"The Pine Cone"

($60.00......6" x 6"....300 lb HP mounted on a 1.50" depth clayboard)

"Form, texture, and memories reside in the pine cone." I've always had a fascination for pine cones. They have a compelling form and texture and they bring back memories of pine trees, camp, Christmas, fall, etc. They're wonderful!

This entire piece is about texture. The drawing of the pine cone was done with a pointed pen with a simple line drawing interpretation. My desire was to have a lot of rich brown color and a lot of texture. I naturally turned to walnut ink for the brown which you can see in the stained rice papers from top to bottom.

The text fragments are a few more selections from a very old copy of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's book of poetry. Many of the odd textural shapes were created by deconstruction...adhering the paper and then pulling it off. Even in the lettering, my desire was to have a very textural feel that integrated with the background texture. 

The placement of the pine cone at the bottom edge of a shape created by revealing the black gesso in the background was a natural way of creating an edge to edge shape. A few more darks in and around the pine cone completed that edge to edge look. 

Also notice how the text fragments create recurring shapes throughout. Texture is compelling, adds richness to a piece, and is worth exploring. Layering, staining, deconstructing, and drawing are all ways to add texture. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about. 

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.

"Life Story"

($40.00....6" x 6".....300 lb HP mounted on a 1/8" depth clayboard panel)

"Our life story is written by our habits." What we do in a day writes one page in the story of our life. And it takes many days to write the book. We each have the power to write our own story by the habits we form.

Process is always a fascination to all artists and even to those who wonder how art is created. The one thing I have learned is that it is best learned by doing... and doing a lot of it on a continual basis. It is the doing of a lot of art that helps the artist see their habitual marks, textures, design tendencies, etc. For instance, I am very much interested in the gestural mark, spontaneous techniques, texture, edges, unusual divisions of space, etc. This is also by (582) posting so I have a lot of pieces to study to determine what I habitually do. 

Your own artwork will tell you what direction you might want to go. My encouragement is to write down the particular things that keep reoccurring in your work and really think about where you want to go. The evolution of your own work is controlled by these kinds of choices. In this piece I have included a print of one of my pen and ink interpretative drawings of a pine cone. So I can clearly see that sketching and drawing will begin to enter the mix of my process.

I have also discovered that pushing one particular technique or way of working to its limit will give you a new direction. And it will actually happen quite automatically if you just continue to follow your passion...that one thing that is holding your interest right now.

My trend right now is to go back and forth between a grid format and covering most of the supporting surface with subtle overlays and varying textures and values. Your own work will be the most important "feedback" for your ongoing direction. And there you have it...just a few more things to think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.