Wilson Taylor and Grandma Lucy Art

Artwork by Wilson (one week shy of his 5th birthday), created on his own and with his grandma Lucy in Seattle, July 2014, is better than any of the art Lucy saw at museums and galleries in Seattle on her last trip. Top to bottom:
1.  Cole and Wilson: pen & ink and colored pencil on brown craft paper 9x12.  Cole did add some color to this one, but generally he was happiest putting together exotic Lego sculptures.
2.  Garden:  pen & ink and colored pencil on pink craft paper.
3.  Grandma and Me:  pen & ink and marker on pink craft paper.
4.  Raindrops and Rainbows:  Watercolor and ink 6x9
5.  Rainbow:  Crayon on plain paper 8 1/2 x 11
6.  Eclectic:  (includes art by Wilson's dad Matt Taylor on yellow stick-its + an elephant) and a pen & ink rooted flower by Grandma Lucy

Variations on a Parrot Theme

Variations on a Blackbird theme

I believe I prefer my digital images to my monotypes, but both techniques are fun.

Variations on a Crane Theme

Expanding on my "Crane in Carmel" print effort (see earlier blog entry), I thought I'd try some digital variations including a print (above) and a new fabric design (below).

Protea

Detail of a Protea flower for a new quilt in process.  Wool punch, embroidery and applique

Art is the Best Therapy - New Prints

Prints from the San Anselmo Printmakers 3rd press run.  Top to Bottom:
1.  Strange Journey #1 collagraph
2.  Crane ghost monotype with ink and gouache
3.  Blackbird ghost monotype with ink and gouache
4.  Surfer monotype with gouache and watercolor
5.  Blackbird in Marin monotype chine colle with gouache
6.  Crane in Carmel monotype chine colle with pastel and gouache

R.I.P. E.A. Autrey

My brilliant, talented, funny, loving, difficult dad died this week, two weeks shy of his 94th birthday.  I shot this video of him on a trip-of-a-lifetime in May/June 2013 when Papa and I traveled with sister Laura back to Macy, Indiana to see where E.A. Autrey grew up.  He will be missed.

Bird Prints

Touched up prints from top to bottom:

Blue-crowned MotMot ghost print

Blue-crowned MotMot in ginger chine colle

Blue Parrot with Baobab trees

Blue Parrot with Baobab trees chine colle 

Blue-Crowned Motmot Monotype

Best unadulterated print of mine, made during the 2nd San Anselmo Printmakers artwork day, was this blue-crowned motmot chine colle monotype.   The process included an Adobe Illustrator B&W drawing, of a motmot bird collaged into a photograph of ginger, taken in Maui, then printed on Kozo paper, then glued to 100% cotton rives bfk paper, then monoprinted with akua inks and liquid pigments using a polycarbonate plate.

Helleborus

Experimenting with different techniques.  This 11x15 print is an encaustic monotype with pastel and ink.

Bird Quilt

Latest cotton quilt, measuring 47" wide x 67" high featuring wool-punched birds, free style quilting, digital blue jay photo prints on cotton percale, larger original images printed by Spoonflower, various commercial fabrics, machine stitched.  Front, detail and back featured

Elsa At Goleta Beach, 1960 - Three Monotypes

Taking my Lindstrom Machinery etching press on its first run, our San Anselmo printmaking group got together to do some initial experiments with Akua intaglio inks and liquid pigments, making monotypes with polycarbonate .030 and PETG plates printing onto dry Rives BFK 100% cotton French mouldmade paper. Doing drypoint on the plastic plates didn't seem to result in strong enough line work, so I hand inked later. Damp paper would probably have worked better.  The Akua liquid pigments also didn't work as well as desired either, so the prints were finished with pastels, which worked beautifully.  More experimentation to come!

More E.A. Autrey Original Art

Top to Bottom:
1.  Five Autrey Girls photograph with wax mustaches
2.  Bottles pastel
3.  Candle pastel
4.  File Cabinet watercolor
5.  Still Life with Fruit pastel
6.  SB Research watercolor (very old)
7.  Self Portrait etching
8.  Self Portrait pastel
9.  Self Portrait woodcut
10. Singer Sewing Machine watercolor (very old)
11. Still Life with Paintbox oil
12. Still Life with Pitcher oil
13. Trees etching
14.  Various etchings and one ceramic tile
15.  Various pastels

Embroidered Blue Birds

Above are six new felted blue birds, created for a bird quilt in the works.  These birds are based on my button bird and friends poster (as seen in the bird print with moon).  Each bird is made by machine punching hand dyed Falkland wool top into Kaufman Kona cotton cloth, then adding machine and hand embroidery. The wool, apparently, was grown on sheep in the Falkland Islands.  I bought it from Twisted Filament's Etsy shop.