Paintings

These paintings came about as a result of my "seeing" things in woodgrain. Sometimes a full image (Essence of Equine, Zebra X-Bee) sometimes as a body part (Woman and Shawl...breast) I started this work by cutting off the background, then one day I was too anxious to get started and just painted the background with a black glaze to define the figure.....wellllllll...low and behold the glaze over top of the woodgrain did marvelous things. So I added some radiant stripes and a painted border and really enjoyed what I was seeing. (Woman and Shawl, Dancer).

With a happy heart and a fun approach to the work I added faux jewels, gold foil, string, rock, glass and anything that belonged on the surface. These articles are sandwiched among layers of clear varnish, amber varnish, acrylic inks and acrylic paint. Each painting has about 12 layers all told and some have more.

I paint on pieces of wood that measure 44"x44", 24"x44" and 24"x24". They are framed using a layer of ribbon or contrasting paint, then a row of carpet tacks . I use this to:

• Protect the edges of the board and
• To enhance the idea of fine polished furniture the woodgrain emits.

The present pieces are 1/4 nudes, 1/4 flowers, 1/4 animals and 1/4 still life. Click one of the below to view the paintings: