linocut in progress

Linocut (in Progress)

I have been wiped out, sick the last few days, and when I have gotten out of bed, I have been attempting a small linoleum cut. This is another idea encouraged by number one son, Hugh.  I used one of my favorite subject matter (vineyards) combined with one of my favorite countries (Italy) and to create this image. With lino cuts you loose a lot of aspects you get with painting - space, color value, wiggle room with mistakes.  After completing paintings in one sitting for over a year now, I found this to be an interesting challenge and plan on printing it and then watercoloring on top.  I am not quite finished with the cutting, but will post a picture once I print and paint it.

Parklands 4

Parklands 4, watercolor and pastel on watercolor paper, 

6x8 inches

Getting more abstract, and bringing more color into the mix. Just for the fun of it :-)

Parklands 3

Parklands 3, watercolor and pastel on watercolor paper, 

8x8 inches

"Parklands 3" turned out to be a painting/drawing that is gaining with the momentum I am trying to achieve.  I love when a serene and quiet scene has an element that seems to be going at a totally different speed, if you look hard enough.  Not to spell it out but with this scene, it is obviously the foreground. I continue to have fun, looking with an open eye, for ambiguity in a world full of color and shape.

Parklands 2

Parklands 2, watercolor and pastel on watercolor paper, 

8 x8 inches

This photo reference was from a solo hike I did back in December when the weather had been gray for too many days. I got my rump out to explore a relatively new park in the Louisville area.  The only problem -- it was a long drive from where I live.  By the time I arrived I was claustrophobic from being in a car by myself, so I walked for quite a while to shed that feeling. And I took some very serene and still photos.  There wasn't another human to be found, which left the landscape begging for attention. Not a difficult thing for me to do.

The pastel on this drawing became a bit whimsical and active. I'm starting to miss larger scale drawing all of a sudden, despite the fact that I am quite content still with painting small.