Here we are on day 1, 2012 and its been over 2 months since I have written anything. Soooo... I am posting my new works in progress. The piece to the left is a long thought about piece that I have just begun. It's drying or I would be in there working on it. It's a 60"x40" cotton duck canvas that has had multiple primings with an oil based gesso. The tones are being built up with a combination of graphite powder, titanium white oil paint, a bit of soft pastel, pencil and, yes its true, turmeric. The solvent at this point is Gamblin's Gamsol, but succeeding layers will be built up with Gamblin's Galkyd lite diluted with Gamsol and applied with my trusty Pre-Val sprayer. I plan on incorporating gold leaf at a certain point, but I am not sure where or when.
I have chosen to show this in its various stages because graphite is a medium that I love working with; this is the first time I have approached this process on canvas.
When I first began doing large drawings with graphite powder and soft pastel ( 1995) I felt that graphite was probably my signature medium and process, but time and response will decide that. At any rate, this medium allows me to take deep, quiet journeys within.
Here is a smaller, recent graphite piece on mylar: Graphite Carnival. As you can see, the imagery in both involves shapes and marks that have become part of my visual vocabulary and, if you will, my symbolic iconography.
In addition to graphite, my most recent explorations have been in encaustic, or melted beeswax, and I have another work in process that is the largest encaustic piece to date ( 16"x20" ).
Such a similarity of imagery, but ,oh my, what a different process.
My teaching schedule resumes next week, so I do not know when I will be posting again.
Wishing a vibrant, peaceful and healthy year to all of us!
