This drawing is 62" high by 52" wide.  I wanted to see what it would look like to put eyes into the skull looking back at viewer.

 

These are two drawings that I have not got any further on yet.

I am adding some more drawings/sketches.  Some are not finished yet.

This was a pencil drawing.  I experimented with blending the animal into the scribbles.  I don't really like how it is working.

This is an experiment using color.  I am trying to figure out how I can use color to get some effects that I can do in charcoal.  I am still experimenting.......

This drawing is not resolved yet.  This was a photo I took of a mother and her fawn.  They were in a corral that were destined for the slaughterhouse two days after I was there.  The mother was destined to go.  The fawn would stay.  I am experimenting with how to portray this concept of tragic separation.  I am still thinking about how I would show this. I thought of disintegrating, fading, turning her into blocks and moving them around...............

I am playing with the concept of reflection here. 

I am still working on this one.  I will be trying to add antlers, etc.  breaking off and swirling around.

 

This is another stage of the one above.  Still not done-not satisfied with distribution, balance or values of the outer objects.  Need to tone things down.

Since my last post I have visited the DeCordova Biennial, gone to the MET and MoMA in NYC, took a silk painting workshop to explore potential for layering transparent images, and visited a deer farm to photograph moving deer for my drawings.  I will also be photographing at an Elk farm December 7.

This is a photograph of the silk piece I made.  Behind it is a smaller colored sample piece I made.  See how the color shines through?  I like that.  I learned about other more transparent silks that may work better for what I have in mind.  The dye-steaming process is quite involved, so I may experiment with acrylics on silk instead and see what happens.

There were 300 deer at this farm.  When we entered the field of females, they crowded around curiously - poking their noses in my lens.  It was a great experience to be close to them and experience their personalities.

This was an exploration of birds - predators.  I was curious how they would look in this formation.  I explored the concept of a pool of water that the birds could see their reflection in. It is about 38 inches in diameter.

There are several more drawings that I will post by Thursday. 

Here is the transformed drawing.  I am pleased with the way it works.

This image is 53 inches square.  This is the before drawing.  This weekend I will transform it like the previous smaller drawing.

New drawing

Newest Drawings

Below is the finished circular head drawing I showed in my previous post.  I will be exploring more like this on a larger scale.  There are a few more sketches included here as well.  They are drawn o 24 x 32 paper.

September to October 8 work

Here are my latest experiments.  I made a trip to Ireland in September which gave me a lot of new images to work with.  I visited the "Dead Zoo" (Natural History Museum) in Dublin and took lots of pictures of the taxidermy animals there. The color abstract here at the top I feel lost in.  I don't really like it yet-I will play with it some more.

I am trying to explore ways to get intensity into my images- this month I have tried different techniques and mediums to see what they can do for me.  I will continue.

Newest drawings

Here are the most recent drawings.  Lucinda Bliss came today and we discussed many things about what inspires me to  choose certain animals.  The giraffe image is too blah.....inconsistent in treatment of light and space and unclear just why I chose a giraffe-other than for its posture. Then we discussed "What about it's posture? "  It was a valuable exercise to weed out things not to do again.  I am tempted to go back into it and destroy it and see where I can take it - but maybe it is more valuable as an example of where I started when we reconvene in January.

The darkest drawing(the one immediately below)-I do not like either.  It is overpowered by swirling lines.  If I identify segments that work, I can take them into new work.

The image with the adult goat will be reworked-it still has issues.

The best one so far is the drawing with the 3 sheep.  It was the last one I did, and the one I completed the fastest (after a few days of contemplation).

Latest Version of Giraffe on Bed

Sketches

These are some of the quick sketches I felt that I needed to do get the feel of room interiors.  I was experimenting with shape/objects/ light/ placement trying to get a better feel for larger images I wanted to make.

There are two images here.  The drawing as it is right now "Giraffe on Bed "

 and "The Giraffe in the Room".  This one is a Photoshop-altered image of the original drawing. (not refined)   I like the idea of the giant transparent giraffes filling the room with their ghostly presence.  The smaller giraffe on the bed is the one really in the room, and I added the large ones for emphasis-in case the viewer wanted to overlook or quickly dismiss the one on the bed.

I feel like I may be on to something here.... my question is....do I add this idea to the drawing or allow it to be a Photoshop image that I would potentially print onto appropriate paper?

I do have other ideas for original drawing-I will add birds, confusion, objects, erasures and movement-it is far from done so do not evaluate it as such.

Durer's Hare

I had found this rabbit in a book in school when I was a kid.  I have always loved the pose, seriousness and the fine detail of this rabbit.

Amazing Artist for my aspirations

I came across this artist years ago and have relocated his work.  Lars Henkel's work just blows me away!  It has the power, technical strength, mystery, thought-provoking content and power that I want to achieve.  Just incredible! Wow!

I met with Lucinda Bliss today.  We had a great discussion about subject matter, values and options to portray them, based on what I am doing in my current work.  I now have some new ideas to investigate and I am very excited about it! 

This is my third sketch.  I started it as a monotype with black ink.  I did not like it at all, and I have gone into it with acrylic, paint and charcoal.  I really do not know what to think of it yet.  It looks childlike-I am trying not to censor -so here it is for the world to see.

I found some quotes that I like from the book In the Making, by Linda Weintraub, by artist Michal Rovner:

"I am concerned with the blurring of human and animal, of existing and not existing, of being alive and not."

"We all share a struggle for existence - it doesn't matter if one is a human or an animal......"

"We all experience the fragility of being."

"To connect for a moment, with the force that moves through them is my aim."

This is my second sketch so far.  I am looking into other ways of thinking so I can generate pictures that will evolve differently.  I find I am spending more time researching creativity that I am making art.  I found Sean Kernan's blog-it is a great resource for articles on creativity, photography, art and writing.   

This is my first sketch.  Trying to work out ideas. Not done, but I think it is more important to move on to another. 

I started a sketch yesterday.  I am making random marks, then adding images.  I don't know where this will lead me, but I must start somewhere.  Since I want to develop content, I feel somewhat lost right now.  I don't know what the exact content should be yet-I am hoping my random work will begin to inform me once I have many sketches to study.

I visited the Portland Museum of Art today.  I enjoyed the animal masks from Tanzania.  It got me thinking about the concept of masks.......magic.......human needs versus animals needs......wishing.....conjuring....where imagination meets reality and how imagination and belief can create reality............

Sent mentor request Letters

I  sent (emailed) mentor letters to Lucinda Bliss, Kelly Popoff and Duston Spear this morning. July 2, 2013

I have met with and chosen Lucinda Bliss to be my first mentor.

I finished Critical Theory paper July 21 and Residency Summary paper July 22, 2013.

I will spend this week and next(July 22 to Aug. 2) creating some new visual work.

These shall be the starting point.   They are from investigations I did in 1998-9.  I will explore in this manner when I get back to the studio.