Painter, illustrator, and comic book creator Aron Wiesenfeld (Deathblow/Wolverine, Y: The Last Man) is venturing into a new narrative style with his new crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, Playtime: The Post-It Note Drawings, a 120-page deluxe hardcover collection of his previously unpublished ink drawings on Post-it notes which will be interspersed with short writings or poems.
“I think of these small drawings like short stories, they are based on inspiration that I found in daily life,” Wiesenfeld is quoted as saying in the press release. “My hope is that you will browse through it on a rainy day, and be inspired too.”
Wiesenfeld typically creates in oil paint and charcoal, skillfully blending traditional techniques with a distinctly contemporary subject matter. He is best known for his striking, large-scale paintings, which convey a dreamlike essence, often portraying solitary figures that evoke feelings of melancholy, isolation, and the loss of innocence.
Wiesenfeld’s evocative artwork has graced 15 solo exhibitions across the globe, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Oslo, Amsterdam, and Rome, and won the admiration of fans worldwide, including the likes of Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro and iconic cartoonists like Mike Mignola, Jim Lee, and Kevin Eastman.
Before establishing himself as a celebrated oil painter, Wiesenfeld made his mark as a comic book artist, earning an Eisner Award nomination for his 1997 work on the Marvel Comics limited series Deathblow/Wolverine, alongside Richard Bennett. His captivating comic book covers also played a crucial role in defining the atmosphere of the groundbreaking series Y: The Last Man, written by Brian K. Vaughan, with interior art by Pia Guerra, José Marzán Jr., Pam Rambo, and Clem Robin.
The Beat caught up with Wiesenfeld over email to discuss his recently launched crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter for Playtime: The Post-It Note Drawings, the challenge of using only ink and a 3×3 inch paper “to depict the same things that one would want to see in a painting,” the liberation of working in a smaller medium, and his upcoming graphic novel.
OLLIE KAPLAN: You have previously mentioned that the inspiration for your paintings often begins with a mood inspired by a specific place (e.g., pathetic fallacy, where the mood of your subjects is usually in line with the mood of the transitional environments in which they’ve been painted). How did you translate the depth of emotion found in your oil paintings to a different medium, the Post-it note?
ARON WIESENFELD: The ideas for my paintings are usually based on a real place or person. If I see something that catches my eye, what I typically do is make a sketch of the scene from memory. I end up with a lot of those sketches, many more than I could ever use to base paintings on. The Post-Its have come in very handy because they became an outlet for those unused sketches. To your question, the challenge, using only ink lines on 3×3 inch paper, becomes how to depict the same things that one would want to see in a painting, such as character, story, mood, atmosphere, etc. Every line has to be meaningful. I have such admiration for the great cartoonists. That’s exactly what they do.
KAPLAN: In your paintings, you often explore the concept of “North,” a metaphorical, timeless place. Can your fans expect this concept to appear in your smaller (literally!) works as well? How do you approach storytelling within such a constrained medium?
WIESENFELD: As far as subject matter, I’m working with the same themes as in my paintings. One thing I have found is that since the Post-its are less time consuming, the bar is lower, so it has been very liberating. It allows me to explore ideas that were not as developed initially, yet had some kernel in them. I think sometimes you have to expand an idea into a finished form, even if it’s only a small drawing, to find any potential that was there.
KAPLAN: Since your art book is titled Playtime, how does play help you grow as an artist—and a person?
WIESENFELD: When there isn’t a weight of worry hanging over your work, such as financial, perfectionism, etc, then it’s fun. The studio is a place for me where the outside world stops when I close the door. I give myself permission to have fun there.
KAPLAN: In the reverse, can you elaborate on the limitations you set for yourself, using only black ink on yellow paper, and how they influenced the final pieces and helped you grow as an artist? How do you see these Post-it note drawings fitting into the broader narrative of your artistic journey?
WIESENFELD: I think having limitations is important for any artwork. An unlimited time frame and unlimited budget is a recipe for disaster. I think the Post-it drawings have taught me that the most interesting artwork comes out of doing all you can with very limited means.
KAPLAN: What do you hope your fans take away from Playtime? Does the work challenge or redefine the boundaries of traditional art forms?
WIESENFELD: I had fun, and was inspired, and my hope is that people who look at the drawings will feel what I felt when making them. To me that would be a great success.
KAPLAN: How did your comic book roots shape your art career?
WIESENFELD: I was immersed in comics in my formative years. That’s carried over into my paintings for sure, but how that’s happened is hard for me to judge objectively, I’m too close to it.
KAPLAN: Is there anything else you would like to add?
WIESENFELD: In addition to this book, I am also finishing a graphic novel. It will be published first in France at the end of the year, and in the US next year. The french title is “La Fuite.”
Check out The Beat‘s exclusive preview of Wiesenfeld’s Playtime below:
You can back Aron Wiesenfeld’s Playtime on Kickstarter, beginning today, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. For more updates follow Weisenfeld on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
