Kitchen Strainer

Kitchen Strainer   watercolor   4.5 x 6.5

is a small painting...very small.  Taping the edges allowed for a small border.  The painting was done quickly.  Perhaps its small size didn't allow for as much "investment".  And it is one of my recent favorites.  The border ran into the metal rim (which I like).  The handle is rendered in a painterly way, which only implies reality.  The challenge was to imply the mesh bowl on the strainer without providing the lines that we know are there.  Instead, I used small dots of the background implying its translucent nature. 

Less emotional investment.  Less time.  An opportunity to play.  What could be better?  Making small paintings is a terrific way to spend time....when you only have a little of it.

Boyhood

Boyhood   oil   40 x 30 x 1.5

is a painting done from the heart.  Four boys are dangling from a cable over a river, into which they eventually plunged, I am sure.  Memories such as these are embedded in my soul.  Boys.  Dangling.  Fun.  For this work, the preparation was necessary and meticulous, as I wished for the group gesture to rule....I wanted to see these four bodies as one amoebic thing.  Everything related to everything else:  pairs of arms to pairs of arms; torsos to torsos; swim trunks to swim trunks; and legs to legs.  Not to mention the multitude of other relationships between the aforementioned parts.  The negative spaces were crucial for this to occur.  I wanted the feel of the moment to override any sense of reality.  I am reminded of this quote by Leonardo da Vinci:

Study the science of art.  Study the art of science.  Develop your senses - especially learn to see.  Realize everything connects to everything else.

Ah, yes.  Overwhelming but true.

Warts and All

Warts and All   Watercolor   4.5 x 6.5

Quite frankly, I think that the title says it all.

Here's to wabi sabi beauty...jolie laide, imperfection, dappled and the good with the bad.

Warts and all!

Come. Sit.

Come. Sit.    Mixed media on toned paper   20.5 x 15

I love chairs.  Especially those that beckon.  Each has a personality.  And each bears the weight of those who have sat before.  This large drawing was accomplished by means of several mediums.  The white conte accomplished most of the wicker, with the toned paper standing in for shadow areas and with the added benefit of giving the impression of wicker without the over-abundance of stroke-making which, in my opinion, lessens the power of the work.  A template made of tracing paper was used to isolate the pillow area where relief ink was used.  It was nice.

Too nice.  Why am I so attracted to chairs?  I guess it is because I rarely sit down.  On the day that I was working on this drawing, I kept notes of my own stream of consciousness....of all of the things on my "to do" list, all of them keeping me from sitting, from relaxing.  A soft graphite stick was used for the calligraphy....done quickly, unevenly, as if I had no time for the task.  T'is true. 

"Come. Sit." was made more personal by this addition, more meaningful.  More me.