Digital Medusa

 As part of a series of mythological figures that I've worked on over the years (drawings & paintings mostly), here is a digital sculpture done in Blender. I'll probably be reworking some of my other themes in coming days & weeks...\

Digital Medusa, 2021, sculpted & rendered in Blender

Medusa 2018

This is one of a new series of smallish paintings on treated plywood...I give the plywood several coats of water-based grain filler & then draw & paint on top. So far it seems to be working & the paint & ink hold well. In this one, the ripples in the grain of the plywood echo the coils of Medusa's hair, which was an unexpected but welcome touch.

Medusa 2018, ink & acrylic on plywood, 20" x 16".

The Coils of the Gorgon

I'm working on a small scale due to the fact that it's cold & snowy & expensive to heat my studio right now. I have a stack of sepia card I'm working through, putting the best results on various web sites (my own, Flickr, etc.). Here's an updated version of Medusa, influenced in part by the Leonardo book I'm reading (more on that anon).

The Coils of the Gorgon, 2018, ink & acrylic on sepia card, 11" x 8.5".

Medusa 2017

Ink drawing from this morning of a Medusa—a recurring theme in my work. Kept it simple, which is usually best. Third drawing of 2017.

Medusa, 2017, brush & ink on paper, 24" x 18"

Small Monochrome Medusa

I was going to use this small (6" x 6") gesso panel from the art store, the last one I had left in this batch, to make something vaguely festive to put up here. That didn't work. Instead, I found myself with this Medusa painting, which came out quite well, I think. One of my rules of painting/making art is that if you keep on going long enough, something worthwhile usually appears. I also did the microwave oven trick to dry the paint quickly, but I don't really recommend that—on a small piece that I don't care too much about it's OK. With a small work like this, it doesn't take that long to paint in the areas available, so rather than waiting 10 minutes or so for the paint to dry naturally, 30 seconds in the microwave cuts the time down a lot. I've heard of art bursting into flames with excessive microwavage, but 30 seconds seems safe (for me) on a piece this size. If you're going to do this (& probably best not to), proceed with caution. Happy Holidays!

Festive Bonus Link: More Medusas

Small Monochrome Medusa, 2016, acrylic on panel, 6" x 6".

Medusa Again

Here is a new ink drawing of Medusa, a continuing thread in my artwork (along with other mythological figures such as Cyclops, Narcissus, etc.). This one is a little darker and more melancholy than most.

Medusa Caught in the Coils of Reality, 2016, brush & ink on paper, 11" x 14".

Medusa in Monochrome

Another Medusa...see the header of this blog (at time of posting) for the previous one. This one was a struggle to create & anyone viewing this blog last night may have seen the earlier version, now updated with the one below.

Medusa in Monochrome, 2013, acrylic on cardboard, 48" x 36".

Medusa Rising

A new Medusa drawing...I haven't done one of these in a while...

Medusa Rising, 2013, brush & ink on paper, 24" x 19".

The Head of the Gorgon

I like to create a Medusa image once in a while...here is a new one...

The Head of the Gorgon, 2013, acrylic on cardboard, 11" x 9" approx.

Medusa's Stony Realm

It's been a while since I've done a painting with Medusa in it, so here's a tondo (circular one).

Medusa's Stony Realm, 2012, acrylic on circular canvas, 16" diameter.

Where Everything Connects | She

This is a new large painting that relates to the Yggdrasil/World Tree series, as well as containing references to Medusa, the Minotaur, and several other images & themes from over the years. I was intending to keep this quite minimal, but it did grow to be a bit more complex than I originally imagined.

Where Everything Connects | She. 2011, acrylic on plywood, 48" x 48" approx.

Medusa Tondo

New tondo (circular artwork) of Medusa:


Medusa Tondo, 2010, ink & acrylic on cardboard circle, diameter 11.5".

I had to retrieve some of the detail digitally that was lost by the camera, which is why the background is speckled.

Medusa 2003

Another recently rediscovered & previously overlooked drawing...a version of Medusa (of which I have many) from 2003.


Medusa, 2003, brush & ink on paper, 14" x 11".

Medusa's Gaze

Another new large drawing:


Medusa's Gaze, 2009, brush & ink on paper, 23.5" x 18".

For more images of Medusa, please see my other blog.