Wearing clothes covered in Corona Virus designed fabric?

 Happy to find an unknown guest has purchased my Corona Virus fabric design from Spoonflower Lucy Autrey Wilson Art Fabric, Wallpaper and Home Decor | Spoonflower.  Maybe I should design more virus and bacteria designs!  They are certainly interesting.

When Painting Ideas Go Astray!

I was mocking up a few photo composites as reference for some new oil paintings I was planning, using old family photos.  Having learned the hard way that some people are sensitive about memories associated with certain images, I thought to ask permission.  Permission was denied!  One alternative suggested, by my entomology specialized sister, was to replace human heads with insect heads, as I had been doing with bird heads.   I tried a few versions, but they all looked quite unattractive.  The best was this photo composite with a few pen & ink insects drawings covering the faces.  I kind of like it for what it is, but it will not be the basis for any future oil paintings.  

Two More Quilts for 2020

 The perfect snuggle size 56" x 72" each.  Last two quilts of the year! They are always more work than they appear!

Top:  Crow, Flamingo and Dodo birds in red, black and blue

Bottom:  Funky Birds and Bugs in purplish blue, and yellow

Flannel backs for both (not shown here.)  Made for two very special people!

Bugs, Birds and Flowers - Marin Open Studios

As I am gathering artworks together for my Marin Open Studio, the first two weekends in May, a nature theme is coming together:  Bugs, birds and flowers.  The Bug Art is highlighted in this post, to be followed by birds and flowers in subsequent blog posts.   There are also some interesting people portrait collages to come.

I love painting Insects.  They come in all sizes and colors so make great models.  They are also essential to make the natural world function.  Here is a preview of some of my insect art which will be on display in May.

Digital Prints

Insects A to Z pen & ink & marker drawn insects, digitized with original insect font done in 2006.  One of my bestselling alphabets for many years on Art.com.  Available as a 13x19 print

Bugs in Bottle on Table digital composite of mixed media ‘Bottle of Bugs’ art done in 2015, with line art from a series of pen & ink and watercolors done in La Jolla in 2002, bird silhouettes from drawings done after a trip to India in 2015, and polka dot fabric designed in 2014.  Available as an 8 ½ x 11 print.

Spiders and Spider Webs Photographs shot in the Galapagos in 2017.  Available as 11x8.5  and 19x13 prints.

Art Quilts

Space Garden 45.5” w x 63” h with silk, cotton, digital fractal insect designs printed on silk organza and applique.  Done in 2014.  No longer available

Bee World 30” w x 47” h, including silk and cotton with fabrics of my own design.  Done in 2014.  Available

Mixed Media

Bottle of Bugs 9” w x 12” h paper on board with 1 ½” cradle.  R&F oil sticks, cold wax, digital print and Gum Arabic transfer on paper backed panel.

Cicada Mixed Media 6” x 6” paper on board with 1 ½” cradle.  R&F oil sticks, oil and ink on Arches watercolor paper.

Digger Wasp 6” x 6” paper on board with 1 ½” cradle.  R&F oil sticks, oil and ink on Arches watercolor paper

Oil Paintings

Dragonfly 5” w x 4” h stretched canvas block with 1 3/8” cradle.  Oil painting, black and gold ink.

Bugs in the Garden

Testing a new lens and I discovered some bugs having fun in the Helleborus.  The world is full of big and little creatures living life, and we are probably only aware of .0005% of it at any time.

What's New with Bugs and Textures

Final pieces:
Top:  "Bottle of Bugs" mixed media on 9x12" cradled wood panel, featuring my new patent pending work flow incorporating pen & ink and marker, cold wax, oil paint, R&F pigment sticks, gum arabic transfer and digital collage on Kozo paper
Bottom:  "San Anselmo Street Textures" 13x19" poster printed on Epson Hot Press Natural professional paper (inspired by the way Facebook cropped my latest photo album)

Big Jar of Bugs

A close up of the Big Jar of Bugs for full appreciation.

Gum Arabic Transfer Collage

I recently took a fun workshop with Heather Wilcoxon and learned some new techniques to further my interest in printmaking and collage.  Continuing on my themes of bugs and birds are three new items:

Top two: Collage on cradled wood panels 12" x 16"
1.  Bugs in a Bottle
2.  Crow's Nest
Bottom:  Collage on Rives BFK paper 11 1/2" x 15"
3.  Crow's Shadow

Space Garden

Latest cotton and silk quilt masterpiece: 45 1/2" wide x 63" high, including digital fractal & original insect art printed on silk organza, applique on a central quilted silk panel, cotton polka dots, and some cool Jone Hallmark commercial bugs fabric

Circles With Bugs

It's raining tears.  The alarms are going off.  Bugs, (and unseen here) birds and bees are dying.  Hence my abstract attempt to depict global warming & other human induced earthly disasters.