This is a cast “reproduction” of my stone carving “Blue Ruins”, a carved Bluestone paver. The paver is extremely hard, and required a lot of work with diamond power and hand tools. I polished some areas and left others rough.
The carved stone paver is darker in color and fairly uniform, but this cast is a lighter color with contrasting specks. I really like this effect.
For this photo shoot I added the face, cast in the same material. I may attach it permanently. The artistic warm lighting lighting at left is by digital effect, the right image (full and detail) was photographed with natural sunlight.
Always did love the work of those amazing “Golden Age” illustrators (the Robinsons, Rackham, Beardsely, and more). Their influence certainly does creep in to my work now & then! Enjoy the inspiration of the Golden Age at the online Art Cyclopedia!
UPDATE #2: the morning of day 2 of the show I get to the gallery before it opens, whip away my piece, and hightail it to PT Art & Frame to get museum glass: the glare & reflections where it hangs completely obscured the work! Looks way better now, after this infusion of effort and $$$’s!
UPDATE: one (only one) accepted: Galaxy of Bones is in the show Alchemy of the Abstract at Northwind Arts Center opening Friday, and for the month of June.
Yes, I am doing it again: submitting (3) art works to yet another local juried art show. Got to wonder why: it makes me crazy! I get stressed, indecisive, busy (preparing or procrastinating on other things) and it costs money! Maybe it is the getting busy part that makes me do it: sometimes I get quite a lot done on other art projects or cleaning my studio!
Still it is quite stressful and not very rewarding even when my work does get accepted. And it is only maybe 60% of the time that one of 3-4 submitted works is accepted. It is always hard when all the pieces are rejected for a show. Also I have never sold work in a juried show, although I have sold when I arrange my own solo exhibit.
My new mini-print mini folio: the folio is 6″x7.5″, & has the hand rubbed iris print on the front. Inside are two variations from a shellac matboard plate, mounted for easy removal. The plates are 3″x3″. The color on the 2nd fuschia print is watercolor painted added after the print was dry.
I was tired working in the print shop yesterday afternoon, especially after completing an edition of 16 for our current print exchange. To experiment & use up ink, I grabbed leftover paper and printed some more, using the Iris that is featured in the edition with other recently created plates. Select an image to see the folio and these other prints in the larger lightbox display.
If only I had managed to get them straight on the paper! Oh well…
The finished work: after playing with some digital collages (prototypes for the design), I used my water soluble graphite stick & disk to paint in the dark ground and the tree & sky background.
I had scanned a some images in the Rubens’ book, and isolated the three figures I wanted to use from the black & white photos of his paintings.
I sized these for my work, printed them, then added these using matte medium to my graphite painting, making this mixed media collage. Then I went to work with watercolors to tint the figures. I have left the background only partially tinted: just a hint of color.
I am amused, at least for today, and that is satisfying! And now I have framed this piece as if still on the drawing board, with the title: Rubens: An Exorcism via the Drawing Board. I have left in the paper clips, used acid free paper tape on the corners, etc. but all after carefully flattening out the paper, using framing spacers, etc.
The Rodin book with “Hand of God” drawing added (artistic license :-)
Select the image to see the rest of the story….
The photo now added is the start of a new work based on another 1939 era art book by the same British publisher, George Allen & Unwin, LTD London. These books are hardbound with plain cloth covers, just the artist’s name in large letters across the very top, and the full name along the spine. They include some biographical material, but are largely made up of black & white photographs of work, with a few color plates. These belonged to my maternal grandfather, Robert Sivell.
I am struggling with this surprising imagery and and with my use of paint. I don’t usually start with paint, or even work so primarily in paint. Often I start with a drawing, or collage, or other … Here I started with paint and a plastic card & palette knife. And there is only a bit of “drawing” with pastel & graphite, mostly “painted” over with a wet brush so more like painting.
The imagery I can hardly speak to :-) it is so iconic / religious. It may come from recent reading set in traditional Middle Eastern culture, but it has other symbolism as well. We all carry a burden, we try to persist, to accept, and to continue on as best we can.
