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)

Art for sale

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March Winds

Thursday, March 15th, 2007


 

March Winds, Coppell, Texas, 14H x 11W inches oil pastels on paper, ode to Jackson Pollock via oil pastels.

March Winds, ode to Jackson Pollock via oil pastels. 14H x 11W inches oil pastels on paper with 3-inch-wide white double mat and 26H x 22W inch white custom-built white wood frame with crackle finish.

“… the painting has a life of its own. My mission is to bring forth this life”.        Jackson Pollock

Styles are an intuitive response to place, emotional memories, subject, media, etc. When March Winds was finished it reminded me of some of Jackson Pollock’s work, which I never really understood until this piece unfolded in a similar manner.

Showcased in Grand Prairie Arts Council (GPAC) Open Juried Art Show and Sale September/October, 2007. Grand Prairie Memorial Library 901 Conover Drive, Grand Prairie, Texas.

Dancing With Trees 01

Tuesday, March 13th, 2007


 

Dancing With Trees 01 Cedar hedge, Coppell, Texas USA 14 x 11 inches oil pastels on paper
Dancing With Trees 01, 14H x 11W inches oil pastels on paper, 3-inch-wide white double mat and 26H x 22W inch white custom-built white wood frame with crackle finish.

Linden Sunset

Monday, March 5th, 2007


 

Linden Sunset

Linden Sunset, Springtime in Coppell, Texas. Photography available as 11H x 14W inches print, 16H x 20W white double mat

It wasn’t until reviewing all the photos I took this evening that I noticed a tiny surprise on one of the Linden flower buds. Right place, right time. Thank you Universe!
Post-dated note: Linden Sunset is accepted for the Artjury.com 2007 Fall/Winter Juried Online Exhibition.


 

$50.00          Buy Now Using PayPal


 

Four Corners

Wednesday, February 7th, 2007


 

Four Corners, 16H x 20W x 1 inches acrylics, Arizona sand, thick gel medium on canvas
Four Corners, 16H x 20W x 1 inches acrylics, Arizona sand, thick gel medium on canvas.
Inspired by the Four Corners area of western U.S., where Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico meet. The rocks and soil vary rich shades of red, and turquoise has been treasured and used in everyday objects by Navaho and other tribes in the area for centuries.

First Snow, started

Monday, January 15th, 2007


 

First Snow, 36H x 24W inches acrylics and crackle medium on canvas, work in progress

First Snow, 36H x 24W inches acrylics and crackle medium on canvas, work in progress
First Snow has many layers and blobs of paint. A damp cloth dipped in white was wiped lightly across the textured surface to create the effect of snow powder. Crackle medium also works well to help with the impression of snowfall. The scene is of tall Spruce trees in Calgary, Alberta where, on September 1st, the day I was to return to Dallas I awoke to a gentle snowfall and powder on the trees.

Morning Light

Thursday, November 30th, 2006


 

Morning Light, 48H x 36W inches acrylics on canvas, sides wrapped, narrow frame stained dark brown
Morning Light, 48H x 36W x 2D inches acrylics on canvas, sides wrapped, narrow frame stained dark brown
Post dated note: Morning Light was accepted into the 2007 American Juried Art Salon’s Spring/Summer Juried Exhibition online, and Studio 2600 Light, Shine and Sparkle Dec. 2007 – Jan. 2008.
Now sold but can be replicated in same spirit as original. Please allow at least 14 days to recreate before shipping.

Speeding by the Poppies

Saturday, September 30th, 2006


Speeding by the Poppies, Hwy 40 Tennessee, USA 14 x 11 inches oil pastels on paper

Speeding by the Poppies, Hwy 40 Tennessee USA, 14H x 11W inches oil pastels on paper with 3-inch-wide white double mat and 26H x 22W inch white custom-built white wood frame with crackle finish.

Moon Over Cypress

Wednesday, September 27th, 2006


 

Moon Over Cypress, 14H x 11W inches oil pastels on paper
Moon Over Cypress, 14H x 11W inches oil pastels on paper, framed with 3-inch white double mat and 26H x 22W inches white wood frame with crackle finish.
This turned out differently than what I originally envisioned — it’s much better because the paper shows through like stars and reminds me of time lapse photography. It is a rare piece in this series that came together quickly and will not be reworked.
Post dated note: accepted into Studio 2600’s Holiday Light and Sparkle Exhibition Nov. 2007-Jan. 2008. Now sold.

Jabiru

Friday, September 1st, 2006


 

Jabiru at the Dallas World Aquarium, 24H x 18W inches graphite on paper

Jabiru at the Dallas World Aquarium, 24H x 18W inches graphite on paper

Post-dated note: Accepted in the J. Mane Gallery’s Fins, Feathers and Fur 2020 exhibition, unfortunately no longer shown in the gallery archives in 2022.


“Drawings have a job to do: to provide viewers with more than just a pretty picture. There are tones implied through those tones!”


 

Jabiru are large South American prehistoric-looking birds standing 4-5 ft. high. Reference photos for ‘Jabiru’ were taken at the Dallas World Aquarium, where I’ve spent many visits watching a pair of them interact. Fortunately, I can usually study them in silence, because everyone else’s attention is on the flashy coral-colored flamingos just down the aisle.
Before starting I envisioned a drawing based on Japanese principles of using fewer lines and shading, with empty spaces considered as much a part of the drawing as every mark.

This is not the prettiest subject, precisely one of the reasons I chose to keep the drawing soft. By purposely compromising the values and using a lighter touch, my hope was that the viewer’s response might be pleasant before thinking “ugly bird”. To explain further, the Jabiru’s feathers are pure white and its head including beak are very dark grey, almost black. I was stubborn about the style staying gentle and simple, having negative space speak as much.
Whereas a photograph utilizes the whole range of dark and light values, copying everything, a person chooses the amount and quality of dark and light values to apply in order to attain the intended the effect on our emotional impressions.

The Jabiru’s huge beak strikes a strong silhouette by shape alone, so to lessen the impact of the large, odd shape on a fairly empty page, extremes were avoided even though the bird’s beak is quite dark in reality.
I really want stress here that a drawing is not a photograph, and a photograph is not a drawing. Photographs might be the source of inspiration and for details that memory has missed or forgotten. Illustrations that are copied with attempts to produce an exact visual likeness, relying purely on the photo, lack a certain warmth no matter how well rendered they are. Art involves the human factor.  A photo is a product of a machine; the visual details are copied with no sense or emotion; it does what it’s been designed to do. Drawings are subjective representations of all that we sense as well as see.
We interpret character of a subject not only visually, but also through our multidimensional senses.

Wild Canada: Stony Swamp Trail

Tuesday, August 1st, 2006


 

Stony Swamp Trail, Ottawa, Ontario Canada - 14 x 11 inches oil pastels on paper

Stony Swamp Trail, Ottawa, Ontario Canada, Paper Places series, 14 x 11 inches oil pastels on paper with 3-inch-wide white double mat and 26H x 22W inch white custom-built white wood frame with crackle finish. The series inspired the accompanying poem:

It remains
when things are gone
and people passed
and roads
and paths
and places
we belong
to the essence.

Intuitive response to subject matter impart individual character to each piece, so styles are deliberately different.
Post-dated note: Stony Swamp Trail was accepted for The Artist Showplace Gallery’s Annual Juried Exhibition, February – March 2007.

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