Oil Painting
8×10″ panel
I must have Summer on my mind. In this landscape I tried to capture those dreamlike feelings we get, brought on by something as easy as a walk in nature…spots of sunlight, fluttering leaves, a river flowing…
Please email me if you are interested in this painting.
Poplar wood mosaics
painted, hand-beveled and sanded
These are some shapes I’ve been working on for some of the next mirror frames (see previous posts on these). It’s a tedious process involving lots and lots of sanding. I use the band saw to work out some free-form shapes, then hand-craft with an assortment of home-made sanding tools. Each piece has got to be beautiful on its own. Eventually I’ll work the rest of the mosaic around a few of these; not a pre-determined design. That would take the fun out of it for me.
You never know what will inspire you - in this case it was my lava lamp!
Poplar wood mirror frame
24.5×24.5″ dye, paint glazes
By now you’ve noticed that I have extensive bodies of work in three mediums: paint, silverpoint, and wood. “Fiesta” is the second in my developing series of fine art mirror frames. All of these are wood mosaics. I painted/dyed poplar wood panels before cutting the disks on a band saw. I then hand-beveled the edges using various grits of sandpaper, course to fine. I wanted to cut through the color, to encircle each disk with a ring of light wood.
The first mirror frame “Currents” was posted here on December 8, 2009. Other references to these are in the October 8 and September 22, 2009 posts.
Please email me if you are interested in buying this hand-crafted mirror frame.
Silverpoint Drawing
7×5″ pale ocher prepared panel
This is an earlier silverpoint drawing from my collection, based on the painting “Head of a Boy” by Signorelli. I’m always trying new ways to use line.
Not For Sale yet.
Silverpoint Drawing
7×5″ gray-green prepared paper
When I began to work in silverpoint, way back in the ’80s, I selected familiar portraits from the Renaissance period and practiced my technique by copying them. (Silverpoint is a Renaissance-era drawing medium that predates the pencil. A silver wire is inserted in a wooden or metal holder and used as a drawing instrument. The silver lines will gradually tarnish to a warm sepia tone.) I still enjoy the practice of copying from the masters and drawing from my large collection of shells, skulls and many natural objects.
While drawing from DaVinci’s painting of Mona Lisa I saw that there are many “lifts” in the face: along the eyes, forehead, corners of the mouth, cheeks. The more you look, the more you see. Each time I draw this face, the seeing goes a little deeper.
I prepared the paper with a pale gray-green tone and used white charcoal for highlights. To learn more about silverpoint please visit My Website.
Please email me if you are interested in this drawing.
Oil Painting
8×6″ art panel
This portrait is my contribution to the Different Strokes From Different Folks annual portrait swap.
Every 2-3 weeks artist Karin Jurick posts a photo on the DSFDF blog. The whole point is to use the photo for reference only, and let your creativity run free.
Oil Painting
4.25×4.25″ bevel-edge panel
I saw my first magpie in Montana this past Spring. Eye-catching black and white magpies (with a touch of deep blue) were easily spotted amidst all that scenic greenery.
Sorry, this one’s not for sale - please ask about others.
Oil Painting
7×5″” art panel
Season’s Greetings, everyone! Yay, we’re having a snowy Christmas week!
Silverpoint Drawing
5×7″ lavender-gray prepared paper
To work in silverpoint is to meditate. It takes patience, and layers and layers of lines. I enjoy unwinding with this Renaissance-era drawing medium which is simply a silver wire inserted in a holder that is drawn across a slightly abrasive surface, leaving lines of silver.
The egg shaped stone with its oval bands matched the contour of the egg. I started in on the drawing, relating the two forms and forgetting about all else… I used white charcoal to highlight the finished drawing.
Please email me if you are interested in this silverpoint.
Wood Mosaic (mirror frame)
29×29″ poplar, cherry, mahogany, walnut
Every year New Hope, PA has a national juried Works in Wood exhibition at the Arts Center. “Currents” is one of two Fine Art Mirror Frames that I submitted; both were accepted. Read about it here.
This is the fifth year of Works in Wood and I’m happy to have exhibited my wood mosaics in all of those shows. To see those works, please visit My Website.
To see more details of this mosaic, please see The Art Fly archives of Sept. 22 and Oct. 8.
Please contact the New Hope Arts Center if you are interested in this work. The 16″ x 16″ mirror is included, but not shown here.