Archive for March, 2006
Ancient Mayan Bowl Chair
Thursday, March 30th, 2006
Mayan Bowl Replica - 29 x 29 x 29 inches durable, functional, comfortable refurbished Vintage1960’s plastic lawn chair, Mixed Media
This replica of an ancient Mayan artifact reutilizes a vintage plastic lawn chair that was considered Art in its own day. The refurbished chair was created by a process of weaving canvas strips and white glue paper-mache style over the entire plastic top and bottom, layering wall plaster sanded in between coats, acrylics paint, varnish, graphite, marker, more varnish, then waxed for durability. Three more chairs are yet to be created with historic Art themes from other cultures.
The original bowl design is from the Late Classic Period of Mayan history, 600 - 900 A.D. Common Era, portraying two water Gods witnessing the birth of the all-important Maize God who immerges from a turtle, symbol of the earth and origins thereof. Customarily, hieroglyphs written along the top rim show the bowl-owner’s name and what the bowl was used for.
Inspirational resource: Maya, Divine Kings of the Rainforest edited by Nikolai Grube ISBN 3-8290-4150-0
Post-dated notes: Accepted into Grand Prairie Arts Council Juried Exhibition and Sale Sept./Oct. 2007, and won Second Place cash award, 3D Category. Also accepted into Artjury.com’s 2007 Fall/Winter Juried Online Exhibition.
Bluebonnets - Four Abstracts
Thursday, March 23rd, 2006
Set of four 3 x 4 inches Oil Pastels on paper studies of Bluebonnets.
These studies are based on Springtime scenery along Beltline Road in Irving, Texas three years ago. Fields of Bluebonnets are now replaced by a major housing and commercial development.
Bluebonnets #3
Wednesday, March 22nd, 2006
Bluebonnets - 16 x 12 inches Dry Pastels on paper, framed 19 x 15 inches
Bluebonnets #2, Abstract
Monday, March 20th, 2006
Bluebonnets #2 - 36 x 24 Acrylics
I’m trying a new angle on the subject, and kept my glasses off for this one!
Bluebonnets, Marble Falls, Texas
Saturday, March 18th, 2006
Bluebonnets, Marble Falls, Texas - 16 x 20 inches Acrylics on canvas
This is one of those paintings that was taken past the stage where I should have stopped and left well enough alone. However, if I hadn’t taken it further I’d have missed out on a lot of learning. Sometimes the experience is what becomes of our work, and if we’re lucky: a decent product. In this case it was both. One of the interesting experiences with this painting was adapting to a small sized, slippery store-bought canvas, whereas I’m most comfortable painting on large home-built frames at least 3 ft. wide, stretched with canvas that has more texture. Trying to find the right colors of blues and greens was also something I sought throughout. The painting has been reworked many times; I scratched and scrubbed off days of work and began again many times. For that reason, it took over two years to complete; I worked on other things in between, but started in 2004, it wasn’t finished until 2007. A few images of earlier stages:
When Life Gives You Lemons, Draw Them
Friday, March 10th, 2006
Above: 2nd version, left: 1st version
When Life Gives You Lemons, Draw Them 11 x 14 inches Dry Pastel on charcoal paper
The first version of the ’Lemons’ still life was acceptable yesterday, but I felt the drawing did not have quite enough “zest”, so I took the drawing a little further. Even if it risks ruining the work you’ve already established, if you know intuitively that the piece needs more then you need to go there; the extra effort almost always pays off.
Guanaco Family Portrait
Friday, March 3rd, 2006
Guanaco 16 x 20 inches Acrylics on canvas, framed $550.00
The Guanaco, pronounced “wan-a-co”, is a member of the camel family and native to South America. This particular Guanaco greets visitors who drive through Fossil Rim Wildlife Park in Glenrose Texas.