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Merging Visions

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

White Pine Bows, 18H x 30W x 2D inches acrylics on canvas, 2008. Sold.

Now on exhibition at Merging Visions, Creating a Unique Experience with Art and Poetry, April 1st – 30th at Emily Fowler Library and North Branch Library, Denton TX. Poems are written by members of the Denton Poets Assembly for existing Art works by members of the Visual Arts Society of Texas.

White Pine Bows by Debby Davis, October, 2008

Fragile notes fracture light into rainbow,
Bouncing branch to bough within stiff white pines,
finding my eyes uplifted; what a show!
Violinist gently pulls; taut bow whines.

Bouncing branch to bough within stiff white pines,
like the beat of an orchestra playing.
Violinist gently pulls; taut bow whines
raining harmonies; colors displaying.

Like the beat of an orchestra playing,
my thumping heart strings tug me into now!
raining harmonies; colors displaying,
I am an audience of one somehow.

My thumping heart strings tug me into now!
It is the secret that only I shall know.
I am an audience of one somehow.
Fragile notes fracture light into rainbow.

Eastern Redbuds

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

Eastern Redbuds – Spring in Dallas, TX – finished April 11, 2009, took off all remaining masking fluid. 11H x 11W x 3D inches, acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted. Signature is on the side, so one is superimposed here on the front. Hang on a wall or display on a flat surface.

Eastern Redbuds is the first of sixteen 11H x 11W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas paintings of various aspects of trees, to hang together as a group or flanking other paintings. This one uses masking medium to block out areas of white. The first layer of dried medium was removed in the above thumbnails. Afternoon post, left: Adding another layer of masking fluid, seen as yellow.

Feb. 25th: below left, looks better turned on its side but it could be hung either direction, mask was removed then the painting was overworked unintentionally – all the marks that were the whole point of using masking fluid are hardly visible.

So on Feb. 26th: below right, more mask was applied, then white painted between branches, tore away a few select areas of the dried mask and left the rest on as texture.

$350.00

Using masking medium

Friday, March 27th, 2009

Grand Fir in front of a giant Sequoia, 48H x 24W x 2D inches acrylics on canvas, using masking medium to outline the mossy dead branches.

Some work, some don’t, but I haven’t given up on it yet; work still in progress, but since this won’t be in the Raleigh show in 7 weeks I can’t afford to spend more time on it now. I hoped the flat white would work against a fairly realistic background, but it doesn’t. This could go a few ways: 1) flatten the whole surface and make the painting an abstract 2) downsize the sequoia, add shadow and color to the fir then create a more realistic forest scene 3) block out more dead firs with more masking fluid, echoing the main one, still as an abstract or realistic or 4) ditch it! Some paintings are worth spending time exploring when they reach a certain stage, and with others chalk it up as experience, re-cover the stretcher frame and move on.

Paint Arson

Thursday, March 26th, 2009

Paint Arson, 11H x 11W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted.

Frame unnecessary. Hang on a wall or display on a flat surface. Signed on the side so as not to impose on the composition.

Progress and process phases 1 and 2 images.

Painting, whatever the subject may be, is a journey through all kinds of unanticipated thoughts and associations; some are short and sweet, ending within 1 – 6 hours and not much more than a visual, but some are packed full of adventure that isn’t even realized until surfacing from a few hours of work.
A new jar of Cadmium Red medium hue was just the thing to reboot, then re-route some old habits I was falling back into, like over-working paintings. Trying a new color invigorates the work process like nothing else can, adding certain life to the results as well. Incorporated as a base, straight out of the tube or mixed with your usual palette, a new color can change everything.

(more…)

Branching Out

Friday, March 20th, 2009

Branching Out and Conifer, each 6H x 6W x 2D inches Encaustic, side surfaces also done.

Encaustic is designing/painting with beeswax. I’m not usually intimidated by trying any new medium, but wax is so unique and there are so many possibilities for it, I was a little overwhelmed when I took an introductory course with Deanna Wood. She offers her students workshop days where they can use her supplies to continue experimenting with the medium. Although I’d love to have my own supplies to work at home, the encaustic process is so messy, not to mention expensive to get started, so that is a generous offer. Today’s studio work produced 4 small encaustic paintings, and 2 are successful. Compared to other media, wax is so versatile it can be scraped off to whatever degree, reworked, layered, carved and manipulated as much or as long as you wish. It’s a lot of fun!

Iguana and Strangler Fig

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009

Iguana and Strangler Fig, Costa Rica, 11H x 11W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted. Frame unnecessary. Hang on a wall or display on a flat surface.
The Strangler Fig is a parasite. Seeds sprout in moss or decaying matter among the branches of rain forest canopies. Roots gradually extend downward and over time completely surround the host tree, which dies while nourishing the Strangler Fig growing in its place.
March 14th, March 13: Phases 1, 2 and 3 earlier progress in thumbnails below. Today layering thin washes of pale yellow, placing the iguana more into the background. Some of the details of the Strangler Fig growth that are now covered up might be brought back into focus since this is more about the tree than the iguana. Posting the painting on the blog is helpful because it’s viewed differently than while painting or studying it. It’s somehow easier to see areas that still need change when looking at it on-screen.

Chapala Wind

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

Chapala Wind – Lake Chapala, Mexico, 11H x 11W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted. Frame unnecessary. Hang on a wall or display on a flat surface. Signed on the side so as not to impose on the composition.

Sold but a similar piece can be recreated upon request. Please allow 7 days to paint before shipping.

Sprayed alcohol loosened the paint and I was able to scratch it, at first with my nails and then a pottery tool. Thanks to Karen Xarchos for all the feedback and additional information. We worked together painting murals in Ottawa for a couple of years. Karen has done extensive work in restaurants and homes in the Ottawa area.Thumbnails: phase 1 and 2 in progress.

Myrtle At The Zoo

Monday, March 9th, 2009

Myrtle At The Zoo – Crepe Myrtle branches and seedpods before pruning, February at the Fort Worth Zoo, Texas. 11H x 11W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted. Signature is on the side, so one is superimposed here on the front. Hang on a wall or display on a flat surface.

Decaying Ceiba Leaves

Sunday, March 8th, 2009

Decaying Ceiba Leaves, Lake Cote Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica, 11H x 11W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted. Sold.

Howler Monkey

Friday, March 6th, 2009

Young Howler Monkey at the Dallas World Aquarium, 11H x 11W x 3D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted. Frame unnecessary. Hang on a wall or display on a flat surface. Signed on the side so as not to impose on the composition.

Work progress detail images shown, scrubbing and scratching away more paint than adding it.

Showcased in the J. Mane Gallery’s Fins, Feathers and Fur 2020 exhibition (post-dated comment).