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 night's work

I've been a little quiet lately. The dessert blog takes more energy than you'd expect, and I have a thousand excuses just like that one if you have time. But the thing is, I've had a lot of time off between shows, and I'm working towards building a new body of work. Nothing like that is simple. I've been sketching, and scribbling, making models. Having brilliant ideas and hating them the next day. And a for few days I've just settled down and done a little work. Tonight I carved a funky damask pattern into linoleum so I can use it stamp-like in an upcoming painting. Assembling the elements, getting ready for a big push. And I don't think I will know I can do it until it's done.

Studio Slice #2

Studio Slice #2

Somewhere in the middle

I just thought I'd give you a quick peek at what is going on inside the studio this weekend. I have three separate pieces on the go right now. "Smarty Pants" just has a little bit of stitching left to do, "Little Bee" is drying, and this one is coming along nicely. This will be a new "Good Egg." But I am just so darned pleased with the chickens that I had to show it off. The chickens are linoleum block prints on rice paper, the paper is so transparent that I was able to flop the image to have them pair up beak to beak. There is still plenty more to do, but I hope to have this in the van with me heading to the Des Moines Art Festival next weekend. If you want to do a little artist surfing you can find their web site at www.desmoinesartsfestival.org If I have a moment, I'll post the finished piece before it goes in the van!