Give Me a Hand?

     All of the little hands below are made from driftwood I picked up off the beaches of Kitsap County. Here's a picture of Point No Point beach and lighthouse. The beach wraps around the other side of the lighthouse and you can walk along the sands for a good 1/2 hour. There is TONS of driftwood everywhere so I don't feel too bad taking it for sculpture purposes.
     Rob (my sweetie) and I recently went to Point No Point and beach combed - I found a femur of some sort of smallish creature (otter? seal?) with the great trochanter - hip bone- still intact! After this fortuitous find we went to a mini mart that doubles as a restaurant. We had an excellent sandwich and a beer. Beautiful beach+driftwood+bones+beer+sandwich+old lighthouse+Rob= perfect day.

P.s. I just took reference photos for my next illustration project, Hans Christian Anderson's The Little Match Girl. Hopefully I'll have something to show by tomorrow....

Inspirations

"Bright Eyes"

watercolor 9"x12"

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     Yesterday I watched the 1990's version of, "Great Expectations", with Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Bancroft, Robert DeNiro, and Ethan Hawke. I must say that Ethan Hawke is not 'great' at all in the role (the man has only one facial expression), Anne Bancroft and Robert DeNiro are both amazing, and Gywneth Paltrow as Estella is beautiful as always.
     But this is not why I watched the movie. I watched it for the sets: the deteriorating mansion and gardens of Miss Havisham,  Finn's art show scene which was filmed in the school I attended in NYC - the New York Academy of Art, and the scene in the restaurant, Kelly and Ping's of Soho, where I have eaten several times (a note to diners: don't eat here- it's good, but not as good as Noodle Village in China Town. Have the Devil Ramen and thank me later).
     However, the sets are only part of the reason why I watched this film again. The REAL reason is the art work of Francesco Clemente. All the art made by Finn in the movie was provided by Mr. Clemente and it is sooooooo inspiring, magical, imaginative, and possesses a freedom that I aspire to in my own work. Here are a couple examples of his work......

 "If you cling, it's over. It's important to let the narrative of life unfold without clinging, without attachment, without making it die on you."  -Francesco Clemente

Valentine

"Valentine"

oil on panel 6"x6"

2009

Pinocchio's Heart - In honor of Valentine's Day

"Pinocchio's Heart"

driftwood, thread

2012

This little heArt was made from driftwood I gathered on the beautiful rocky beaches here on Bainbridge Island. The branches seemed to perfectly mimic the veins and arteries of a real heart. I have actually made a whole little body for Pinocchio - the remains of Pinocchio if he hadn't become a "real boy".
Wow. This was supposed to be a romantic post and I just got really maudlin. Disregard!!
Well anyway, here's the rest of poor little Pinocchio's body. I was kind of imagining it from the perspective of an archeologist who has discovered some old remains.  Or maybe they could have washed up on a beach somewhere? Yes, these are the things I think about.

Pinocchio's hands and feet, driftwood, 2012

Pinocchio's ribcage, driftwood, 2012

From Another Planet

"Star Man"

7.5"x12"

watercolor

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Relisting this guy because I am still working on the illustrations for my friend Amanda's poem, "Wolf Party". I am putting together an ebook of the collaboration on my ipad and I must say its looking smashing! I plan to attend the Society for Children's Books Authors and Illustrators tonight to peddle my wares (sp?). Wish me luck!
In the meantime, here is a decent photo of one of the illustrations:

"The deer gets angry as you might guess

And rams his horns into king wolfs chest"

More Wolf Hijinks

"they wrestle with bears

they tussle with foxes"

"the king of the wolves

warms up and boxes"

More Wolves Behaving Badly

Alrighty, here is the next illustration for the collaboration between my poet friend Amanda and myself.
The poem she wrote is called, "Wolf Party", and I was so inspired I had to make some drawings for it!

"the wolf punches a bear square in the head

the bear reels over backward then plays dead"

I think I'm going to bust my rear this weekend and try to finish all the illustrations (I have 4 - need 6 more) and then take them to the Society for Children's Book Authors and Illustrators meeting next Tuesday.  Wish me luck!

Horsing Around

"Roman Horse" 

Watercolor, 16.5"x22"

                                             click here to ride off into the sunset with me!

Teenage Wildlife and Artsy Drivel

     Several years ago (three to be exact) I was in graduate school at the New York Academy of Art. NYAA is dedicated to the study of the human figure in classical art. I had already spent almost three years prior to this at the Aristides Classical Atelier in Seattle learning to draw and paint in the tradition of Ingres; in fact if you were to make an artist family tree, my peers and myself could trace our artistic ancestry back to Ingres and even Michelangelo!

"Teenage Wildlife" Cecily Brown

     Anyway, back to NYAA....after all those years of classical art technique I discovered a few painters that changed my life. Probably the most important was Cecily Brown. It was a new way of looking at the figure in art; figures not fully rendered yet very sensual, expressive, and somehow more real to me than figures painted realistically.
     I still am trying to figure out where to go with my work - I am no longer a realist, however my work isn't entirely abstracted either. Am I an illustrator? Am I a portrait painter? My most sincere wish is that my paintings communicate in the way Cecily's do: viscerally and emotionally.

"Kate"  5"x6.25"
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