Catching Bugs On My Windshield

16 x 20 mixed media

Couldn’t let 2013 get by without posted something, so here is another in my clouds and overhead lines themed pieces. Love driving highways and observing the terrain/changes and how the sky and horizons merge. Especially when you have a front moving in just before dusk…the sun can bring on such unusual and beautiful colors. Technique wise this piece was done with ink, acrylic, pen, and illustration board. Thought about putting some structures along the horizon line but didn’t want to take away from the flow I was seeing. As a whole this was some abstract elements in it but leaning more towards realism than I would normally do, but I love the way the front looks.

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My Instagram From The Loch

9×12 in. mixed media….

Gee, I posted just the work with no words and nobody called me out for it…or maybe that was a hint…lol

This was a different approach than others i have done as i started out with white on white/gesso, playing with the thick media and shaping it. Once dried the fun began again adding color here and there as the piece spoke to me…then the finial layers and massive amounts of rubbing, sanding, carving and then coloring and a finial rub…then I played with my trusty white uni-ball SIGNO…a couple of last minute color additions and clear coated for the shine. A not so instant-gram piece…title says it all, only wish i could have gotten his or her face better 😉

Fear or Boredom

8.5x11in. pen and ink.
For those in my neck of the woods Sweet Sally’s in Cookeville,Tennessee has 16 of my pieces on display. Stop by have a coffee and sandwich or a nice pastry and see my work. Should be around thru June.
When one has a show in a local art prowl, and not in one area, people coming thru can be feast or famine at times. I am not much of a book reader so I start drawing, mushing stuff together, trying to make it fit. During this past art prowl I did three pieces, two I will share…the other, let’s just say it was good exercise.
One of my early visitors started talking about taking pictures of bears in Alaska…needless to say my imagination started going from there. As for any wording my piece didn’t come with a spell checker :-). Can’t say I had any conversations about zombies, Frankenstein, or spiders but then it was my imagination running un-checked.

Frito Pie and My Saddle Oxfords

11x14in. mixed media, cut-outs.
I have mentioned before that I have been going thru my old college day’s stuff, well this is one that I cleaned up. This was a drawing class at Ottawa taught by Pal Wright with models.  I was hooked at the time on using a Koh-I-Noor Rapidograph No.00 Yellow head(one could tell a true user of these fine costly instruments, they had a black spot on their lips from sucking the ink at the tips to get them flowing again). It amazes me when I look at these drawings at the details I captured…gosh my eyes were sooooo much better then. The deal in class was we did a type of couture drawings, we were able to pick up and look, place and continue. Later in my 3rd floor penthouse/dorm studio (nicely lit desk in a shared room) I would embellish with color and cut out sections and place on fine colored papers. Needless to say imagination made them quite interesting, especially since we couldn’t fit a Chevy or Sonic sign in our classroom. Being fair though, it was my 3rd drawing class and one does get bored…and boredom in my case normally lead to creativity. Actually the most unusual thing about this drawing…the model was nude…I must have been thinking about car hops and lunch 😉

Ya Know Why Squirrels Lose Acorns

9×11 mixed media on watercolor paper.
Discovered some watercolor paper I had purchased from a Ben Franklin store in Topeka, most likely early 80’s…figured that based on the price of $2.65 for a pad of 20 sheets of 9×12. 80lb. stock. It is holding up to my techniques pretty well, normally I would prefer a heavier weight. Matters not as it works and having it in my hands I am making art…not sure if the dry streak is totally over, but it is a start…by the way I did do a 8th finger piece, I will save it for a later post.
Why do squirrels lose acorns? I think they are having so much fun gathering them, finding cool hiding places, teasing dogs, chasing other squirrels that once they go to sleep and wake up the next day its like “Groundhog Day”, …but with no recall of yesterday! I guess that’s just a nicer way of saying scientifically they have no memory of their stash, thus they gather hundreds…in hopes of finding dozens.

7th Finger

9×11 in. mixed media.
Not a bad place to be stuck, doing my orange/finger/cloud/soda series…so I present my official 7th in a series. Finding inspiration can be elusive, however I have been taking loads of pictures…nature, sunsets, trees, angles in buildings and building frames for finished pieces. But my several new illustration boards cut and ready to go remain stark white…or are they winter’s last white out on the plains 🙂
We all go thru periods and I am having one now, but I blame myself. You see when i started doing art again several years ago I told myself i will finish each piece prior to starting another (I might have fudged once or twice) and I have managed to stay this course…so far. I believe my works are fresher for it and it allows me to bounce around with my ideas, which i enjoy.
At this point I am looking for my oranges, and not to eat, can you say 8th finger……..