Fireflies

Fireflies; 12 x 11"; charcoal and mica powder on paper

Rain Shower

Rain Shower; 12 x 11"; charcoal and mica powder on paper

I Was a Milk Cloud Floating

I Was a Milk Cloud Floating; 12 x 11; charcoal and mica powder on paper

Heaven and Earth

The Tower; 12 x 9.5"; pastel on paper

  This week I began a series of small pastel drawings in conjunction with the larger landscape paintings.  Here's the latest one.

Vessels Gallery show extended

 

  The exhibition of drawings at The Vessels Gallery in Boston has been extended until Friday, November 22!  If you haven't had a chance to see the eleven charcoal drawings on display, there's still time!

The Firmament Series at the Vessels Gallery

Peter Callas' pottery in the gallery window

  The opening reception for Hot Environment and the Firmament Series was last night.  It was a fantastic night and the reception of the work was positive.  I had a chance to meet and talk with many people in attendance.  Thanks for making the trip out.  If you haven't had a chance to see the show yet, it is on display until November 3rd at the Vessels Gallery.

 

 

Drawing exhibition at the Vessels Gallery, Boston

I am pleased to announce an exhibition of my drawings from 2010 and 2012 this fall at The Vessels Gallery in Boston's South End.  Shown in conjunction with Hot Environment: New work by Peter Callas, my eleven drawings will be on display amongst Peter's wood-fired ceramics.

The opening reception is during First Friday on October 4th, from 5 - 9pm.  Come out and see the show!

The Fabric of the Universe

The Fabric of the Universe; 48 x 60"; charcoal on paper; 2013

  I am pleased to announce the launch of my Kickstarter project, The Fabric of the Universe.  This summer I will be renting time in the AS220 printlabs to create a body of etchings that explore the idea of the cosmos as a piece of fabric.  You can support this work by purchasing a print from the series before it is made!  Click here to view the project.  And check back here for photos and stories from the printlabs.

Faculty Exhibition Opens Monday

  The Annual Faculty exhibit at the Community College of Rhode Island is being installed today.  I entered a small pastel drawing from my recent series of landscapes based on the book The Sheltering Sky.  The opening reception is this coming Monday, February 25 from 4 to 6 pm at the Flanagan Campus Gallery in Lincoln, RI.  See you there!

Descendants

Descendants; 36 x 36"; acrylic and charcoal on gesso; 2012

 

  I have finally shot and edited photos of work I completed this fall.  Here is one from the series on houses.  I made it near the end of the series.  It is one of the larger works at 3' x 3' mixing charcoal, gesso and paint together with immediacy, I hope.

The Sheltering Sky

  I recently completed a small series of pastel drawings in tandem with the larger charcoal drawings of trees.  The pastels were a chance to rest while in the midst of the much more demanding large-scale work.  The composition was inspired by an image by Adolph Gottlieb, Orb.  I worked with this idea of balancing two compositional elements.  The resulting landscapes began to remind me of my former home in the Sonoran Desert as well as the novel by Paul Bowles, The Sheltering Sky.

The Desert; 8 x 6"; pastel on paper

Swelter; 8 x 6"; pastel on paper

New drawing

Untitled; 60 x 48"; charcoal on paper
 

  The drawings of the woods have exploded in size.  The subject matter demanded this larger format, and I definitely think it was a good decision.  I have two of these large scale pieces in the studio right now.  I think one of them is finished.  This one I am still working on. 

The Clearing

The Clearing; 27 x 30"; charcoal on paper

  After dallying in the studio over the last two weeks, I have come upon an idea that I am interested in investigating - the clearing.  Here is the first attempt, related to an earlier painting Night Time.  And inspired by a visit to a current installation at Brandeis by Lydia Kann Nettler.

First Flight

Untitled; about 14 x 18 inches, charcoal on paper

  I am starting to photograph some of the drawings I made over the last six weeks!

The Last Six Weeks

 

   At the end of my(self)? today I dredged out all the work I have recently completed. As I laid it on the studio floor before me, I was so astonished I had to snap some pictures. I even forgot about four of the drawings squirelled away between leaves of tracing paper.  As you can see, I have my work cut out for me in terms of getting together good photographs of everything.

 

 

House

Untitled; 18 x 18 inches; charcoal on paper

  I haven't posted new work in a few weeks what with vacations and the start of the teaching semester, but that doesn't mean I haven't been making it.  Here is a recent drawing from the studio.

April Drawings



Untitled; 9 x 11"; mixed media



Untitled; 11 x 9"; mixed media

  After the thesis show went up it was difficult to continue making work in my studio.  The solution: start on something small - in size and ambition.  I created ten drawings on wood panel using charcoal, shellac, and denatured alcohol.  I have put the series aside, and interacting with them again, I am not sure they stand up to scrutiny.  They did, however, open up investigation of a new media and challenge the way I was thinking about constructing my previous work.  And they were an essential activity to keep me going.

Working from life

sketch; 23 x 18"; charcoal on paper

  I have let a little observational drawing and painting back into my life.  A few of us in graduate school have been discussing the feeling that we are "tapped out" in the wake of this high-volume, abstract, painting.  And constant production has a way of doing that to you.  I think abstract work especially puts a demand on the artist to plumb the depths and invent something from within.  It only makes sense then that after a while you will need to fill up on new images and ideas from which to paint.  Here is some of that attempt. 

  I am disappointed in the composition, but as this was a way to get into the studio and work in the face of pressure from the upcoming thesis exhibit, I am not going to be too hard on myself.  Suffice to say I needed a bigger piece of paper for this image.  But I do think I achieved a wonderful sense of space and expanded my vocabulary of mark-making.  Perhaps I'll let you in on more of these exercises in the coming weeks.

Life Drawing in Brookline

The two drawings above are from my latest life drawing session. The top one is the longer pose - about 35 minutes; and the bottom about 10. I am excited about the sense of volume in the bottom pose. I think it's acheived mainly through the curved lines that sweep through the figure, something a previous drawing teacher had tried to dissuade me from articulating. But the models I have the opportunity to draw as of late are substantial people, and I am losing the underlying bone structure because I cannot see beyond the changes in shape that their flesh create. It's all very exciting - and perhaps a weird thing to say, but having done alot of life drawing you typically see one body type; a super trim athletic female. Perhaps this is the only person willing to disrobe in a room full of strangers. It gets pretty boring to draw similar body types. The two sessions I have had in Brookline have been pleasant surprises as the models look like normal women with weight and mass to their bodies. It's great - they are very Rubenesque.

These two poses are from the first session. Again the longer pose is pictured first, the shorter second. I hope to continue attending and improving my observational skills!

Finished onion drawing

Here is the finished onion drawing.