Deliquescent Glow

3.25"x4.5"

Another gold leaf piece.   Varnishing sometimes enhances the contrast and saturation of the coloured pencil and wood, so I wanted to see how the gold reacted to being varnished.  Not too bad, doesn't change the surface too much.  If anything, it brings out the colour and contrast of the body so it's not overpowered by the gold...

Back to the dragon...

Gold is worse than wood!

11"x14"

I've been working on this piece for a few days (in addition to finishing one piece a day, I'm trying to have a larger one going at the same time). I found my old stash of gold leaf and thought I'd try it out on the wood. So of course, instead of doing some test pieces first, I dive right into this behemoth. A bit big for an experiment, but I love the challenge of figuring it out as I go along.  Especially when I don't really know if it'll turn out or not.  Keeps me from getting bored with the whole process.  Still needs a lot of work, but the hardest part is done.  Although I'm not sure I'll try gold leafing individual scales again any time soon.

So, the birch: If you don't go too thick, the coloured pencil sits on the top of the woodgrain so the picture seems to move as you move past it.  Different colours fade in and out, shadows deepen, highlights vanish and then reappear. If you look at a piece straight on it may look dull and flat, but take one step to either side and there's a face bursting out of the wood at you. That's one of the main draws for me, the reason I love working on wood.

I've kind of figured out how to photoshop the birch pieces so they look at least similar to the originals, but this goldleafing... Hmmm. It does the exact same thing, multiplied about 10 times. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the way it's turning out, but it's going to be a bitch to photograph.  

How the hell do you take a straight-on photograph from a 45 degree angle???

The edge of the moon

4" x 7 "
coloured pencil on wood

Like a sunset going down

6.25" x 8 "
coloured pencil on wood

two trees on a hilltop

3" x 4.5" 
coloured pencil on wood

After that last one, I needed a change of pace, fresh perspective and all that...  and so, a landscape

closing your eyes (won't make you blind)

3" x 4.5"
coloured pencil on wood

Not sure I like this one as much, this cheaper wood (not the birch I prefer) gives a courser look...

Shift

4" x 12 "
coloured pencil on wood

That's What Keeps Me

5.5" x 9" 
coloured pencil on wood

With this one, I stained the wood before drawing on it.  I like the look of it, the way it brings out the woodgrain and warms it up.  I think I'll do more.

a little more each time I crumble

3" x 4.5" 
coloured pencil on wood

I was going through my old life drawings thinking I could use some of them, and found a sketch I'd done back in Chicago.  I transferred it onto a small wood panel, and coloured it in...  The background of circles/bubbles/cells/stones is something I've used over and over in my work.  

More to come...

And so it begins...

I am, at this moment, filling out the application for Art at the Source, "an open studios event sponsored by the Sebastopol Center for the Arts and focusing on artists based in western Sonoma County".  Yay!!

So, I need to greatly expand my portfolio, to pad it with less intricate and time consuming (ergo, less expensive) works. With this in mind, I have set myself a goal of making at least 5 pieces each week priced under $100.  This is the first, to get the ball rolling