Extra Large Drawing

I've been working on a huge drawing. I had a larger roll of good watercolor paper that I been saving for just the right project and after a bit of work 'counter rolling' it, I decided to jump in and make the largest drawing I've ever attempted. The media is India Ink and I'm using foam-core and cardboard to make the marks. Dipping the ends of the two materials into the ink and them pressing them onto the paper makes for some interesting impressions and by extension some interesting drawings. The work goes relatively quickly, given the size, but I can only work on a small portion of it at a time given my workspace, and then any section has to fully dry before I can move on to the next area. So these drawings develop over days and are difficult to view fully from any distance. The drawings can be interpreted in any numbers of ways, but of course I think of towers and the Tower of Babalon in particular. The hubris implied in the story of the Tower of Babylon is evident in a drawing that is too unweildiy to view in my studio, to large to hang in the gallery, and impossible to frame. A few photos of the process and the drawing so far.

New Crosshatch Drawings

I'm in the final stages of preparing for a June show at Las Manos Gallery in Chicago. I'm working on a last few cross hatch drawings to complete two distinct series. One series is called 'Winter Trees' and the other, unnamed at this point, has to do with recreating famous art works in the crosshatch technique. The latter series includes the pictured Marilyn and a Rothko that I'm keep under wraps. Silly idea but I felt the impulse.

The June show at Las Manos begins the weekend of the 11th and will run into July. More information to follow soon.

April Drawings

This month I've been making new drawings using foam-core and cardboard. I dip the ends of each material in ink and make impressions on a piece of paper. The advantage is a new type of mark-making for me. I'm still drawing with the materials but my hand is not as primary. Of course it's mostly been variations on grids but i enjoy the quality of the ink and the spills are sincere and not planned or manipulated at all. This week I'm working on a very large version of these two drawings, (these could be considered studies, even at 44 x 50 inches in scale.

Melissa's Birthday Photo

My friend Melissa had a big birthday last year, I won't say which one, and I made a panoramic photograph to commemorate the occasion. I gave her a print of the image and she immediately had a unique idea on how to frame the photo. It was not an approach that had ever occurred to me, leave it to a non-artist to come up with something unusual. The framing presented some issues to my framer, Leif at 'Wall to Wall' Framing in Chicago. But he loves a challenge and after some time problem-solving, came up with a beautiful finished product. We installed the piece last weekend, made a party out of it, and I'm posting both the original photo and the finished product as it hangs on Melissa's wall. It gives me an idea for a future installation!

Queen Anne's Lace - Triptych

I spent the last week of March house/dog sitting in Wilmette. I did the same thing last year for spring break and the weather was 70 degrees all week. This year the weather was cold, 30 degrees and cloudy. I always try to bring a project with me while in the suburbs and this year being trapped inside most of the time, I cross hatched a triptych of plant forms. The image came from the bird sanctuary near Montrose Harbor in Chicago. The drawing moves from chaos and density, up toward simplicity and clear form. It did take almost 40 hours of crosshatching, but they had good cable and I broke up the days with dog walks. Each panel is approximately 12 x 19 inches.

Dog Beach Photo

Someone asked me about my 'Dog Beach' photo and I pointed them to this blog. They could not find it. I would have sworn I posted it months ago, it's an older image, but I don't see it on here either. Anyway, here it is, possibly for the second time. The dog beach is in Chicago along the Lake Michigan lakefront between Montrose Avenue Beach and Foster Avenue Beach. It is very large and during the warmer months full of all types of dogs. This photo captures something of the crazy energy that happens there. I photoshopped my friend, (and Gallery owner), Michelle' dogs in years ago. She had to put one of them down this month, and he will be missed. His name was Scooter and in this photo I referred to him as 'the critic'. Take a guess at which dog I am referring to.

More Winter Drawings

I find the drawings of the tree trunks are very intriuging, but I'm alternating points of view between close ups and stepping further back. Can't decide if this is one series or two or how many drawings will constitute a series; probably as long as my cross-hatching hand can hold out. Two new drawings from the series.