Two Heads, Talking

I was considering titling this one "The Conversation" or "The Argument", but settled on the current title as it seems more directly descriptive. Both heads are talking, but they don't seem to be listening to each other.

Two Heads, Talking, 2017, ink on sepia card, 8.5" x 11".

The Man Who Imagined Himself Into Existence

Part of a new small series of drawings on sepia card (some of them heightened with white acrylic). I did this one earlier today—I thought the apparent paradox gave the piece a certain something...

The Man Who Imagined Himself Into Existence, 2017, ink & acrylic on card, 11" x 8.5".

The Emperor

I feel like I was channeling Paul Klee a little on this small (10" x 10") painting. Interestingly, the piece came together with the finishing touch of the plant-like motif under the eye on the profile head.

The Emperor, 2017, acrylic on board, 10" x 10".

The Escapist

New painting, channeling Magritte at least a little, here. The shell-like ear was the finishing touch to this one.

The Escapist, 2017, acrylic on plywood, 16" x 12".

Hermetic Venus

This is a new acrylic painting from a new series of color works, a coming-together of many themes I've worked on over the years. This one had a long gestation period of maybe a week...it went through many different iterations until reaching what (I hope) is the final stage, below.

Hermetic Venus, 2017, acrylic on plywood, 16" x 12"

Babel with Tiny Lights

This one arrived somewhat unexpectedly...which is somehow the way the best images work out. One of many images of the Tower of Babel that I've done.

Babel with Tiny Lights, 2017, acrylic on board, 10" x 10".

The Shootist WIP

This is a work-in-progress painting of a modified head...many of my works feature somewhat surrealistic heads. Also has an anti-war / anti gun violence aspect to it. I think it may be mostly done (?), but time will tell on that. When I have the final version, I'll put it up on this page.

Update: I've added the final version below the unfinished one.

The Shootist (unfinished version), 2017, acrylic on board, 14" x 11"

The Shootist, 2017, acrylic on board, 14" x 11"

In a Garden of Eden

This small (12" x 9") acrylic on panel was done today in the studio. It went through several phases, over about half a day, before arriving at the finished state. Sometimes it helps to let the paint build up, adding depth where previous layers still show through, or parts of them do. It's semi-abstract, which is a place I don't often go.

In a Garden of Eden, 2017, acrylic on board, 12" x  9".

The Apostle

I found a small pile of brown-tinted card left over from some long-ago project, so while I was waiting for a painting to dry, I drew this head. I decided to call it "The Apostle" (the titles tend to pop into my head whilst I'm creating the works). The loosely applied white acrylic helped. It came out quite well.

The Apostle, 2017, ink & white acrylic on card, 11" x 8.5".

The Eye of Truth

Eyes are a recurring theme in my work...this new one seems to be a portal to everything...

The Eye of Truth, 2017, acrylic on plywood, 11" x 14"

The Return of the Stranger

This is a more expressionistic painting I did the other day. It is kind of a sequel to a small painting I did back in 2006, called "The Outsider". I had misremembered the name, but decided to keep "Stranger" in there as it added another (small) dimension to the piece. This one is darker, whereas the original painting seems more benign (to me). From time to time, personages in my artwork reappear, as though characters in a movie (one that makes little to no sense, admittedly), or as if seen through a window into another world.

The Return of the Stranger, 2017, acrylic on plywood, 14" x 11".

The Outsider, 2006, acrylic on board, 10" x 8".

The Discovery

I think this is a good one, it pretty much painted itself (well, I did struggle a little, but not too much). It might just be a template for a new direction of some kind...stay tuned...also added a digital version below.

The Discovery, 2017, acrylic on board, 12" x 12"

Digitally manipulated

Re / Coiled

This drawing of a woman's head with coiled hair turned out differently than planned...the hair is not so much hair as something else. It almost fits into my Medusa series (ongoing) of drawings and paintings. The addition of wash to the ink/brush drawing added a lot of depth...I'll probably be doing more drawings with wash.

Re / Coiled, 2017, brush & ink wash on paper, 28.5" x 22.5".

Unfinished version, before the wash was added

2 Drawings from 2010

These were 2 ink drawings that I wanted to rescan at a higher resolution than the versions I had on my hard drive. They reminded me that 2010 was not a bad year for drawings, & the new scans brought out a little more detail and nuance than I had attained before.

Ancient Head, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 11" x 8.5"

Woman's Head, 2010, brush & ink on paper, 11" x 8.5"