Not My Muse
Finishing up: presentation changes everything
Four linocut plates first printed in 2013 are the basis for this bones scroll. It may be finished now, but I am never quite sure … The print now has additional graphite paintings (of bones) top & bottom, and is presented in a corrugated & tasseled scroll “casing”. My painting “The Burden” has also had quite a bit more work, including added color and layers of gel medium, is now mounted onto 24″x24″ painted board. It can be hung as is, or considered ready for framing.
Working with thick gesso, and more …
Digital work from new sketches
Mystery in the Mist, January in Boundary Bay, B.C.
Embedded Art, on my new sidewalk
I embedded a few twigs & leaves in five spots of my new “freeway”: the concrete sidewalk between the house & my studio that lets me charge back and forth safely even in the dark. The concrete was pretty hard & I was in a hurry, so I did not get much done. but these are fun and I am adding color & resin. It won’t last very long outside, but it amuses me for now. The imprint of a salal leaf may be the best one!
Mixed media & the Start of an Exorcism Series
The finished work: after playing with some digital collages (prototypes for the design), I used my water soluble graphite stick & disk to paint in the dark ground and the tree & sky background.
I had scanned a some images in the Rubens’ book, and isolated the three figures I wanted to use from the black & white photos of his paintings.
I sized these for my work, printed them, then added these using matte medium to my graphite painting, making this mixed media collage. Then I went to work with watercolors to tint the figures. I have left the background only partially tinted: just a hint of color.
I am amused, at least for today, and that is satisfying! And now I have framed this piece as if still on the drawing board, with the title: Rubens: An Exorcism via the Drawing Board. I have left in the paper clips, used acid free paper tape on the corners, etc. but all after carefully flattening out the paper, using framing spacers, etc.
The Rodin book with “Hand of God” drawing added (artistic license 🙂
Select the image to see the rest of the story….
The photo now added is the start of a new work based on another 1939 era art book by the same British publisher, George Allen & Unwin, LTD London. These books are hardbound with plain cloth covers, just the artist’s name in large letters across the very top, and the full name along the spine. They include some biographical material, but are largely made up of black & white photographs of work, with a few color plates. These belonged to my maternal grandfather, Robert Sivell.
Framed
On the drawing board …
I started this by looking at one of a set of art books belonging to my artist grandfather. I have had these for years. The books feature very famous artists, mostly “old masters” and are mainly in black & white, with only a few color plates. I don’t want to keep them, but don’t want to get rid of them either!
Perhaps this painting is something of an exorcism: maybe I will lay the ghosts of the “old masters” of realism, and also the ghost of my grandfather such that I can finally give away the box of art books that are stored up in my studio loft.
Just shipped: 3 paintings by Grandfather Sivell (aka Bob)
I have just shipped these three portraits by Robert Sivell, RSA to The Stewartry Museum in Kirkcudbright, Scotland. It was a surprisingly difficult process, but the paintings should arrive there on March 3rd. The package is underinsured at $600 for all three, but … done is good. I love to think of these on display periodically in Bob’s home town museum, where I hope they will be enjoyed. These paintings represent this artists’ town history, as portraits of Kirkcudbright residents, by a resident artist. Left to right are: Robert Sivell, self-portrait, Agnes Wylie Sivell, the artist’s mother, and Robert Sivell Sr, the artist’s father.
Workshop at Corvidae Press
The workshop was all about re-working / completing old prints. At left, I reprinted an unsatisfactory etching over monoprint, then brought it home for more work: drawing with pen & ink over the layers. The center piece is a collaboration: I printed using monoprinting with brayer and stencils over an etching from workshop participant Nancy Fredrick; we all passed an old print left, and worked on what we received. The lovely tree branches were etched onto an acrylic plate then printed with black ink by Nancy. The print on the far right is not finished yet!