TREASURE HUNT...

COULDN'T RESIST

this embroidered jacket.

It's heavy perfect wool is lovingly constructed by hand

and then the gold work continues over the front....

up and around the sleeves and cuffs and back:....

swirling designs to inspire.

There's an addition vest with dozens of buttons

and strange-shaped (to me) trousers.

It won't be worn this Hallowe'en, though-

it would just fit a chimpanzee!

And then I found this:

A cast panel to honor Key West's many roosters.

I'll take down the color a little....

'GOTTA GO!'

THIS LITTLE ANGEL

is

watercolor pencil over

blocks of oil-based monoprint.

The watercolor sticks just to the pencil: cool!

A little gold and type correction film finish it up.

'Bout 3 X 5 inches....

'NEAR ATHENS' : an owl

'NEAR ATHENS' (Sold)

is composed of three pieces of rag board.

The central, broad part is mixed media:

I used Derwent pencil over a raked acrylic surface.

There's some oil pastel in there, too.

The two vertical borders

are the same rag board wrapped 

with copper foil on which I had drawn

freehand designs of stars and leaves.

To protect the copper from oxidation,

the surface is covered with 23 carat gold

or a mixture of acrylic, india ink

and flow medium.

It does that: flows down into the embossed designs.

I rubbed it down a bit to bring out 

the designs.

One night at my gallery,

I cut some stencils of 

abstracted letter forms.

Used it here under some of the 

frothed acrylic glazes.

That's more gold on copper on the right.

Artwork dimensions: 12 inches square.

'NIGHT LIGHTS'

'NIGHT LIGHTS'

shares the same colors as

the old carpet

outside my studio door.

Painted tissue collage

on rag board with gold.

Sleepy bird and star-doodles

are transferred type-correction film.

GODDESSES

STYLIZED

female statuettes

floating in museums'

looking glass

vitrines.

Acrylic on rag board.

I cannot resist adding

some gold

over the red pedestal.

A little closer.

Someone left a flower....

'STAY'

THIS WEEK'S WORD

on Illustration Friday

is "STAY."

I thought immediately of a dog

given a command

but lifted it emotionally

to a plea, not a command.

Mixed media on rag board.

Crab....

This guy surprised me this morning.

He was on top of the wall by the gate 

and 

there was a beautiful corn snake nearby on the lawn.

Heavy rains brought them out, I suspect.

'PICNIC'

'PICNIC' before and after: 

just tweeked and

lacquered.

Little things added?

A white line on the wing.

A dark line on the bill.

By the way, this piece is painted on cheesecloth

adhered to rag board with acrylic gesso.

MOON DOGGIE

'MOON DOGGIE'

doesn't look anything like Frankie Avalon.

He's listening to the night sounds.

Acrylic on collage

with 23 carat gold.

TAPESTRY

I bid on and won this tapestry.

I wanted to share

some of the designs

from its surface.

Now I need to find a looong wall. OR cover some windows.

A NEAR PAIR....

AND...

THESE TWO

paintings are oil and acrylic on paper.

Thats 'GRATIS' up top

and

'THE LITTLE GUEST'

surrounded by red.

Each measures about 6 X 14 inches. 

COLLAGE TECHNIQUES

'NEW DAY SONG'

got its start from some block-printed cotton

I picked up here in Key West.

Quite varied patterns on one yard:

the sun/flower, geometric cross forms and

the little stylized bird profiles all

jumbled into a loose grid.

I scanned and printed the designs in different sizes

and tints. Then I assembled the collage with other

small paintings, embossings and drawings.

Have a look at this detail:

Left to right:

Type-correction film transfer on acrylic.

Scanned multiple birdies.

Type correction film on purple acrylic.

Embossed copper (line drawing flipped over)

with 23 carat gold.

Below that a tiny acrylic on oil pastel

with leaf and wing details scratched out.

The red, dotted crosses are 

the original fabric.