Frankenstein Friday

What you look'n at?!

Thursday is Kick Ass Chick day

It is fun for me to revisit the paintings that I haven't seen in years. Here is Cindy. I especially like her hands and feet.

Wonder Woman Wednesday

Globe

It was hard to photograph due to the glare. I used a lot of Damar Varnish last night. I was afraid the paint was going to slide off the surface from the honey like medium mixed in the paint. It was a great surprise this morning when I went out to the studio that the paint did not run. Just a small drip from the Lilly pad umbrella the little fish is holding. The Globe looks like a gem, like something very precious and rare. It looks cooler than it photographed. I am encouraged! It is a slow process painting on a round surface. I think the fact that I have to put the paint down so carefully, has helped me be more thoughtful. I can't wait to start another one! Onward!

Crochet a base

Throughout the holiday season I got the craft bug. One of the things I made was a felted eye glass case. Well, that is what I tried to make. I over shrunk it and now I use it for a mini wallet. I saw some crochet graffiti when I was last in NY. I love what they are doing! Anyhow, I got the idea for a base for the Globe. My first idea was to get some industrial felt for the base, but finding it has been a real pain. So I thought why not just crochet one?
I felted in the kitchen sink so it wouldn't shrink as much as my eyeglass case did. I like it. I could still change my mind about it. But for now it is the base for the Globe.

18+19+20

Major changes to this one last night. I think it is way better than it was. I have made some major personal breakthroughs on this one. As you can see Black Wonder Woman is gone. She has been replaced by a real girl. I miss my friends in NY and was thinking they should just pop up in some of these new works. Next thing I knew, there she was. The Birdmen came flying in last night too. Our friend the Waxwing is responsible for that. The color finally settled down to a reasonable pallet. It may not be my greatest work, but it is taking me to the next level. Onward!

Bird cut-outs

Here is a quick view of the bird shapes I taped up to hopefully save some bird lives. Now that I think about it maybe bird shapes aren't the best idea. Maybe I should make cat shapes, or one big Hawk!

What is in the back yard...

While I was posting the last bit, I heard some banging and scratching coming from the Lizards room. She was at her door trying to get out. It got unseasonably warm here, 74 degrees yesterday. So the Princess of Green got to sun in the yard. I just got her set up out there, she is so happy!
In the second photo you can see the mess she has made since her hormones have been ragging. She is normally very clean and not so active. I have since washed all her bedding and it looks spiffy again. The other day she made a poop that I believe was a partially formed egg. They can either lay eggs or their body absorbed the eggs. She has never laid eggs since she has lived with us (we have had Truman for about 9 years). Since she laid the egg, she has started to settle down. I am relieved this only happens once a year and I think she is too.

Birdmen fly

The incident with our friend the Waxwing got me going on these Birdmen scrolls. My tools, a cheep roll of paper and a Sharpie. It was really fun. I was thinking about how little boys draw war. Laying on the ground making sound affects, living the drawing. The Birdmen swoop, sore and stall through the air. Don't know where I am going with these but I will keep doing them. Each length of paper is about 7'.

Dead Bird

Not just any dead bird it is a Ceder Waxwing, Bombycillia cedrorum. I cropped the blood pool next to his head out of respect. We found him yesterday by my studio. He crashed head first into the small window on my studio door, this broke his neck. Like the early naturalist who killed birds in order to document them I am benefiting from his death. As you can see they truly are beautiful creatures. Up till now I only saw them from the window or up in a tree. The beauty was a flash, just an impression. Somehow it does seem worse when the pretty ones die. Like the little girl on Kid Nation said about the chickens, "Kill the ugly ones". I already have cut out paper shapes and taped them to all the windows in the house. To warn the birds not to crash into them. This has happened before.
Back in art school my friend Randy found a dead Pigeon and hid it in a cupboard in the painting studio. After hours a group of us took over the place, like cockroaches having a nightly party in the pantry. We painted, drank gallons of cheep wine and sometimes had big time wrestling matches. Randy would take his little rotting corpse bird out and paint his portrait. It seems like that bird was around for a long time. I can still recall that painting! It was about 4'x5' black and white and very expressionistic (we were all digging the New German Expressionist at that time). I think he did a few diptychs of it too. Relax, I am not going to keep this little guy stashed, for a memento moire painting. I have already given him a proper funeral, Frankenstein is my witness. But his colors and his life have entered my conscious. Thank you little bird. Thank you little Bombycilla cedrorum.

A Man for Monday

This is the 3rd and most successful of the Andy paintings. I really like this one. I will post the 2nd Andy, next week. I needed to put something up that didn't make me cringe for a change. Lately my painting posts have been, not so aesthetically pleasing. I hope to change that! I am heading out to the studio today. It warmed up outside and I am going to take full advantage of the warmth.