The Angel and the Cataclysm

This is a small piece painted on the four sides of a wooden block sized 5.5" high x 3.5"wide x 1.5"deep approx. I've presented it here scanned & laid out as a series of flat images. I think it works quite well, but is intended to be seen in three dimensions...the disjointedness becomes more apparent when seen as a continuous flat image.

The Angel and the Cataclysm, 2017, acrylic on wood, 5.5" x 3.5" x 1.5" approx.

And in the negative zone...

Acedia / Sloth (7 Deadly Sins)

From the Seven Deadly Sins. A while ago (2013) I did some sketches of the 7 Deadly Sins with the aim of one day doing more finished pieces—paintings, probably. Here is the first one; Sloth. This is a fairly small version, also, so ultimately I might do larger versions. We'll see how it goes.

Acedia / Sloth, 2017, acrylic & carbon on gessoed panel, 12" x 9"

In the Kingdom of Fools and Madmen

A new drawing, inspired by Leonardo's drawings of lunatics and grotesques, by Bosch & Breughel's beggars and demons, by Ensor's masks and heads...you know, the usual suspects...

In the Kingdom of Fools and Madmen, 2017, soluble carbon on paper, 24" x 18".

Return of the Titan

From time to time I've made drawings of titans, colossi, giants, etc. Here is another one. Partly inspired by Goya's painting The Colossus, also partly inspired by a Japanese anime series called Attack on Titan (which I struggled through, as I don't much care for anime in general), and mostly inspired by the fact that I like the idea of colossi...

Return of the Titan, 2017, soluble graphite on paper, 24" x 18"

Materials Matter: Soluble Carbon

Here is the product I've been using for my drawings lately. It's a "disc" (though it's mostly square) of solid carbon. It's easier to use than ink, for me, as I just dip the brush in water & then soak up some of the diluted carbon. Sort of like watercolor, which I don't use. I am in no way affiliated with this company (Art Graf), though if they want to make me an offer...
Also, it's made in Portugal, one of my favorite countries (though I haven't been there in many years).

The front of the packet

The details...now you know about as much as I do

When Time Has No Meaning

Another large-ish drawing with the soluble carbon, which is working well for me. I may never use actual ink again...

When Time Has No Meaning, 2017, soluble carbon on paper, 24" x 18".

Materials Matter: The Color (Brilliant) Purple

I thought I'd take a photo of the actual tube of Brilliant Purple Liquitex acrylic color, as it's almost an artifact in & of itself. I must have bought this years ago, as it's covered in paint splashes & the cap of the tube itself is brittle & falling apart. The tube is still mostly full, as it's a color I rarely use. See the 2 postings under this one for examples of recent usage.

Brilliant Purple Liquitex paint tube: kids, remember to look after your materials, & they will look after you.

Wide Awake & Alive

I did this new small piece as a companion to the previous one (see post below). I'm probably not going to do more purple (mauve?) pieces, these 2 seem to be enough. Fun fact: the purple acrylic paint is by Liquitex and is called "Brilliant Purple".

Wide Awake & Alive, 2017, acrylic on rag paper, 8" x 5.75" approx.

Purple Dreamer

One of the final small paintings on handmade rag paper (I'm running out of the packet I bought). I don't usually use purple very much—it's a difficult color to work with, but I thought it worked well here, to give a dreamy, mystical feeling to the piece. I liked this piece so much, I made it the featured image on my web site's home page.

Purple Dreamer, 2017, acrylic on rag paper, 8" x 5.75" approx.

Leda and the Swan

Another treatment of a mythological theme that I've rendered before.

Leda and the Swan, 2017, soluble carbon on paper, 24" x 18". Private collection.

After the Rain...

...the world will be clean again. Another acrylic landscape painting (almost completely abstract) on the handmade rag paper. I have a certain kind of landscape image in my mind that I'm trying to get down in paint, & this is the closest I've come so far...

After the Rain, 2017, acrylic on rag paper, 5.75" x 8" approx.

The Distant Mountains

Almost a painting about nothing...in fact there are many layers buried underneath, and it's a painting about mountains.

Toward the Distant Mountains, 2017, acrylic on rag paper, 5.75" x 8" approx.

The Approaching Storm

Here are 3 versions of a new small piece, done on handmade Indian rag paper that I bought a small bundle of recently. I suppose it's apocalyptic in nature, but it could be seen in various ways...

The original drawing was done with a gel ink pen (a cheap writing pen bought from the local pharmacy or Staples, I can't remember), the second one is digitally processed, & the final version has acrylic color (images from bottom to top below).

The Approaching Storm, 2017, gel ink pen & acrylic on rag paper, 8" x 5.5" approx.

The Approaching Storm, digital edit

The Approaching Storm, gel ink pen

The Tower of Humanity 2015-17

This is an example of a painting that I did a couple of years ago (2015) & was reasonably (but not completely) happy with. It's been propped on a small set of drawers in the living room/office for ages, & I've looked at it from time to time. The other day, I decided what was wrong with it was the sky, so I took it & repainted that. Normally, I don't like to "fix" paintings so long after the fact, but in this case I think it worked out for the better...I also changed the title to one that I now prefer, & painted in a tiny bit of background (small triangle of distant background to the left of the "building") to balance out the composition.

The Tower of Humanity, sky repainted 2017, acrylic on board, 16" x 12"

Human Monument, 2015, acrylic on board, 16" x 12".