I have discovered a new approach to drawing. It’s much more like my paintings. Part of this came from being forced to use acrylics thru the winter. I wasn’t thrilled w/ them for painting, but I stumbled into a winning tri-fecta of drawing, vellum, and acrylic washes. I’m using chalk and charcoal for the drawing. I sneak some color in. I’ve also added some collage after all of this, on other works. This drawing is 3′ x 28″.
detail
This is the eye of “Marsha Broke Her Ankle”. I love drawing big (large?).
Marsha
No, she doesn’t look like this. She broke her ankle. Surgery, 9 pins, a plate, and six weeks off of that foot is going to be a trial. Trying to work and pay for the hospital is going to be …more than a trial. She has no insurance thanks to a preexisting condition. This drawing is my take on the situation. Also, it’s the first time I’ve drawn on vellum. I really like it. This is 3’x2′. The roll is 36″ wide. Gregg’s going to make me a drawing board from a sheet of plywood, so I can draw as large as 8’x3′. I like drawing big, but then how to display it is a big problem. I’m supposed to cover it w/ acrylic sheet, but it’s very expensive. My approach is to pin it to the wall, but then it isn’t suitable for “collectors”. I want to enter a drawing show at UNCA, but not spend a fortune, which I don’t have, anyway, on framing two large drawings. Oh, well, my problems are nothing compared to Marsha’s.
Been awhile
I should make excuses for not posting so long. My dog ate it! I’ve been involved with HOST, the Haywood Open Studio Tour, Oct. 2 & 3. We have finished the work on Sleeping Stones Gallery. Now to find artists to show for two days. I’m hoping for an interesting mix of works.
Does it need an oil well?
I have two paintings I’m working on for possible Christmas cards this year. 
lighten up
I took this image from a collage. Theses panels have been “percolating” all winter. When I looked at them I realized that the dark areas were too dark. The other problem was that the paint was too segregated. I like to interrupt the surface and drag paint to an area were it doesn’t belong.
Recycled
This is a big piece of canvas, about 7’x13′. I started working on it in ’97 after the death of my parents. We’ve hauled it around ever since. I thought of it for “The Good Wreck”. It is challenging to integrate a new painting on top of an old one, and it may fail, but I’ll never know unless I try.
Paper
I don’t know if it’s because the canvases I’m using are sooo old, or what. This spiral is on gessoed paper, and the acrylics didn’t bead up on it. I am pleased w/ the momentum in these new spirals. 
Spring
Thru the winter I worked in acrylics because I have a propane heater. It does NOT like fumes! I believe I’ve learned enough to no longer be afraid of them, but I will go back to oils until next winter. I continue to explore spirals as well. I’ve moved away from helixes. There are lots of different kinds of spirals.
“View of the Parking Garage”
I did a series called “Corporate Clones”. Most were collages. I found this one when I was cleaning the studio. It was thin, so I added some paint.
