American!
My first painting in Los Angeles, after moving from Vienna in 1984. I was thrilled by my new city. My color use reflected my excitement. Depicted are my European and American personas, with views of the Hollywood Hills and my old studio view on the wall. "Brother, Welcome to Silverlake"
February 7, 2025 at 10:25 PM
My first painting in Los Angeles, after moving from Vienna in 1984. I was thrilled by my new city. My color use reflected my excitement. Depicted are my European and American personas, with views of the Hollywood Hills and my old studio view on the wall. "Brother, Welcome to Silverlake"
"Farewell Feast" was the last painting I did in Vienna, in 1984. After living there for six years, I moved to Los Angeles and started a new life. I was more than ready for the return to my homeland.
February 3, 2025 at 4:38 AM
"Farewell Feast" was the last painting I did in Vienna, in 1984. After living there for six years, I moved to Los Angeles and started a new life. I was more than ready for the return to my homeland.
One of the last paintings I did in 1983, one year before I'd left Vienna, my home of six years. In "Breakfast" I was already dreaming of a return to the States... gun in hand.
February 1, 2025 at 4:43 PM
One of the last paintings I did in 1983, one year before I'd left Vienna, my home of six years. In "Breakfast" I was already dreaming of a return to the States... gun in hand.
Hidden Motives, painted in Vienna, 1983, under the influence of a strong homesickness for the States and the landscape of Wisconsin, where I'd grown up.
February 1, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Hidden Motives, painted in Vienna, 1983, under the influence of a strong homesickness for the States and the landscape of Wisconsin, where I'd grown up.
I painted "Not Hungry" in Vienna in 1983, experimenting with egg tempera & oil Mixed Technique and straight oils. I like it more now than when I painted it.
January 30, 2025 at 6:05 AM
I painted "Not Hungry" in Vienna in 1983, experimenting with egg tempera & oil Mixed Technique and straight oils. I like it more now than when I painted it.
I came back from a month traveling in Europe as my city was burning. My house is safe, for the time being, but a lot of friends lost their homes, and some of my paintings have burned. So it goes. Night Fires, 1983, oil/linen. I painted it in Vienna, during what seems another lifetime.
January 29, 2025 at 8:04 AM
I came back from a month traveling in Europe as my city was burning. My house is safe, for the time being, but a lot of friends lost their homes, and some of my paintings have burned. So it goes. Night Fires, 1983, oil/linen. I painted it in Vienna, during what seems another lifetime.
Pigs Before the Storm, 1983, painted in Vienna. Dark and stormy, it seems very apt for current times.
December 14, 2024 at 6:14 PM
Pigs Before the Storm, 1983, painted in Vienna. Dark and stormy, it seems very apt for current times.
Wir Bauen Ein Haus (We Are Building a House), 1983, was a critical painting for me. I knew it at the time, too. Big, powerful, colorful, figurative, and enigmatic, it carried a touch of insanity and threat.
December 13, 2024 at 4:29 AM
Wir Bauen Ein Haus (We Are Building a House), 1983, was a critical painting for me. I knew it at the time, too. Big, powerful, colorful, figurative, and enigmatic, it carried a touch of insanity and threat.
My Vienna studio in Eisvogelgasse, painted looking at a convex mirror. 1983. Oil on linen.
December 12, 2024 at 6:08 PM
My Vienna studio in Eisvogelgasse, painted looking at a convex mirror. 1983. Oil on linen.
I just reread this review of my 2014 retrospective by Megan Abrahams. So nice when a critic takes the time, and seems to get it!
whitehotmagazine.com/articles/f-s...
whitehotmagazine.com/articles/f-s...
F. Scott Hess Retrospective
In a rapturous marriage of old world technique and new world narrative, laced with penetrating social commentary and psychological insight, the paintings of F. Scott Hess first entice us
whitehotmagazine.com
December 12, 2024 at 4:02 AM
I just reread this review of my 2014 retrospective by Megan Abrahams. So nice when a critic takes the time, and seems to get it!
whitehotmagazine.com/articles/f-s...
whitehotmagazine.com/articles/f-s...
This was the view from my studio in Vienna in 1982. Eisvogelgasse 1. I spent six years in Vienna. A few months before I left the old building with the red roof was demolished. Made me sad and angry at the time, but it became a city park.
December 11, 2024 at 6:19 PM
This was the view from my studio in Vienna in 1982. Eisvogelgasse 1. I spent six years in Vienna. A few months before I left the old building with the red roof was demolished. Made me sad and angry at the time, but it became a city park.
The Party, 1982, was an important painting for me. I was learning to paint in Vienna, and working out figures in narratives. View out the window was the view from my Eisvogelgasse studio. Art historical references abound.
December 10, 2024 at 1:51 AM
The Party, 1982, was an important painting for me. I was learning to paint in Vienna, and working out figures in narratives. View out the window was the view from my Eisvogelgasse studio. Art historical references abound.
"Samurai" 1982, when I was learning to paint in Vienna and feeling the warmth of my brick of coal. It barely heated the studio, and smelled like a steel mill.
December 6, 2024 at 4:48 AM
"Samurai" 1982, when I was learning to paint in Vienna and feeling the warmth of my brick of coal. It barely heated the studio, and smelled like a steel mill.
Painted in Vienna in 1982, during the period I was reading Van Gogh's letters to his brother. "Razor's Edge," oil on canvas.
December 2, 2024 at 6:51 PM
Painted in Vienna in 1982, during the period I was reading Van Gogh's letters to his brother. "Razor's Edge," oil on canvas.
I painted "The Wild Painters" in 1981, while in the Hausner Meisterschule in the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. I'd been learning oil paint for a year, enjoying the power of color.
November 30, 2024 at 5:47 PM
I painted "The Wild Painters" in 1981, while in the Hausner Meisterschule in the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. I'd been learning oil paint for a year, enjoying the power of color.
Looking For Alice, a painting I did way back in 1981. Painted in Vienna, while a student at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. Seems like a lifetime ago...
November 29, 2024 at 6:35 AM
Looking For Alice, a painting I did way back in 1981. Painted in Vienna, while a student at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. Seems like a lifetime ago...
Self-Portrait, 1980, mixed media on paper, 23x29in
November 27, 2024 at 6:11 PM
Self-Portrait, 1980, mixed media on paper, 23x29in
F Scott Hess, Anchises Lost, 2009, oil on canvas
November 27, 2024 at 1:45 AM
F Scott Hess, Anchises Lost, 2009, oil on canvas