Queen B

I have started on a new piece, as I am waiting for it to dry, I suppose I'll write about this one.

"Queen B" is made of 7 canvases framed together to make a whole. In addition to the dress and glove, the only other materials used were acrylic paint and linoblock prints on rice paper. Three different linoblocks were carved for this piece. The damask pattern, which shows up on the top canvas, as well as the second from the bottom, the bee, and the crown. The apples were sketched and painted on black gesso. The little swarm of b's on the glove is mostly lines and text from sewing patterns. You can see a close up from that panel in my last blog post. One part you may not be able to see well is the pale bullseye in the palm of the glove. Visually connected to the swarm, it is a reminder that the Queen can hurt you. The lines swooshing around in the main background between the crowns are intended to mirror the lines in the swarm.

The next piece, currently all gooey and mucky in the studio is "Black Betty". She will be the same size as this one, 24" wide x about 74" high. Hopefully BB will be done in time to take a trip to The Gasparilla Festival of the Arts, next weekend in Tampa, FL. If all the linoleum block prints in this piece make you happy, take a look at my (elle)ements on website, www.thespringgallery.com Now, it's time for me to get back out there...

A quickie

Honestly, I have no idea why I am taking a minute to blog when I am in the final stretch for the first show of the year. I am working on "Queen B." She is 24 inches wide, and somewhere around 6 1/2 ft tall. Made up of 6 different canvases. This is one of them, it is 24" wide. I had a rough idea of how I wanted this to go when I started on it this morning, but I'm kinda tickled with how it's come out.

If you click on it you can probably see a larger version. I am hoping the dark area on the right reads as a swarm of bees...kinda tricky that. But the issue of the moment is that I like this part of the whole enough that it's about to dictate a palette shift for the entire piece. All part of the magic of not having a plan and letting each brush stroke inform the next move. And hey, I have a whole 60 or so hours left before I want it to be finished and ready to pack in the van. If I don't sleep.