Under Every Leaf!

…a little man sleeping! Gently snoring.

Bear snuffles…

We live in a world of great possibilities

Jan. 31, 2015
mixed media

A Night to Remember

07-29-13 (detail)

07-29-13 (detail)

07-29-13 (detail)

07-29-13
pastel, ink, watercolor, collage

The beautiful, sinking incandescent city gracefully descended below the sea's undulating surface. It was so improbable but down it went in front of their disbelieving eyes. And now it is just a blurred memory in the three friends' minds: Past, Present & Future as one. Beneath the calm waters, lights glimmer and fade and a bell tolls as the universe takes back another life: the Sunken Cathedral.

The Blue Hour

"Time to go"
ink, watercolor, acrylic. charcoal
April 20, 2013

It was so tempting! The lights in the sky beckoned. They danced and pointed the way. Bear ran his paws over the gunnels of his trusty bateau which bobbed in the reeds and sedges. It was a nice thought. But there were plenty of warm Summer nights ahead… maybe he'd take off some other time when he absolutely needed to view the blazing stars. He checked the painter and checked the knots, tramped out of the water, shook himself better and walked back to the house. Later. his eyes closed and all he could think about was… "dawn!"

The Bear

04-04-13
colored pencil, ink

The bear is contained within an abstraction, a cage that contains and does not contain what the bear really is (even the bear doesn't know --and this is the point). Are the elves archers? Are they doctors? The arrogance of a surgically precise Eros! They might strike the abstraction --and miss Life. How will the bear escape this confinement? With rage or a lumbering boredom ("I've had enough of this!)?

Is the bear immune to Eros' darts? …And really, no: The bear IS Eros. And we the archers and our arrows, like gnats, swarm in parallel before the large animal who inexplicably dances before us unaware, lost in the pleasure of his divinity. And hopefully we are enchanted too despite our swarming and because of our dancing!

Bon dimanche et bonne journée!

2013 Calendar

This year's calendar features Owl, Tern and The Bear busy planting seeds on the shore of a rocky island.

Write to me if you'd like one. There is no cost.

Each Painting is a Journey

10-19-12a
mixed media

I painted this the other morning. It started out one way and ended another way. The bear was the last thing I added (well, actually the oars were the last things. Or maybe it was the bear's toenails; I can't remember).

The important, take-home message is to never give up on something. Eventually a solution will be whispered in your ear and a bear might appear. Now, it's true that I have a number of images of bears in boats… I guess I'm just not through with that basic idea. But that's my prerogative isn't it?

The boat in this image and the sentiment it conjured (that we may not know the way but just having faith that our tools or methods have merit gets us through the rough patches) confirmed a steady belief of mine. It's nice also to have these ideas bubble up through the process. And making good Art is rarely a top-down process. And it's nice to end with a confirmation rather than begin with one. Although, having both isn't so bad either.

Blah blah blah! Bonne journée dear readers!

Bear Adrift

"Bear Adrift under the Moon"
collage, mixed media

detail

I've been exploring (or returning to) this idea of the bear adrift on the sea. In this case, it's on calm waters under a soothing full moon. Where are you headed Mr. Bear? Do you need a paddle or a sail? Maybe some birds will come and tell you about the things that you can't see beyond the horizon. Good things! Bon voyage et bonne chance!

A Strange Turn

Where do stories come from?

I ask myself this all the time. Or, rather, where will the stories go? And how will they end? And what will make them useful, loved or memorable? I really wish I knew. It would make life (seem) a lot easier. I am primarily an artist but I make these pictures that strongly hint at narrative potentials. The pictures come before the words right now. It's the insanity that keeps me sane …I think!

In this sketchbook* entry (finished this morning), the heron and the bear are peering over the sheer cliff to the ocean below. The small white tern is perched on a ledge far below. The situation doesn't seem too scary although there is an approaching bank of fog in the distance.

• Do the bear and heron see the tern? Are they even looking for him?
• Is tern hiding from the other two animals? Maybe he just wants some "alone time".
• Has tern made a narrow escape? Realistically, terns can fly from the Arctic to the Antarctic, surely escaping from a lumbering bear and an awkward heron wouldn't be so difficult.
• I think Mr Tern is just tired of his companions (and maybe they know it too!).

a painting in my sketchbook
mixed media 4/13/2012

detail

 In the next picture, we see that Mr. Tern is back in a rowboat. This is similar to the boat we saw him in back in February 2009 when this whole business started ("Owl & Tern"). Things are different now but he seems to want to quest on; his wings get itchy. He wants to fly and see the world. And he wants to share it with others.

Maybe. …to be continued… definitely.

Bonne journée à tous!

Mr Tern all alone in his boat
4/13/2012
mixed media

detail

* both images are a combination of media: collage, crayon, watercolor and acrylic paint, charcoal, pastel, ink and pencil and then poorly photographed with a cheap point & shoot digital camera.

Solo +1

« Pensive Cormorant »
15 Oct. 2011
gouache, crayon-resist, ink

I wonder what he's thinking about? And that black shape looming behind him. Is it some grim thing advancing or just an unhappy place being left behind. He looks strong. He doesn't look beaten. I think he'll be okay. His wings can carry him anywhere he wants to go. Ah, if only he knew where! Maybe toward that light source on stage right.
He needs a friend doesn't he? If he is a character, he needs a companion to add to his story. As I've presented him in this single drawing, he has few options. What if he were like this Bear?

« Bear & Butterfly »
19 March 2011
colored pencil, gouache

Besides being a "sweeter" moment, this picture presents a few options for our characters: maybe the butterfly is giving the bear ideas about what it is like to be able to fly. Or maybe the bear realizes that they are opposite types of creature. He is long-lived, ponderous and white and she is evasive, rainbow-hued and fragile. This dynamic (there could be many others) begins to get the gears turning.
The Narrativity Elves™ can begin their work. Let's go guys! Stop gold-bricking!

Character Study

An imaginary bird

She's wise but ungainly

Wary and sometimes full of regret

She's intelligent and learns quickly

Did she weave this web and is she caught in it now?
Meet our Cousin Bette!

Bears Everywhere!

Some recent bear related doodles!

Bye!

 

Utter Nonsense!

Feel free to suggest a story or motive…

Let's see, we have a contraption powered by some nuclear furnace or Catherine Wheel. It's being driven by an elf and is populated by cavorting blue foxes. All attended by a doleful bear.

Is there an explanation? Yes there is but it's boring and mostly about the process of making a picture out of nothing. Every artist is different in their approach to picture making. For me it has become a dialog between predictability and surprise. I do not begin thinking that today I shall make a picture with a contraption, an elf, some blue foxes and a bear. No, I begin with some predictable criss-crossing lines in green magic marker. And it goes uphill from there. Or downhill if I'm lucky.
The lines were boring so I started adding red dots and basically trying to "enliven" the marker doodle. The circles got added on the top and bottom. It could have turned into a Crystal City drawing at this point. Instead it became one of these vehicles I've been drawing since this summer. The vehicles always have occupants: first the elf, then the foxes. The elf brings a human element and the foxes add cuteness, joy, pleasure and spontaneity. The bear counters the sprightliness of the other creatures. So there is a picture that sort of came about in a logical fashion but it's not very compelling. It's whimsical and it might get your imagination fired up a little if you have some time to devote to looking at it and thinking about it.

It does suggest two questions to me and this, by the way, should dictate the progress of my practice. The questions are: 1) What is the nature of this small procession, and…
2) What do they see?

Is this enough to be the germ of a story? Can I love these questions and characters enough to find (or invest) the humanity in them? Indeed!

Have a good day.