This picture started as a plain star field. I took it along to the Darkover Convention in November 1997 and just started sketching what I saw in the stars with a white Prismacolor pencil. I was tempted to leave it just at that, but the contrast was low enough to make it hard to see the image unless the light hit it just right. I ended up enhancing the lines with acrylic paint that shimmers pearl gold and glows in the dark. 6x8" Acrylic on masonite. Framed in dark oak.
This image started as an experiment in applying faux finishing techniques to acrylic painting. That accounts for the wild background. Then I played with some foliage tricks out of one of Bob Ross's books and set it aside for a couple of months. On a whim, I took it along on a camping trip, clamped it into my portable easel and decided to sketch in whatever I saw lurking in the image. What I saw in the bright light of a Berkshire morning was bubbles and something rather more mythical. When my mind wanders like that it often surprises me what it comes back with. Acrylic on masonite, 6" x 8". Framed in dark oak.
When I'm somewhere between a painting mood and a sculpture mood, I do a bas relief. I usually gravitate toward the plaster-like look and texture of plain Sculpey for this, and work on masonite primed with white glue. The clay adheres well to the dried glue and the soft texture of it is well supported by the masonite and takes detail easily. Too easily for those who don't like to see fingerprints in their work, but doesn't that just prove it's hand made? For this figure I didn't want stark white and I didn't want to paint and lose the effect I was appreciating in the monochrome contrasting with the shells I was using to ground the figure, so I reached for a jar of sand. When you click on the thumbnail, depending on your monitor, what you see will be just about life size. She's only 6 inches wide and 41/2 inches high. Displayed on a table easel. Sold
One of my favorite places to find art fodder is in the tailgate sale area of a Ham Radio Festival. This tube was thoroughly non-functional and therefore an ideal vehicle for my imagination. With lead crystals added for gesture and sparkle, it really cried out to be beaming someone up or down. The fire dancer is a flesh toned blend of 3 phosphorescent polymer clays. She not only glows in the dark, but in the daylight as well. Overall height about 14 inches. Sold
I hope you will have the chance to see some of my work in person at one of the shows listed in "Where's Halla?" on my Home World Page.
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