When life gives you lemons, draw them, 11 x 14 inches dry pastels, graphite on paper

"When life gives you lemons, draw them." (Nikki)

"Color! What a deep and mysterious language." (Paul Gauguin)

trees

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A tale of two drawings

Friday, September 21st, 2007


 

 Northern Delights 01, Banff, Alberta, Canada, 14 x 11 graphite, waterwash graphite, oil stick, colored pencils

Northern Delights 01, Banff, Alberta, Canada, 14H x 11W graphite, water-wash pencil, oil pastel, colored pencils on paper. 3-inch-wide white double mat and 26H x 22W inch white custom-built white wood frame with crackle finish.

and

Redbuds 03, Eastern Redbuds blooming on a foggy Spring morning in Coppell, Texas. 14H x 11W oil pastels, graphite, water-wash graphite, colored pencils, eraser on paper

Redbuds 02, misty morning in Coppell, TX, 14H x 11W inches oil pastels, graphite, watercolor pencils on paperBrowsing for pieces to enter in a juried exhibition, I came across two drawings started in March that have a lot in common. Both scenes are low-light situations that were achieved by lots and lots of layering, scraping, redrawing, and using the eraser over pastels for blending as well as erasing. Both are experimental re: oil pastels vs. paintable water-wash graphite pencil.

Dancing With Trees 02 work in progress

Monday, September 17th, 2007


 

48H x 48W x 1D inches acrylics on canvas
Dancing With Trees 02, 48H x 48W x 1D inches acrylics on canvas. Layers of glaze used in final stages: Hansa yellow light, Pthalo blue, Pthalo green, Permanent green, thio violet, Mars black, Cadmium red light, Dioxazine violet

It’s the sky’s turn

Tuesday, September 11th, 2007


 
Sky detail, Dancing With Trees

It’s the sky’s turn to dance! White glaze will attach itself to the varnish I dripped on the other day.

Dancing With Trees 02 – progress

Monday, September 10th, 2007


 

Dancing With Trees - Sept. 10 details  Dancing With Trees - early details using drips of varnish  Dripping varnish, and painted upside down for about four hours

Dancing With Trees - Sept. 6(WIP Acrylics)  Dancing With Trees in progress: Sept. 4  Dancing With Trees, started August 30, 2007  Dancing With Trees started Aug.30, 2007

Dancing With Trees 02, started August 30th – 48H x 48W acrylics on canvas – progression details are combined into one post. The oil pastel with the same name, posted in March 2007, inspired the painting.

I’ve tried lots of new things with this one – am hoping to keep just the impression of branches. I don’t want too many details.  Using washes and glazes to help create the cedar branch texture I’ve dripped water, paint, glazes, and varnish across patches of color, splattered it on with a brush and also painting upside down.

Beauty

Friday, August 31st, 2007


 

Morning Moon    This morning’s sun

Beauty – the moon, the sun, and a routine of daily painting!

Crepe Myrtle

Wednesday, August 29th, 2007


 

Crepe Myrtle

7 a.m., spider webs on the Crepe Myrtle, Lewisville, Texas

Sun Shower 03

Thursday, August 23rd, 2007


 

Sun Shower 03

When I water the flowers in the front yard usually the Oak tree gets a shower too. There were a number of impressive photos from this session, but the clump of leaves in shadow contrasting with the bright sunbeams in spray brings this photo a little above the rest.

Sun Shower 03 was accepted into Studio 2600’s Holiday Light and Sparkle Exhibition at 2600 Hibernia, Dallas TX November 2007 through Jan. 2nd, 2008.

Emerald Tree Boas

Saturday, August 4th, 2007


 

Emerald Tree Boas - Dallas World Aquarium - 24H x 57W x 2D inches acrylics on canvas

Emerald Tree Boas, 24H x 57W x 2D inches acrylics on canvas, wrapped sides painted, trim frame

This painting accumulated finer detail than is typical of my work, except in graphite illustrations. The Emerald Tree Boas are one of my favorite exhibits at the Dallas World Aquarium (Texas). Their beautiful green skin has striking black and white scale patterns along the spine and a turquoise mother-of-pearl overall sheen that’s visible at certain angles where the body delicately curls and bends.
It would be nice if this painting could carry enough potency to alter the automatic responses of fear and disgust that are associated with snakes. I made Santa hats with construction paper and cotton balls, taping them on as part of our Christmas decorations.

  Left detail, Boas' Christmas, construction paper, cotton balls taped on Emerald Tree Boas, 24 x 57 x 3 inches acrylics on canvas Right detail, Boas' Christmas, construction paper, cotton balls taped on Emerald Tree Boas, 24 x 57 x 3 inches acrylics on canvas

Yellow Poplar

Saturday, July 7th, 2007


 
Yellow Poplar, Niagara Falls, NY
This week: organizing photos and material for The Majesty of Trees solo exhibition, here are the unusual flowers of Yellow Poplar – Niagara Falls, NY, U.S.A.

Raccoons

Thursday, July 5th, 2007


 
Raccoon
Raccoons

Bold and as curious about us, a family of five raccoons played in a willow tree in our son Adrian’s back yard, Ottawa, Ontario

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