Glorious Nature, Colorful Crowns

You really notice trees in the windy rainy weather.

This morning I saw an enormous tree that had fallen due to the weather. Some thing about the giant fallen tree reminded me of this project.

 I'm inspired to continue working on these. They're sort of crowns related to the rings of the tree. There are sticks and bark imbedded into the sides. Here's the Gracious Grace modeling the crowns.

Core Strength

I found this figure in the 6th Ave flea market, NYC. The guy said it's from Mawli. The figure is metal at it's core. It appears fragile but is quite sturdy. It's travelled far and is still held together essentially by mud.

I carried it home in my suitcase and had a stand built for it. I love this figure. I have wanted to do some art around it for a long time. I'm not satisfied with the drawing. It's too stiff and cartoony.

pencil drawing

ink drawing

These mash-ups on photoshop are better but still don't capture the grit and magic of the figure. The dangling beads, the funk of the fir, the sense of wrapped and unraveling are missing from the work so far. 

I don't know if I can do it. I'm going to set it aside for now and come back to it later.

More faces

Here's the latest....

Any favorites?

Friendly faces...

I seem to be fixated on faces right now. I started this statue study to focus on the figure and to get a better understanding of abstraction of the human form. But now I'm captivated by faces.

Here's the statue I'm working on now

This figure is another from childhood. We broke the left hand off long ago. 

The first sketch in ink

My semester project has been puppets. They are finally close to complete. Now I am creating 2-D images of the 3-D figures. It's sort of like painting a portrait of a friend.

Face to Face

watercolor, no background yet...

Growing up I loved the challenge of trying to balance this figure on it's pedestal. When I began sketching I naturally focused on capturing balance. As I sketched the face became more interesting. Sketching can reveal new directions.

color manipulated photo

I'm playing with color in both statue and the backgrounds. It's difficult to tell if it's working.  What do you think?

which one?

Do you have a favorite? If so why do you prefer one over the other?

Hats off to Bailey and Bearden!

Here's what I've been working on lately.

This is one of several African figures I grew up with. When my parents moved I got some of the smaller African statues. I've decided to make small watercolors of each one.

Here's the first the watercolor...scroll down to see different backgrounds.

watercolor & gouache 9" x 12 background still needed

After working on it for a bit I realized my influence from this guy... 

Radcliffe Bailey

check out Radcliffe Bailey current exhbition

Then I thought about it, and I can see we're both heavily influenced by this guy...

Romare Bearden

check out the Romare Bearden Foundation

Which image do you prefer?

Don't call it a come back!

Here's just some of what's happened since my last post.

Playful exploration of the materials and ephemera from the elementary art room:

 Color mixing lesson 250+ palettes

Inner & Outer spaces

 

 Giant Pods

 Text based work