New pencil drawings

Here are some new drawings done in a black Crayola pencil on Bristol Vellum:

Face at the Window, 2010, pencil on paper, 14" x 11".

Outside Looking In, 2010, pencil on paper, 14" x 11".

Venus with a Long Neck, 2010, pencil on paper, 14" x 11".

Empyrean and The Cautious One

Here are 2 pencil drawings I did this evening. I don't usually use pencil, but tonight it was too cold & snowy outside to make it out to the studio...

Empyrean, 2010, pencil on paper, 16.5" x 14".

The Cautious One, 2010, pencil on paper, 9" x 6" approx.

Saint

Drawing of a head from 2004, exhumed from the closet by my desk & photographed...may be included in the Heaven and Hell series...

Saint, 2004, brush & ink on paper, 12" x 9".

Chimera

This was last week's drawing collaboration subject with NC Mallory over on the West Coast...

Chimera, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 10" x 8".

A chimera is a mythical beast with the head & body of a lion, a goat's head growing from its back, and a snake's head on the end of its tail...

You can see the combined image here.

More New Drawings

Here are 3 very recent drawings (from the last couple of days):

Jerusalem, 2010, brush & ink on packing paper, 24.5" x 33" approx.

Under the Machine, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 28.5" x 22.5".

The Seeker of Truth Discovers Everything, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 16.5" x 14".

The first & third belong to the Heaven and Hell series, not sure about the second one.

Hermetic

A rather disturbing image from the Heaven and Hell series:

Hermetic, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 16.5" x 14".

The Minotaur in Hades

This is a new ink drawing from the Heaven and Hell series, which after many years (about 18 or 19) is finally starting to come together.

The Minotaur in Hades, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 16.5" x 14".

New photos of older drawings

Recently the digital camera I've been using for the last few years died. I upgraded to a cheap but decent Kodak C183 with 14 megapixels. With this new piece of equipment I can now take better photos of old drawings that I never had good shots of before:

Angels, 1992, brush & ink with wash on paper, 25.5" x 19.75" approx.

Head of a Young Man, 2001, brush & ink on paper, 24" x 19".

Narcissus, 1991, Brush & ink with wash on paper, 16.5" x 12" approx.

Stone Medusa, 2002, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 11".

Famine, 1991, brush & ink on paper, 16.5" x 12" approx.

Orpheus is Alone in the Underworld, 2004, brush & ink on paper, 24" x 19".

Serenity (Woman's Head with Eyes Closed), 2003, ink on paper, 24" x 19".

I've found that, with this camera's flash, I can get good results indoors even at night, & with a bit of Photoshopping, the images can look pretty crisp. Clicking on the above images will take you to much larger versions.

Vortex of Human Sorrow / Black Tears

Here are 2 new large-ish ink drawings depicting sadness...the upper one is a more recent version of the lower.

Vortex of Human Sorrow, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 16.5" x 14".

Black Tears, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 16.5" x 14".

Bird-Headed Creature Holding an Egg

New brush & ink drawing for the Heaven & Hell series:

Bird-Headed Creature Holding an Egg, 2010, ink on paper, 16.5" x 14".

The Wraith

This was my half of another collaboration between myself & west-coast based artist, NC Mallory.

Wraith, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 10" x 8". Please click on the image for a larger version.

You can see the combined images here.

Day of Revelation

Another large-ish ink drawing with a Biblical/apocalyptic theme. This one has quite a lot of detail.

Day of Revelation, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 23.5" x 18". Please click on the image for the larger version.

She Stands at the Portal Between Life and Death

Another new large-ish ink drawing...

She Stands at the Portal Between Life and Death, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 23.5" x 18".

The Ageing Emperor

A new, large-ish ink drawing that came out quite well:

The Ageing Emperor, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 23.5" x 18". Please click on the image for a larger version.

Dreamer

This was my version of "Dreamer" for a collaboration with LA-based artist N.C. Mallory. You can see both versions here.

Dreamer, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 10" x 8".

A Group of Enigmatic Figures

Here's a new ink drawing highlit with white acrylic on cardboard:

A Group of Enigmatic Figures, 2010, ink & acrylic on cardboard, 24" x 18" approx.

I've been gradually working on larger-scale pieces recently. I consider this to be medium-size, more or less. I want to start on larger pieces soon.

Head with Large Dark Eyes

The below images show the 2 main stages this drawing went through, with the final version first & below an earlier, much different version. Looking back, I don't mind the original so much, though at the time I decided it didn't make the grade & should be reworked.

Head with Large Dark Eyes, 2010, ink on cardboard, 24" x 18" approx.

The Ghost of a Memory

Another new ink drawing on a larger scale:

The Ghost of a Memory, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 18" x 23.5".

2 new, larger drawings

I've been meaning to move up in scale for some time now, having done a lot of scanner-friendly works recently (11" x 8.5" pieces fit on my flatbed scanner). Here are 2 new ink drawings from today on a somewhat larger scale:

The Angel from Berlin, 2010, brush & ink on cardboard, 14" x 13" approx. Inspired by the Wim Wenders film, "Wings of Desire" which I now have on DVD, having not seen it for over 20 years...

Sojourn for a Dreamer, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 23.5" x 18".

The Book of Souls show in Chicago

This evening, from 5-7pm, is the opening reception for the "Book of Souls" group show in Chicago, at North Park University gallery. Here's a photo of Tim Lowly's and my collaborative piece, also entitled "The Book of Souls"...10 of the page spreads from the "book" (there is no actual book)...

Photo is by Tim Lowly. Click on it for a larger view.

From Tim's Flickr page:

Barbara Cooper's sculpture "Quire" (foreground) and a collection of pages from The Book of Souls collaborative project that William T. Ayton and I are working on
in
The Book of Souls exhibition at North Park University in Chicago
with
Rieko Fujinami
Mario Andres Robinson
Barbara Cooper
Katie Griesar
Ayton & Lowly

Carlson Tower Gallery (at Foster and Kedzie)
October 29 - November 24, 2010
Reception and book-making extravaganza on Thursday November 4, 5 - 7 pm

gallery hours: 9 - 5 Monday - Friday

Fall Colossus

Here's a new acrylic painting. I've been surrounded by Hudson Valley fall foliage for years, but it never really found its way into my work before...

Fall Colossus, 2010, acrylic on board, 16" z 12".

Harmonic

Drawing of a head...the title comes from the phrase "harmonic resonance" which was going through my head as I was drawing...

Harmonic, 2010, brush & ink on paper,  8.5" x 11".

A Show of Heads at the Limner Gallery

My 2010 painting, The Totalitarian, will be on show at the Limner Gallery, 123 Warren Street, Hudson NY, opening this Saturday, November 6, from 5-7pm. The exhibit will be up through November (4th - 27th)...please check the gallery web site for opening days and times.

The Totalitarian, 2010, acrylic on board, 14" x 11"

The Limner Gallery
123 Warren Street
Hudson, NY 12534
518-828-2343

The Bibiliophile

This is my half of a 2-part image done in collaboration with NC Mallory via Flickr. He suggested the title...you can see both images here.

The Bibliophile, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 11" x 8.5".

More Souls from The Book of...

Here are the latest images from my collaboration with Tim Lowly, who supplies the digital transformations and construction to accompany my drawings:

Diana and the Hands Holding the Soul of the World.

Diana is Diana Ayton-Shenker, my wife. Her web site is www.fastforwardfund.org.

Steve M and the Soul of Steam.

Steve M is musician Steve Mosto: www.stevemosto.com.

Stevan J and the Stairway of Souls.

Stevan J is Stevan Jennis, the painter: www.stevanjennis.com.

The Uninvitables in Millbrook

Here's a photo from Friday's opening in Millbrook, NY:

Stumbling Colossus

Here is a new drawing that I did for a collaborative piece with NC Mallory (he's in LA, I'm in upstate NY) on Flickr:

Stumbling Colossus, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 10" x 8"

You can see both of our versions here.

Baby Mountain Goes to Michigan

This is just to mention that my artist collaborator friend Tim Lowly (The Book of Souls) and the smaller version of his musical group, the Lowly Ensemble, called Baby Mountain, will be playing at the Stone House in Brighton (Michigan, not the real one) on Friday, October 29, at 8pm, if you're in the vicinity, and some other places nearby (click on the poster to read where). Here is the poster:

Poster design by Tim Lowly.

The image comes from The Book of Souls itself, it's the facing page from "JLS and the Origin of Storms", which gives me an excuse to show that image again below:

JLS and the Origin of Storms (JLS is my friend, the painter Jim Stevenson)

The Uninvitables in Millbrook

Here is a photo I took today of some of my artworks in the show:

Images from left to right: Duino Elegy #3, Dream of Cyclops, Head of Medusa, (Manowar behind pillar), Menowar, Shadow Bay.

See previous post below for exhibition details.

The Uninvitables: the artists

The Uninvitables
October 22-24, 2010. Opening reception: Oct 22, from 5-10pm
Address: 3262 Franklin Ave, Millbrook NY.



Here is a list of the artists who will be included in the Millbrook exhibit:

William T. Ayton
David Borenstein
Teresa Clare
Sandy Granzow
Jim Kearns
Joanne Klein
John Lavin
Joseph Maresca
Michael Osborne
Jeff Romano
Doug Shippee

If there are any more, I'll add them to this list. More information will be posted on the Uninvitables blog.

The Book of Souls updates

Here are some of the more recent images from The Book of Souls, a collaboration with Chicago-based artist Tim Lowly, who takes my original drawings & magically processes them in Photoshop:


Sarah and the Souls of the Sea.


DJR and the Fallen Soul (DJR is Donald J. Rothschild, with whom I collaborated on the illustrated version of his screenplay/novel, Shadow Bay)


MHC and the Unemployed Souls.


KH and the 2 Expatriate Souls. KH is Karin Hanta, a friend who lives in Vermont. She's a writer/translator by profession.


Exaltation | Without Faces. This is a piece that Tim did a while ago. It deviates from the usual portrait/setting format, and is the only piece to do so at this point.