Head in Gray

Another head, "painted" in ink...

Head in Gray, 2011, brush & ink on paper, 11" x 8.5".

The Gray

Here is a piece in a more expressionist vein:


The Gray, 2009, crayon & acrylic on card, 11" x 8.5".

I suppose this came about due to my reading an article by Whitley Strieber (writer of "Communion" -- which I haven't read, etc.) online today. I'm interested in the questions a) do aliens exist? and b) if so, do they have emotions?

I suspect the answer to both questions is "yes" (billions of stars, millions of planets, thousands of civilizations I would guess), but as I've never seen nor met an alien, I don't really know. Just conjecture.

Profile in Shadow silverpoint

A new silverpoint on a gray-toned ground:


Profile in Shadow, 2009, silverpoint on gray-toned, prepared card, 10" x 8". Heightened with white pastel pencil.

I have quite a collection of heads done in silverpoint now. On the one hand, I find that the human head provides endless expressive possibilities. On the other hand, it starts to become a repetitive exercise to do too many...so I'll probably be investigating some other themes from now on...

The Elemental

Silverpoint on gray-toned card, highlighted with white:


The Elemental, 2009, silverpoint on card, 10" x 8".

An otherworldly being with a gaze that absorbs light, rendered in a smoky ('sfumato', as they used to say) technique.

I at first thought that using silverpoint on a gray-tinted ground would be an exercise in futility, but it worked out quite well.