Botanical III

I think this is finished. Lucky for me I had a great walk yesterday through the misty rain. And I was able to photograph some interesting plant life and collect some leaves and seed pods. It all helped me to finish the drawing.

Okay, okay, okay...

Here they are...

I don't want to say too much about them, but I couldn't resist offering small comments.

This is third in the Botanical series. It is smaller than the other two drawings at 18" x 22". I think these pieces are about first impressions, and a kind of dumbed down or simplistic drawing. They are also very much about exploring ink and mark making.

This was the easiest of the three panels to execute. And it seems to have maintained a light, airy, openess. The jury is still out as to whether or not it is finished.

I feel I finally had a breakthrough with this piece and am expanding it beyond a simple stencil and fill of the maple leaves. I am beginning to find ways to introduce visual language into this panel. Exciting!

This piece I have simply gone crazy on. Perhaps because it was the most desperate out of the three. It wasn't working out and that gave me permission to take big risks here. I have carved into the panel, applied gold leaf, scratched and sanded the paint surface. We're talking serious abuse.