Owl Waiting

The sun is slowly climbing down from the abrasive yellow sky

The evening clouds find each other and get reacquainted

The tear-stained ocean carelessly sloshes against obsidian boulders

…and Owl waits.

Soon the moon will rise and her day will begin.

Little Dragon's Little Fire

(detail)

(detail)

(detail)

(detail)

Little dragon cheered up in front of the small fire
09-04-13
mixed media

Bird in A Boat

On the prow of a small boat in the middle of a wild sea… a tern pauses for rest. The empty boat is an island for his thoughts to occupy while the elements swirl around him.  

The wind gusts and rushes with no apparent reason or pattern. The clouds and mist fly across the white sky.

Above it all, the imaginative moon stalls transfixed yet untethered.

The empty boat, once so full of ambiguous promises still seems to wait. Wait for what? Terns fly from pole to pole and from sunrise to sunrise. The bird is always fatigued and always ready to go.

The Tern gathers strength and solace imagining that this moon, even, this benevolent and sly orb, sends a few beams (of uncertain vintage) his way and dimly lights his gay and urgent flight.

This painting is from my sketchbook. It was finished on June 4th. I lump it into my series of paintings and drawings about Owl and Tern.

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.

The Reef

"09-03-11a"
© 2011 Rob Dunlavey

All pictures are rooted in the real world, even imaginary ones like this. On some level they all tease or provoke meaning out our experience of life. So even though this is a predictably melodramatic and trivial scene, we can avail ourselves of the bleak prospect and the tiny essential lives of the birds on the cliff.  That's the concept and because it's a picture and we can behold it, it becomes a tool… if you have the time and the need.

Setting Sail

Each drawing is a small voyage.
Every sequential mark or blot or brushstroke carries a question in its wake: what next?
– Where is this picture going?
– Will it take an unexpected turn and lead you into a tangle of conflicting ideas?
– Will it stay close to shore and merely reaffirm familiar choices and ideas?
– Because a painting is a mix of technique and imagery, will it be some blend of both: the exciting and the predictable?

I think illustration is concerned with this final type of scenario. It may use unfamiliar methods and surreal combinations to get to a familiar conclusion or sentiment.

the smallest crag is worth a look

Nothing here except a good view

diving for pearls …or lunch!

This picture started upside down with the tan area at the bottom and the blue-ish area suggesting a sky. Flipping the book 180º gave me a different perspective that reminded of Japanese or Chinese landscapes.

© 2010 Rob Dunlavey
ballpoint pen, latex paint in sketchbook 17" x 8.5" approx.

Seascape with Cormorant

Solitary Cormorant Contemplating the Overcast Sky

I like the way this painting turned out. It's done in a variety of media. The bird was made from some hand-colored paper collaged after the lonely rock seascape was done and waiting for a few weeks, unfinished. Here are some details: