The William Buffett Interview is featured on The Paul Leslie Hour.
Are you here, sir or madame? It’s The Paul Leslie Hour and I want to know…are you here gentle listener?
I’ll tell you right now, this interview with internationally renowned painter William Buffett was recorded on tape in Nashville, Tennessee. More precisely, the short interview was captured on cassette tape. That tape was then broadcast on the radio. And now, you kind folks are able to listen on a variety of platforms…all for free.
Our special guest William Buffett is an artist whose paintings of New Orleans Jazz musicians and tropical and coastal landscapes have been reproduced and made popular around the world. So, you should know William Buffett was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1935 and graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Southern California. The shores of the Pacific Ocean with picturesque palm trees and glimpses of the sea have always dominated his artwork. He became interested in New Orleans Jazz in his youth and New Orleans jazz players went on to become a lasting subject in his paintings.
It is our pleasure to feature an interview with William Buffett–an artistic genius with something to say. Looking at his paintings you can almost feel the breezes of the ocean or hear the sounds of the jazz bands down in New Orleans. Stay tuned for William Buffett’s fascinating story.
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And with all of this stated, gentlemen and gentle ladies, I say let’s listen together to our interview with the great artist William Buffett.
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In this episode, we sit down with renowned painter Mr. William Buffett. He shares his artistic journey from a childhood love for copying pictures to his passion for painting New Orleans jazz musicians. Buffett discusses his recent successful exhibition and his connection to Warren Buffett. He emphasizes the universal language of art and expresses gratitude to listeners worldwide for exploring his work. This conversation offers insight into the inspirations and life of a top painter in the industry.
Transcript
The Early Years: Growing up in Nebraska and California
[2:36] I’m here at Buffett Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, sitting down with painter Mr. William Buffett. Thank you very much for making the time to speak with me.
You’re welcome. I appreciate the opportunity.
I think most stories are best from the beginning. So, where are you from?
Born in Nebraska, but ended up in Southern California just before the war in 1941. And that’s where most of my growing up was done, at the beach.
So what brought you to California?
My father was seeking a job. He heard about the weather in California and took a little, trip out there, a little pilot trip, and loved it. Brought us all out there. His wife and two children, working in the defense industry.
Discovering the Visual Arts and N.C. Wyeth’s Illustrations
[3:28] And how did you get interested in the visual arts?
From the illustrations of N.C. Wyeth. He illustrated boy’s books and I got a hold of some of those. [3:42] And that’s what I wanted to do.
What was it about painting that appealed to you? If you could put a finger on it.
It’s funny I can put a finger on it but I can’t put it into words. I just got a big thrill out of copying pictures and drawing.
Musical Influences: Swing and New Orleans Style Jazz
What kind of music did you grow up listening to?
[4:02] Swing, whatever was on the radio, which was swing at the time. It was a kind of, in the late 40s and early 50s, it was a little bit of a revival and interest in the New Orleans style jazz. When I heard that, that pretty much eclipsed everything else. I loved that.
[4:22] You were telling me a story earlier, and I hope you can share this with the listeners about, a concert that you went to see.
Yeah, I’ll say. That was a real epiphany there. I went to the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and saw it. They had what they call a Dixieland Jubilee, and they had maybe 10 or 12 bands from around the area. They were good. They were derivative, but they were good. And at the very end of the concert, they brought out their featured guest, who was George Lewis and his band from New Orleans. I don’t know, it was a little bit, like the difference between a fine burgundy and a bottle of Grey Pet, or maybe the difference between mahogany and glossy plastic. It just really hit me.
Painting George Lewis: A Portrait of a Jazz Legend
I’m sitting here right now looking at a painting of George Lewis, the one and only George Lewis. Tell me about that painting.
[5:20] As soon as I could get away, graduated high school and that, I went to New Orleans. I had, already met George Lewis backstage at the Shrine Auditorium, so he knew me when I got there. I think it was my second trip that I painted his portrait. I had no business doing it, but I didn’t even bring a six-pack of beer or anything. I just went over to his house and, took up his time painting his portrait and then took the portrait and all my stinky paint and, everything out of there. I never rewarded him really. I feel badly about that, but he was real gracious about it. Then I painted several of his side men under the same circumstances in, the following days: Jim Robinson, Joe Watson, Papa Joe outside. Papa Joe his bass player.
Love for New Orleans Jazz and Favorite Musicians
[6:10] Anybody that looks at your paintings, they can tell how much you like the New Orleans jazz.[6:14] Who are some of your favorites?
Of course, George Lewis and that group. Bunk Johnson, great trumpet player, all the really famous ones: Sidney Bechet, Joe Oliver, King Oliver, Louis Armstrong. There’s an awful lot of them. But it’s the character of the music that I like more than any particular soloist. It’s the polyphonic, complicated music. It was something new, really new.
Painting Subjects: Tropical Landscapes and New Orleans Jazz Scenes
[6:49] How do you pick the subjects for your paintings? The first paintings that I ever saw of yours were like tropical landscapes. And then I started looking at more, and then I saw a lot of the New Orleans jazz scenes.
Sort of indicates your values. I love the beach and sunshine, palm trees on the horizon, those pastel, phony Spanish stucco houses in Los Angeles. I love all that stuff. And I also love the music and the musicians who played it. So it’s really not much of a mystery why I paint both of those things.
The Artistic Journey: Finding Favorites
This can be a hard question for artists, whether they’re crafting songs or paintings or writing books.[7:36] Could you pick a favorite of what you have created?
Usually it’s the one I’m working on. Like that Zambalanga right there. That’s my current favorite. When it’s finished, if it comes up to my expectations, why, it’ll be my favorite. But if it doesn’t, well, then it’ll be the next one after that.
The Buffett Connection: Doris and Warren
Certainly with some of your ocean prints, or your ocean artwork that you’ve done, I’m sure you’ve gotten tired of answering the question of whether you’re related to Jimmy Buffett. But you’re actually related to a past guest of ours, an unforgettable woman: Ms. Doris Buffett. And I noticed that around your house you have lots of Warren Buffett books.
I like her a lot. And she’s his older sister, his big sister. And[8:29] all the books about him include her. And I don’t know, I’m not very much interested in finance, but I like the wit.
Have you met Warren?
No, I had a chance. There was a surprise birthday party for Doris and I was invited to it. I had the flu and I couldn’t travel. It was a long trip and I didn’t make it, so I haven’t met him yet. I’m invited to the stockholders meetings every May, I think it is, but that’s in Omaha and I just haven’t taken the time. It’s my own fault.
Building a Friendship: Connecting with Doris Buffett
It’s kind of an, interesting story you were telling us about how you got in touch with Doris Buffett.
[9:08] Yeah, well she wrote a letter to every Buffett in the country because she was gathering information for a book on the Buffett family and looking into the genealogy. She included a stamped envelope which was fortunate and I answered it and thought nothing of it, but evidently not many Buffetts answered. I was one of the few. She called and we just got to be friends on the phone and then she came to Nashville here and we hit it right off. Yeah, I even got to ride in her airplane.
The Joy of Painting and Escaping through Art
Working our way back to your paintings, when somebody is looking at your painting or when they buy one of your paintings, what is it that you hope the viewer gets out of of the experience?
[9:57] Oh, usually they do. They feel the sunshine or the breeze and the fresh air and the salty [10:07] ocean air and all that, or else they hear the music and they can empathize with the dancers and they feel the beat and the joy of the whole thing. I usually like pictures that show people having a good time and don’t care about the other stuff.
When you’re not painting, what do you like to do with your spare time, should you have any?
It’s just painting. I dream up new paintings when I’m not painting. [10:39] It’s my whole existence. That’s pretty much it.
Finding Inspiration in Museums and Artistic Existence
[10:43] When I go on a trip, I just go to a museum. I don’t care about meeting the people and all the history and not as much as the paintings anyway. Paintings survive empires, you know.
Exploring a New Medium: Paintings on Boxes
You were showing us earlier, and remember Buffett has two T’s, not one, that’s Buffet. Tell us about the new medium that you have.
Well, I sure will.[11:11] I participated in an exhibit put on by a private school, a private elementary high school here in Nashville. I sold a few paintings, but the woman across the aisle from me sold everything she had. It was paintings on boxes, you know. You don’t have to frame it. You just take it home and hang it up. They had a high-gloss varnish on them. You didn’t have to glass it. It was permanent. I liked the idea. I’d seen them before, but I didn’t realize how saleable they were. So I have fixed up my own series of paintings. They’re silk screened onto a wooden box and then coated with varnish and they’re on my website. No, middleman this time.
One of the things that it talks about on your website is in the past you actually visited 36 states in America and several places around the world. Tell us about the most exciting place you’ve ever been to.
Paris.
[12:17] Paris.
I felt like as a lot of artists have, I’m sure in the past, you just feel at home there. I don’t know, there’s something about it. Don’t ask me what it is, I don’t know.
I got there by airplane and landed outside of Paris and then I got on a bus and went to some remote outlying subway station or metro station. So my first exposure to Paris was popping up out of the underground right in the middle of it. And I immediately felt at home. But, you know, it’s just one place. I feel pretty at home in Greece.
Greece? What is it about Greece?
It’s a lot like Southern California, maybe that’s why. I don’t know. The classical art, the proportions, I love it. Much better than everything that followed it. Trying to be grander.
I have two final questions for you. First of all, what is your all-time favorite meal?
[13:19] Meal, you say?
Yes.
Oh, boy. Red beans and rice, I guess you’d have to say. I can have a lot of that.
Other things might be fancier and even better tasting, but you can’t eat it all the time. But red beans and rice, you can eat that all the time.
You have a New Orleans heart.
My last question, this broadcast goes out to over 40 nations around the world. [13:48] What would you like to say to all the people that are listening?
[13:52] Well, I speak a language, I mean, I work in a language that doesn’t. It crosses the barriers, you know, and take a look at it and you can be any nationality there is and still grab it. That’s all that occurs to me at the moment.
Very well spoken. Well, Mr. Buffett, thank you very, very much for taking the time to talk to me and inviting, us to take a look at your artwork.
Oh, it was fun.
It was fun. Thank you very much.
You bet.
