WIP. Commission piece for a friend. Working medium is graphite and eventually some charcoal.
WIP of Revolutionary War reenactor
Category: Art & Design
13Apr
Drawings of mushrooms.
Mushrooms in graphite
From the Christian Science Monitor:
So why should we care about Merian all these centuries later? Well, as the website of the J. Paul Getty Museum puts it, Merian and her daughters (more on them later) were not just extremely talented artists. They were also pioneers who “raised the artistic standards of natural history illustration and helped transform the field of entomology.”
And Wikipedia:
Merian received her artistic training from her stepfather, Jacob Marrel, a student of the still life painter Georg Flegel. She remained in Frankfurt until 1670, relocating subsequently to Nuremberg,Amsterdam and West Friesland. In 1699, she spent two years in Surinam on the encouragement of Cornelis van Aerssen van Sommelsdijck, the then-governor of the South American Dutch colony. Upon her return to Europe, she published her major work, Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, for which she became famous. Because of her careful observations and documentation of themetamorphosis of the butterfly, she is considered one of the most significant contributors to the field of entomology.[1]
16Mar
American Revolutionary War reenactor from the Pennsylvania State Navy. Done on toned paper with white and black charcoal.
American Revolutionary War reenactor in charcoal
25Apr
My friend Diane was a great fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. She loved the monkey in all its forms. I did this ink piece for her of the monkey at his scariest. I am using the past tense because she passed away this past February from a brain tumor. But at least she had some joy from the wee bit of artwork that I did for her. I miss her.
Monkey!!
26Sep
As the lead designer for the redistribution campaign of Rupert’s Land, a full length feature film, starring Sam West, Ian Tracey and George Wendt {of Cheers fame}, I was tasked with the design and execution of all print materials for the DVD and PR campaign as well as the relaunch website graphics in conjunction with a back-end web programmer/developer. This project required long distance communication with the Project Manager, Film Producer, Writer/Editor, Web Developer and printing house, all in various locations throughout Canada.
Today was so yucky outside it was not worth making even the short trip to the job. So I stayed home and made with some watercolor that speaks to better weather. And what would that be? TOMATO!! First step in a ‘summer salad’ still life. Watercolor and watercolor pencils.
16Nov
They were Dead Sea fruit, turning to ashes in the mouth.
~~ Hornblower and the Hotspur by C.S. Forester
My love for the Horatio Hornblower series of novels knows no bounds. One phrase always struck me as despositive of the entire series — dead sea fruit. the phrase refers to something that appears to be beautiful or full of promise, but is in reality nothing but illusion and disappointment.
There is an actual plant which produces dead sea fruit. Also known as the Sodom Apple plant it grows in the hot oases around the Dead Sea and Jordan Valley regions. It is not a ‘human friendly’ plant, touching it can result in a rash as the sap of the plant is a skin irritant, while the juice is highly poisonous. The fruits are deceptive in nature. From the outside they look edible, but they are anything but – inside the fruit there is nothing but fluffy white fibres and poisonous black seeds. The plant is as dishonest and as accursed as the sinners of the city of Sodom.
This is a WIP (work in progress) of the botanical dead sea fruit.
10Nov
One of the things I love to do is work in the 18th century as an 18th century artist, or ‘limner’ as they were called. And being a reenactor I have a ready cast of characters to use as models. This fellow is an American rifleman. The portrait is done in graphite (or plumbago as it was called in the 18th century) and charcoal on laid paper.
American Revolutionary War rifleman. Graphite portrait.
The lovely folks at the Jane Austen Society of North America asked me to design a logo for their national convention which was themed “Brothers & Sisters”. This is the result.
