New pics on the block

"Summer Moon", acrylic on reclaimed fence post, 3.5"x3.5"x1.5"

With the Embassy of Cake piece finished and set aside to dry, it was time to get down to brass tacks- or wood blocks, in this case- for the April City Art Gallery show. I’m participating in the group show in the back room this April, which is themed “Urban/Rural”. I actually shivered with glee when I discovered that, since a large block of my artwork falls into that category. With only a few woodblocks left in my shop, I busted out 5 new ones within the span of two days, presented tonight for your viewing pleasure. 😉

"Blue Hill Barn", a scene from the Angels Camp area of Northern California

"Bay Bluffs", a spot of the coast on Highway 1 near Half Moon Bay

"Tempest", from a rainy day on the Delta

"Water Plant" from somewhere along Highway 5 between Sacramento and Tracy

These pieces are up for sale at City Art this month along with several other landscapes on woodblock, two framed drawings and Looming. Oh, and there’s a bunch of other really great art from other artists too, I suppose, so you might want to come check it out. 😉 The opening for this month’s show will be this Friday, April 1st from 7-10 pm at 828 Valencia St. San Francisco. There will be free wine and snacks, plus a Magic Curry Kart will be making an appearance. Come say hi!

P.S. There’s only one more day to enter your guess for a chance to win a free print! Add a comment to the “Embassy of Cake” post to guess how many hours it took for me to complete the painting. The closest person will win a free print of it! Enter by March 31st, midnight PST. Too much pressure? Here are a couple of detail shots to help you make up your mind:

Click on the picture to view it larger

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Bonjour to blocks

"Proud", a poem block

Day 348: “Proud”, a poem block

I’m back in action with blocks today, as I’ve got a few spaces on the gallery wall to fill. 5 out of 7 of the landscape woodblocks I put up are sold (that means only three in total of all the original woodblock landscapes are left! congrats to those of you who nabbed some before they got snapped up), and 4 of the 5 new poem blocks I put up this last Saturday are also in new homes! If only BART ran from Sacramento to San Francisco. Then I could even make art on the way there and back! I’m pretty sure the Amtrak cost ends up coming out pretty close to gas and bridge tolls.

The prettiest drips are on the top edge of this one

Today’s piece reads: “very proud/ of a by-gone age,/ they quietly departed.” It even has the right punctuation. Thanks, Nancy Drew! While my dwindling mystery book will serve to fill many more of these guys, I’m definitely musing about what should be my next source material. Right now I’m leaning towards Wuthering Heights. Although I’ll probably end up reading it first. 🙂

Pushed to the edge

"Pushed", a poem block

Day 342: “Pushed”, a poem block

Today’s Nancy Drew poem block reads: “pushed to the edge of reason/ patience whispered to/ warn her”. We’ve all had those moments where we suspect we’re on the edge of losing it. Sometimes some tiny scrap of restraint peeks out to calm us. Sometimes it doesn’t. 🙂 I used purple pink and blue for this one. 23 days left! Here it is from the side:

Day and night

"Day/Night" poem paintings on woodblock, about 4"x4"x2" ea.

Day 319: Day/Night Poem Blocks

I’ve got a fresh batch of woodblocks burning a hole in my studio. These ones are slightly rounded on the edges, have darker/different grain patterns going on and are nude (gasp!) on the sides. Before diving into more mini landscapes on these [which I’m planning to do very soon, btw] I decided to do some color block/poem pieces with them to see how this new wood reacts to paint. I did a set like these back in June and some even earlier than that…wow, it was February. These read, “claiming night in the name of mystery” (pink-yellow block on left) “for the day had promised disappointment” (blue block on right).

This process involves flipping through an old book visually flitting from page to page until connections begin to form between snippets. Once I’ve pinned down my poetry, ransom-note-style, I create a color background inspired by it and add in the text. It’s really a fun way to work. Try it yourself next time you’re feeling creative! Perhaps I’ll write up a how-to for it and add it to my list of instructables.