The Story Behind “Reference Image”

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If you ask Keith Vargo exactly how he makes the works in Reference Image, he won’t tell you. But he will tell you about his creative mentor, who he describes as “basically Edna Mode from that Pixar movie, The Incredibles – with the long cigarette holder and forever bob hairdo, topped off with a Hungarian accent.” 

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He met this unlikely mentor in 1994 while working for the World Academy of Art and Science.

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“She was harshly critical, rarely giving compliments, even to her more famous contemporaries,” Vargo recalls. “When I showed her some of my first drawings on paper she said, ‘You little [bleep]. Where did these come from? They’re very good.’”

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Those words of encouragement moved Vargo to switch his creative focus from poetry to visual art. He later began exploring digital work when he was diagnosed with a neurological condition in 2020.

 

Although these works may be created in the digital realm, they have a very physical presence, as they are printed on unprepared wood panels using a unique printing process that creates strong texture.

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“The prints are not smooth at all,” he says. “I encourage people to run the back of their hand over a piece to feel it.”

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The digital illustrations in Reference Image are made from a single image he initially wasn’t satisfied with: “So I thought I’d throw it in the blender and see if I could make something better.”

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This became a series of colorful, structural abstracts. Vargo says he loves to create in a series, doing a deep dive like a photographer and making 40, 50 or even 100 illustrations before he selects the ones he likes best – looking for composition, color and movement that “speak enthusiastically to each other.”

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“I make these to keep my brain active with invention and flow and stretch,” says Vargo. “I make something every single day. Visual art is my diary and a real lifeline.”