November-December 2011: Works available

Green Meanders.

Acrylic and gesso on paper, 30 x 22, unframed (framed: 37" x 29").

Under the Boardwalk.
Tinted gesso over acrylic and mixed media, 19" x 19."
Perhaps all paths should lead toward summer.

Fortune's Fools. 
2-sided ornament collages on acid-free cardstock or rag paper, sizes range between 3" x 5 to 5" x 7" or so, very irregular. Strung with fishing line on a swivel. (They are not and will not be glued to the background you see here, but rather are designed to hang free and spin.)
We human beings are all Fortune's Fools.  Am in the process of creating an entire race of these. Each is an orginal and each side is one-of-a kind. 

Standing on Earth, Walking on Air.

Acrylic and mixed media collage on paper, 30 x 20."

Sometimes I don't see the big picture until a piece is done. When I put this collage on the mantelpiece to study it before I framed it, I realized that only the bottom third of these folk are standing on the lawn--the rest seem to be floating in the sky. Somehow, this seemed OK--we humans stand on solid ground only about one-third of the time. (PS: The cat and the blue bird are quite whole at the top of this collage-- I cropped too much of the photo while editing it, alas.)

Arrival of the Magi.

Acrylic, gesso, gouache and oil pastel on paper, 30" x 22."

Only after I photographed this piece did I see the Madonna inpale  orange and royal purple with the pink baby (unswaddled, evidently, as in St. Bridget's dream) lying across her lap. With that, a whole host appeared, as it frequently does in Infancy stories.  Were they shepherds or kings?  The yellow star bursting in the East  (right, top corner) clued me in. Somewhere in their colorful midst I began to see camels, horses, angels--and shimmering vessels filled with gold, frankincense, and bitter myrrh.

 The Tao.

Acrylic, gesso, oil pastel, and collage of painted paper on paper, 20" x 16 1/2." 

I was struggling with my colors one day when I realized I had to relax and let the struggle go. Later, when the piece was lying askew on the floor, I saw a figure elaborately robed walking across a Chinese mountain-scape.  The other day, my friend Rick observed that the pilgrim might be riding a rose-colored horse.

Fourth Trumpet (aka Caedmon's Hymn).

Acrylic and gesso over mixed media collage of painted papers, 22" x 25 1/2."

A blast of color and pattern over more color and pattern--like a bottomless pile of  freshly fallen leaves.

The Studio.

Acrylic and mixed media collage-painting on paper, 22 x 23 1/2."

This still life is what I call a "palette picture"--ahhh, the alchemy of colors!

The Sea-Angel.

Acrylic, gesso, charcoal, & oil pastel on paper, 22" x 22."

A cataclysm. And there in its very midst, an angel orchestrating the chaos.

 Cherries Ripe.
Acrylic, gesso, & oil pastel on paper, 22" x 22."

Nine years ago, I planted a sour cherry in my back yard, 

and in early June, my friends come and pick and make splendid pies.

 Threading the Blue Maze. 

Acrylic,gesso, oul pastel and charcoal on paper.

21" x 20," unframed (28" x 28" matted and framed.)

What can I say? Some people will thread it, and some just won't.

Alter-Egos.Acrylic, gesso, oil pastel on paper.

 (Out for a night on the town, the women are timid until 

a magician in a tall hat steps into the picture and unleashes their bold, true selves.)

Red Comet.

Acrylic, oil pastel and mixed media on paper, 30" x 22.

When the red comet comes at you, stand back!

Dear John Deere.

Acrylic, gesso and oil pastel on paper, 30" x 22."

This is not an ad for tractors.

 Business Angel.

Acrylic, charcoal and other stuff on paper, with collage, 22" x 30."

In the economy, we need all the business angels we can get.

Chain Reaction.

Acrylic and gesso on paper, 21" x 21."

I loathe chain reactions--you know, you open a cabinet and a jar of herbs jumps out and hits the jar of olive oil on the counter below and they both fall to the floor and smash, and there you are in your bare feet with oil and oregano and broken glass everywhere.  Damnation and hellfire! But it's part of the rhythm of life.

Message to Belgrade.  

Acrylic and oil pastel to be collaged on gessoed  birch plywood as soon as I buy some, 30" x 31."

I titled this, originally, "Message from Belgrade," because the morning I laid it out, I had been chatting on Facebook with a nice university librarian in Belgrade. But the picture is  very cheery, whereas my associations  with Serbia are not at all cheery, thanks to recent history.  Then my friend Dan way out west messaged me that  he had just moved to Belgrade, Montana, where he set up a new classical guitar-making shop. That fit, so I sent him a message with an image of this piece.

Alphabet for a Runcible Cat.

Acrylic, gesso, oil pastel, india ink, stitchery tape and what not on rag museum board, 31 x 30."

Have no idea what a runcible cat is (if you know, tell me!), but bet he'd like this alphabet.

Centrifugal Family.

Acrylic and mixed media collage, 10" x 10."

Could not for the life of me recall the phrase "nuclear family," but had an image of a family going round and round, as the red background suggests. The redhead was s'posed to be the mother, and the brunette the daughter,but whether this is so, you may decide.

X Marks the Chromosome.

Acrylic, gesso, oil pastel, charcoal on paper, 28 5/8" x 14 1/4."

The title refers to the "girly" color pink (really, pale coral!) in this painting. Have a customer who dislikes pink and told me so--and then I spent a whole summer obsessively painting pink and near-pink pictures, damn it! The best of that series was called "All Girls Hate Pink"--my sentiments when I was little and  my favorite color at the time was the deep sapphire ultramarine blue of my first bicycle.  But as I've matured, I find I like pink--a word which alludes to an astounding variation of light red and light orange-red and pale magenta. It's a lovely part of the spectrum. When they were courting, Bill deKooning painted his wife Elaine's bedroom all manner of wonderful flesh-tones and pinks.

October Light (aka "Goodbye, Aunt Laramie").
Acrylic and mixed media collage-painting on rag board, 22" x 25." 

Stay tuned for the story on this one!

(PS have yet to proofread and edit, so pardon my typos and errors. Hope some of them are entertaining!)