Lungfish

Believe it or not, this piece was inspired by the IF topic "Foggy"-- but it sort of drifted away from me into an undersea anti-smoking thing. I don't keep very tight reins on my sketchbook, obviously! Once again it's not quite finished but since it's the 11th hour I'm posting it anyway.

Acrylic on text from an old patent medicine handbook (c.1907) on canvas, 6x6".

Pickleface

This is painted over a page from a home-ec textbook published in 1915. Take heed, friends, & avoid pickles when acid is craved. Acrylic on text on canvas, 4x4".

Microcosmos: Flea Circus

We have recently been invaded by a host of extremely bold, fierce & bloodthirsty fleas. They scoff at Frontline & seem to relish both cat & human flesh. I really, really wish they would go away.

This image was inspired by the proverb, "Big fleas have little fleas/ Upon their backs to bite 'em,/ And little fleas have lesser fleas,/ And so ad infinitum. "

I was imagining the dorsal inhabitants of one of our evil companions, & thought it would be funny if a strange little circus populated his back... & a leg or two...

So here you have it. Acrylic on map & text on canvas, 6x6" Click for a detail view-- I needed the magnifier for this one!

NEWS FLASH! This painting will be in the Raleigh, NC. Visual Art Exchange "What's In A Name/Microcosmos" show beginning this Friday. There's an opening event on the 11th, 6-9. If you're in the area, stop by!

FLASHIER NEWS FLASH! The folks at Visual Art Exchange called to tell me that my painting won a prize!

SUPER FLASH! I found out on opening night that it won first place! I guess I should be grateful to those fleas...

Freelancer at Exchange Gallery!

The original art for "Freelancer" will be on display in the "Emulous" show at Exchange Gallery in Raleigh, NC, June 6-27. This show features art based on famous works.

Freelancer

This painting is a takeoff on Bosch's Wayfarer, a protest against the Orphan Works bill, & a general free-lancer's lament. Yes, I'm feeling a bit whiny, but I hope there's enough humor to leaven the sob story.

Acrylic on map on canvas, 10x10".

Click for a close-up.

I'm happy to report that this image will appear in Spectrum 16!

Shadowed by Deadlines

This topic was interesting. The more I thought about it, the more I realized my pet peeves were mostly things I brought on myself.

Deadlines for example. I have this need/hate thing about them. When I paint I'm very obsessive about details & could happily keep tweaking forever. So I'm usually resentful about having to stop & declare a piece done. But I also really hate being late.

This inner conflict results in a lot of long nights, stress, & eyestrain. Yet if it weren't for deadlines I'd probably still be working on this piece I started 8 years ago!

It was done as an entry to an RSVP competition with the theme of shadows. (I made the deadline & it made the show!) It's acrylic on primed paper, 6x9". Click for a closer view of obsessive detail in the border.

Apologies for another old one... I'm hoping to get an original drawing done for this week, but it's looking somewhat dicey. Deadline stress again!

Burden

Curiously, I was working on this piece when the "Heavy" prompt came up on IF. It's acrylic on collaged text on an old book cover, about 6x9". I think Easter was on my mind, but how it came out quite this way I'm not sure I want to know. Click for a better view of the texts, from an old encyclopedia (Incubation) & and old dictionary (Incubus).