"Honor and Integrity"

($80.00......5" x 5"......mounted on a 1/8" depth clayboard and floated on a linen mat in a custom frame)


"Lasting friendship is crowned with honor and integrity." These two character qualities seem to be in short supply these days. This is a good day to be thankful for any friend in your life who possesses them. (The quote was inspired by an inscription in a book from the 1880's.)

This is a pouring medium piece which I manipulated to create a marbled paper effect like the end papers found on the inside covers of many old books. I began by covering the entire paper with Titanium White + Pouring Medium. (You will need to hold it up over a cookie sheet and turn it repeatedly to get good coverage over the whole sheet.)

The other colors were poured over this first layer of white and then I picked it up by diagonal corners and let the colors mingle together by tilting the paper slowly in several directions until I was satisfied that the strong color blocks were dissipated. My intent was not to have such bold and solid color shapes in this background, but a marbled look instead.

I knew I wanted to create a "library piece" so I turned to my collection of old books until I found this dedication to a friend in the front of the book. The actual torn piece of this quote was covering too much of the background so I opted to print it on silk tissue paper for the purposes of transparency. But I did decide to include the embossed seal which is opaque because of the texture. However, it looked a bit out of place until I figured out that I needed a line engraved transparent print over laying the seal. Once that was done, and all the pieces were in place, I then wrote the quote. Experience has taught me to establish a particular look or mood in the piece first before coming up with a precise concept. Everything will flow together better and look a lot more convincing than trying to force a particular concept in the beginning.  It's all about letting go and responding to the passion of the look and the spontaneous techniques that bring about a strong visual. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"The Library" (sold)

(sold)


"Books have the power to take you to far away places and very deep thought." Some of my fondest memories are curling up in a favorite chair and enjoying a good book. There is something very rich about holding the book in your hand....even if you have an iPad or Kindle. My library is my prized possession. How about you?

In some of my larger works, I have completed at least 6-8 pieces over the last few years that I call "library pieces". They all contained collage elements that were very old and generally they all contained small and very old books I have purchased in antique stores across the country. Some of them had a window cut out of a book cover that was filled with an inclusion of fused glass. None of those pieces are in my possession now so I am concluding that library pieces with a very traditional look are still in demand.

This piece reminds me of some of those works for the same reasons. This piece has an old book page, a piece of very old music from a hymnal, some of my own lettering printed on silk tissue paper and a stock photo of a butterfly. An excursion into a library will often have a wall piece containing specimens of butterflies or drawings of plants, etc.

Without intending to, after the pieces were assembled and shapes were formed, I looked at the piece from across the room and the orange shape from top to bottom reminded me of a book mark. The "bling" is the silver leaf. The upper right hand segment was dulled a bit by rubbing on some walnut ink and then blotting.

Another technique with Speedball Printing Ink is in the bottom right hand corner. If you brayer on the printing ink and let it dry, you can dip your pen into water and write into the ink and reveal the color underneath. Likewise, you can drop water or make a fingerprint into the ink and create some texture. I encourage you to try some of these things and see how your library pieces turn out.  And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.