waterwash pencils
Zinnias
Thursday, December 20th, 2012
Zinnias, 18H x 24W inches graphite on paper.
Using an eraser just as much as the graphite, the composition is roughed in to fill the page. Smudging creates dark tones – some are removed with different sized erasers, and some areas are detailed. Initial plans were to create a drawing with about 4 inches of grey tones bleeding into a colorful central square to be drawn and painted with watercolor pencils, similar to Chrysanthemums, with borders more defined, but I like this one without colors. Plans always need to change according to what the results are dictating.
Dragon Fruit
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
Dragon Fruit, 9H x 12W inches watercolor pencils, graphite on paper, white mat and 15H x 18W inches white frame with crackle finish.
I’ve discovered a strange-looking and wonderful new fruit here in Singapore: Pitaya, commonly called Dragon fruit, is cultivated in Vietnam, but apparently is native to Mexico and South America. Possibly then, it’s imported to the U.S. and hopefully is sold in Texas – yay. I’ve seen it in the markets here but thought it was some sort of artichoke. Rarely do you find a fruit that is so large and fleshy where you don’t have to deal with removal of seeds or pits or cores to get to the yummy part. This one’s all yum, about 6″ long, very refreshing and tastes much like a kiwi, but more sweet than tangy.
A Heart Filled to the Brim
Sunday, January 17th, 2010
A Heart Filled to the Brim, 36H x 48W x 2D inches, water soluble graphite, acrylics on canvas. On exhibit along with Polypore Fungi February through May at the Oxide Gallery, Denton, Texas
An excerpt from the song, I Don’t Believe by Paul Simon on the CD, Surprise:
I don’t believe a heart can be filled to the brim
then vanish like mist as though life were a whim.
Maybe the heart is part of the mist
And that’s all that there is and could ever exist.
A portrait of Alzheimer’s honoring my Grandmother, my Mother-in-law (whose portrait this is, and whose 80th birthday is in two days), and now recently my own Mother who is in the earliest stages; and with empathy for all those afflicted, including the families dealing with the awful emotional reverberations caused by this disease.
Here are a few websites providing information about Alzheimer’s Disease
http://www.alz.org/index.asp
http://www.alzheimersrxtreatment.com/learnaboutalz.html
http://www.alzheimers.org/
Salt Spring Island Fog work in progress
Thursday, January 17th, 2008
Salt Spring Island Fog, B.C. Canada, 16H x 22W inches graphite, dry pastels, colored pencils. Stages 1 and 2 work in progress
A tale of two drawings
Friday, September 21st, 2007
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
Browsing 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.
Aspen, Banff National Park
Thursday, March 22nd, 2007
“Northern Delights 01, Aspen at a protected Bison reserve, Banff National Park, Alberta Canada – 14H x 11W inches oil pastels and water-wash pencils on paper, white double mat, 22H x 26W inches white frame with white crackle finish
Redbuds 02
Saturday, March 17th, 2007
Redbuds 02, misty morning in Coppell, TX, 14H x 11W inches oil pastels, graphite, watercolor pencils on paper. 3-inch-wide white double mat and 26H x 22W inch white custom-built white wood frame with crackle finish.
This drawing was an experiment with oil pastels and water-soluble graphite to see if the two could cooperate in the same drawing. Conclusion: that’s up to the artist! It was about 8 A.M… the sun barely shone through the thick mist this early Spring morning. The surrounding forest was grey, and the brilliant pink blossoms of the Redbud bush pushed through it all, with patches of green grass starting to grow in the field.
Alexander
Friday, January 13th, 2006
Alexander, stretching as much as possible to see down the basement stairs. 16 x 20 inches graphite, watercolor pencils on canvas, private collection.