Kiss!

Acrylic on paper and reverse acrylic painting on mica.

The Sad King

Acrylic on paper and reverse painting on mica with 23K gold leaf.

The striations in the body and the "dots" in the face are part of the natural sheet mica.

The Saint

Acrylic on paper and reverse acrylic painting on mica with 23K gold leaf.

Repainting Miss Liberty, Nov.7, 2012

Acrylic on paper and mica with macaw feather.

Mica Painting

A painting on paper and sheets of mica. A very unusual mineral, it was used by Native Americans, most famously by the ancient Hopewell Indians of Ohio, to make marvelous cut-outs or hands and hawks. It has also been used as a natural glitter in frescoes. Now sold as an art material in craft shops. It peels very interestingly, and is mostly transparent, lending itself to layering of materials. In this case, I have used acrylic paint on both front and reverse, faux gold leaf behind and on top of it, and paua shells all glued down with gloss gel medium. The piece on the far left of the painting has a lot of wonderful, moss-like inclusions, right in the mineral itself. I did not paint on that piece but added it pure to the mix.

Leftovers

The studio isn't quite ready. Still needs lighting, an alternative heat source. But in between home improvement projects I can snatch a little art time here and there. I have discovered that leftover Behr paint samples make really nice little paintings on paper. A couple of them here. Just warm-ups, to be doing something other than picking out lighting fixtures, climbing ladders and snapping pictures of local wildlife...

Conversation

Beyond the Breakfast Table...

"Without leaving my house, I know the whole universe." - Lao-Tzu

My Giverny

The new house has a Japanese-style bridge over a muddy, weedy little pond. I have big plans for the little bridge and the little pond. But I will have to excavate because the pond has collapsed in on itself to a degree. Then I may paint it the same color as Monet's Japanese bridge. Or not. We shall see...

My Fish is in there... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=E3vkCSOMLis#!

The Little Free Library Hits the Newsstands!

http://www.grossepointenews.com/Articles-Features-i-2012-06-07-247178.114135-A-novella-library.html

The Captain

A new painting to be raffled off at the Navy League Ball in early June.

...and a detail...

Bubbly in a Brothel

Enjoying a glass of champagne "Under The Poppy"...

The Seashell

A companion piece to the last mermaid. Already privately owned. Acrylic on canvas board. 61 x 91 cm. (24 x 36")

The Siren and the Storm

Our new tenants in my ex-studio came to us from a very tiny house previously in which they had to put their washer and dryer in the living room and put a piece of plywood to hide it. They feel very rich in a 900 square foot house. So rich that the lady of the house wanted a painting to decorate her living room wall. And she wanted me to do it. I have painted a mermaid for her because her couch is a dark red-brown and the Caribbean blue will stand out but she is not obligated to buy it. I was able to keep the price down and I have a frame left over from years and paintings ago. She'll see it this weekend.
Acrylic on canvas with mother of pearl, pearl and paua shell fragments. 61 x 122 cm. (24 x 48")

The Flat Earth

It is said that if a mariner travels too far from the sight of land, his ship will tumble over the edge of the world into a universe filled with hideous monsters. This is only partly true. The monsters that a man may meet in the abyss on the other side of the world are the ones he carried on his vessel – stowaways he did not know were aboard. They are the monsters that condemn him to seeing only in black and white, only in shades of grey. The landscape in that lonely place is frozen and he drifts endlessly in the small areas of open water around the pack ice, plagued by doubt. Above, the known world is filled with color, warm sun, and light, variable breezes.

Acrylic and gel medium transfer. From the leather sketchbook.

My Little Library

My Little Free Library is in place!!! I am really happy!

Beyond the Mast

Beyond the Mast there are Angel guides and Compasses, Charts and serious descriptions of voracious and destructive Sea Monsters. One is instructed in the precise location of the very Edge of the World and with such guidance a mariner need never fear. Listen quietly to the voices from beyond the Mast.

Acrylic, cotton, silk, linen, photo transfer, mica and 23K gold leaf. From the leather sketchbook.

Sugar and Spice and All Thing Nice

I took a trip to our downtown Eastern Market to buy spices and then made paintings. Some spices included garam masala, curry powder, raw cocoa, Hungarian paprika, turmeric, crushed spearmint, dill seeds, lavender flowers and more... The drawing is done with coffee (Medaglia D'Oro Instant Espresso) and there are touches of 23K gold leaf and patent leaf on some. The whole house is fragrant.

This painting reminded me of a Byzantine icon:

A detail of the spices:

A spicy profile:

The first full-sized spice painting. Kind of Buddha-like:

Lash

She's married to the sea, no matter where she goes. Lashed to the mast, suffering the pain of lashes, gazing out across the waves from under curved black lashes. Some ties bind forever and ever.

Acrylic on paper, with gel medium photo transfer and mica. From the Leather Sketchbook.

The Sailmaker's Hands

Sometimes our fate hangs on the slenderest of threads.

Acrylic paint with gel medium photo transfer and pearl-colored mica. From sketchbook.

Sketchbook pages

I recently indulged in a luxury sketchbook from Renaissance Art Fine handcrafted leather books. I had been hankering after a certain kind of rare sketchbook which could not be found commercially and finally found it in their books. My book is black with antique green marbled end papers and filled with Arches Text Wove paper for the body of the book. I feel very inspired by this book and it can take the vigor and the unusual materials with which I paint. Here are my first few pages...
The title page. I gold-leafed the white side of the marbled paper.

Then a spontaneous painting made with acrylic paint, tobacco, leather, silk, dried lavender flower buds, printed t-shirt material and paua shell fragments.

A ship flying the flag of frugality sails toward an island where a lonely man curls up in a very small cave. On board are the Gamblers. Acrylic paint with silk, paua shell, cotton/linen, kuba cloth, playing cards and reproduction 18th century gazette.

The flag (a fortune from a Chinese fortune cookie) tells us what we should do.

A mermaid floats on her back and gazes serenely at the stars above. She is oblivious to the warship on the horizon. She knows how to chart her own course. Acrylic paint with gel medium photo transfer and mica.

Maiden Voyage

You have all come along with me on this one so no explanation is needed, I think.

Acrylic paint on canvas, polyester and cotton with silk, glass, bone, ceramic beads, labradorite, quartz, amethyst, pearls and other stuff. 122 X 183 cm. (48 X 72")

Painting in Progress (My Treasure Box)

A shot of my very own treasure chest - the big fold out box that holds most of my beads and little collected gems and jewels that I use to glue down to my canvases and works on paper. Those bone half discs I found at the Salvation Army Thrift Store will make perfect scales on a mermaid's tail.

Painting in Progress (Treasure in the Sea)

The faux coral made from silk strands and red paint worked. I laid it into the beach debris under the woman's arm, then added jewels and mica.

The doll surrounded by treasure.

I will continue to add jewels and mica until no more is needed.

Painting in Progress (Tiny Bubbles)

So that the illusion of the surf isn't totally dependent on the sponge painting, I added some bubbles in the surf by brush.

Another bubble...

This is the silk fringe of the old piano shawl. It serves a lot of purposes. The other day I made it into seaweed and doll's hair. Today I attempted to make red coral with it by mixing the silk strands with red paint, gel medium and a little bit of sand.

These are the bits of faux broken red coral. I have an actual red coral necklace, made of rough, unfinished, natural pieces, but I wasn't willing to sacrifice it so maybe these will work instead. The pieces available as beads are dyed bamboo coral, not genuine red coral, and since they are dyed I thought that the color might not last. This faux silk imitation is light weight in addition to being more lightfast than any dye. We will see how it works once it dries. It will hopefully echo the red color of the woman's hair and that of the doll.

Painting in Progress (Flotsam and Jetsam)

Here I am laying in the gel medium molds onto the canvas and adding a rough sand and gel mix to fill in any empty spaces around the uneven molds. The rough sand will help give the impression of the sand bottom under the waves.

Some "wreckage" that has swirled up and collected in the nook of the woman's arm.

I'm gluing down some long silk threads from a vintage piano shawl that I bought at a flea market. It wasn't in good condition, so no loss! It serves as "seaweed" in this case. (It has served as "mermaid's hair" in the past).

The same "seaweed" is tangled up in the detritus under the woman's arm.

The "seaweed" is painted light green.

The silk threads also serve here as doll's hair. The doll has been lost to the waves. Seaweed is tangled around the gel medium "coins".

To be continued...

Sea Foam (Painting in Progress, continued...)

I'm beginning to paint in the gentle waves...

I'm dipping my sponge glove into the paint...

Getting a light coverage...

And pressing it onto the canvas for a sea foam effect.

This is the beginning of the gentle surf.

I bought some natural sponge and will begin to make further definition of the gentle surf. I will also add more molded details in the water and on the beach.