"Stone Carvings"

($40.00.....mounted on a 1/8" depth clayboard panel)


"Words are like stone carvings...very difficult to correct after they're chiseled or spoken." Words have tremendous power to build up or tear down. They should be carefully considered before speaking.

Diagonals are a very powerful use of line that create a lot of energy in a piece. Another dynamic was created by effective cropping which left unequal intersections with the edge, making every corner different. The camera can actually give the artist a ton of practice with cropping and I highly encourage the practice.

This particular image was rather weak in values until I strengthened it with soft pastels and charcoal powder. My next goal will be to paint it. So at some point, I will be posting it again in oils. But I must say that manipulating the photographic image with other media and techniques is a wonderful study and gives me a bit more time to experiment with the lettering.  Juggling two very different disciplines of image and lettering can require two life times of study, but I do enjoy trying. Carrying a small camera around in your purse or brief case with a zoom lens can be a very valuable tool. Anything that helps improve observation skills is good.  Just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"The Christmas Prayer"

(unavailable....in the permanent collection of dee day)

"The Christmas Prayer is filled with expectant hope." This beautiful relief sculpture with scroll work and Mary praying is a reminder of the expectant hope we have in the Christ child. With Christmas quickly approaching, it is good to think deeply about the reason for the season.

The technique with this photographic image is a bit different than the previous ones I've been posting. I used a bit heavier paper (Arches Cover) and applied Golden Crackle Paste randomly with a palette knife, making sure not to cover the entire surface. This was left to dry overnight. It could have been dried with a hair dryer, but the places where the paste was thicker does not set up as well unless it dries on its own.

The next step was to create a monoprint with Caran d'Ache inks. I used a mixture of Caribbean Sea and Grand Canyon (brown). The brown knocked down the intensity of the blue.

Fortunately, the thickness of the paper as well as the crackle paste made it through my printer with no problem. The texture is extremely dynamic and overall, I was pleased with the image and the vagueness of Mary praying. The last thing I did before spraying the piece with acrylic coating was add some burnt sienna and white soft pastels separately.

This is a technique worth trying so I hope I've given you a few more things to try or think about.

"Pinnacles of Stability"

"Classical form and tradition are the pinnacles of stability." There are seasons of celebration with family, friends, and as a country. They are important as markers of stability both individually and collectively. Just something to think about during the most celebrated holiday of the year.

This is another image from the Biltmore. The largest home in America has some of the most classical architecture I've ever seen. This is part of a bannister and my favorite form in this historic home. I used the same Pouring Medium techniques, but added a bit of collage to celebrate the Christmas season.

When taking photographs, it is good to be thinking about composition. The way you divide the space in a photographic shot will give you a repertoire of images to use when back in the studio. Generally speaking, I like to divide my design space going edge to edge. Zooming in will also offer a stronger focal point. With all the lights and colorful images this time of year, it is exciting to take many pictures and practice your compositional skills in the process.

The lettering in this piece was not the primary focus. It can be read, but the white on white values cause it to merge quietly into the background. But I can assure you that this image will read quite well from across the room. So the decision to allow the lettering to take a lesser role is sometimes the best choice if the image is dominating the space. These are just some things to observe, try, and think about.


Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Ethereal"

($40.00.....mounted on a 1/8" depth clayboard panel)


"Ethereal imagery transports me to a place where nothing needs to be added or taken away." This piece is based on a photograph of architectural elements above the windows that look into the atrium of the Biltmore. This quote can be interpreted from an artistic or spiritual viewpoint. Either way, it is lovely to be transported away from the cares of daily life and partake of beauty wherever it can be found. Take the time and be refreshed.

As you know, I have been creating imagery based on photographs. This one follows the same steps as I've stated in recent postings. But this time, I did use Titanium White mixed with Liquitex Pouring Medium to create the top coat. I also made the monoprint of Walnut Ink a bit darker because I wanted to write with white gouache.

For my Spencerian Script students, the lettering in this piece perfectly demonstrates how to make spencerian a bit more readable. I did increase the x-height a bit and added more weight to each of the down strokes. You still get the "poetic" feel with the added benefit of legibility. Now I would love to write everything a bit more illusive and less readable, but I am here to tell you that there are a great many people who want to read the quote. This will forever be a dilemma to those of us who do lettering art so you'll simply need to determine what audience to address. As for the bit of added flourishing. One easy way to figure out the placement is to start at an edge, going one direction, and then let the line go completely off of the design space and then reenter going the opposite direction and off of another edge.

Also, a bit of a reminder about pastels. Thanks to Georgia Deaver, those of us who took that class understand that if you want strong pigment that will stand the test of time, you must use soft pastels. Chalk pastels will not work. They just disappear into the background. You don't actually need every color on the planet, but just start with a few colors you know you will use regularly.....like white, raw umber, (light, med., and dark) of your favorite colors, etc. Just some more things to try or think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Timelessness"

($40.00......mounted on a 1/8" depth clayboard panel)

"Slipping into timelessness is to possess those thoughts not frozen in time." There are particular people, places, and things that are unforgettable and don't seem to fall off of the "radar screen" of our mind. The image in this piece is an architectural element from the Biltmore in Ashville, N.C. It is an element not frozen in time because it continues to inspire with its perfection of design. I know this is deep, but try to think of those things that stir up timeless memories for you. Those particular thoughts are not frozen in time. They live on.

As you can see, I am still "pushing the envelope" with my photographs. The same kinds of effects can probably be created in Photoshop, but you would not have the actual properties of paint or the original marks on the piece.

In this piece, I began again with a monoprint created with Walnut Ink on Arches Text Wove. This monoprint was created on damp paper to soften the edges of the print, but it is also possible to do it on dry paper just to see what would happen. I then printed the photograph over the monoprint by running the paper through my printer. Pencil marks and lines followed. Spray Acrylic Coating (2x)....followed by Pouring Medium plus Unbleached Titanium. Dry overnight. These are all the things I did in yesterday's post. But today, I added a bit of soft pastel by scraping it onto a paper plate and applying with a Hake brush. The surface created by the pouring medium receives soft pastel extremely well.

In the final stages, I sprayed the surface with acrylic coating again (to hold the pastel in place) followed by (2) coats of diluted gel matte medium to prepare the surface for writing. (Remember to secure the piece with a removable sticky square so that you can hold the hair dryer and brush on the matte medium simultaneously. The medium will not attach to a slick surface without heat.) Just some more things to try or think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.