Works at a glance
Since my business is hibernating until 2025, I have most of my works stored on disk offsite. Here are a few stragglers...
The adventure began after I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. The symptoms were sudden onset and I didn't believe that I'd have the use of my hands much longer. My out-of-the-air estimate was three years of productive art time.
Holding a pencil or brush was a challenge. After trying many braces and other implements, I settled on a method of tying the instrument to my hand, much like Renoir. I used a few other tools to steady my hand when needed and a special light with a viewing glass when my eyes were affected.
My earliest collectors were endurance athletes so I drew cyclists, biathletes, triathletes in graphite, ink, and charcoal on paper. The bottom right photo from this first group is my son who was really into swimming at the time. I'll have to go to storage so that you can see more of these. For commissions I would hide surprises, example gold medals hidden in the splashes of a champion swimmer. Very small, I included a hand-held magnifier and challenged them to find their surprises. Fun times.
Since my business is hibernating until 2025, I have most of my works stored on disk offsite. Here are a few stragglers...
The adventure began after I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. The symptoms were sudden onset and I didn't believe that I'd have the use of my hands much longer. My out-of-the-air estimate was three years of productive art time.
Holding a pencil or brush was a challenge. After trying many braces and other implements, I settled on a method of tying the instrument to my hand, much like Renoir. I used a few other tools to steady my hand when needed and a special light with a viewing glass when my eyes were affected.
My earliest collectors were endurance athletes so I drew cyclists, biathletes, triathletes in graphite, ink, and charcoal on paper. The bottom right photo from this first group is my son who was really into swimming at the time. I'll have to go to storage so that you can see more of these. For commissions I would hide surprises, example gold medals hidden in the splashes of a champion swimmer. Very small, I included a hand-held magnifier and challenged them to find their surprises. Fun times.
Beginning of sacred arts. Exploring our behaviors when accepting and denying faith (top) and contemplations on the small labours of our benevolents (collection at bottom). Charcoal and liquified gold on rice paper. The gold was new to me and a bit of a nightmare for my unsteady hands!
ColorBlind was one of my favorite projects. 2016. My hands were really suffering so I tried a different approach to portraits. I began with a quote from James Baldwin, "We have got to be as clearheaded about human beings as possible, because we are still each other's only hope." It was a human perception experiment created with soft pastel on rice paper. Seven works . Spectrum colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet are deliberate. Simple, bare portraits were drawn using the same model, with only slight modifications to features. This resulted in different assumptions about race, gender, and character. Viewers were asked to guess the correct race, gender of the model and describe his/her character. Is this person sweet...mischievous, defiant? Viewers were not aware that the same model was used for each portrait. I was surprised that no one guessed; most of the viewers were fellow artists.
Abstracts, acrylic on canvas. During this period my hands were just about ruined and so I experimented with abstracts. My brain was not really wired for abstract but I was able to find a market for the works in the interior design/decor space. Hover over each picture for a description
War. A collection of seven works. Charcoal on rice paper.
Out of chronological order, this was an earlier work. Back when I could paint/draw straight lines! My sons sometimes have silly requests...hence, La Vaca, acrylic on canvas
Another out of order. Obviously early. Oil on canvas for my mother. It's one of her roses, Bride's Blush, I believe. I stressed so much over this one! Trying to meet her standard for oils.
Waiting room sketchbook, began 2019. My hands improved quite a bit with a new biologic medication so I started doing quick sketches while waiting at my doctor's offices. I have several doctors; rheumatologists, hematologists, ophthalmologists, podiatrists, surgeons, physical therapists...so lots of opportunities to draw. These may evolve into a project for charity, perhaps a book for auction.
