My Art: Scabs Covering the Wounds

 When I take time to deliberate about my latest artistic efforts, which differ from my previous work, I see several interesting elements. The obvious and visual parts are the choice of colors (black and white with red) and graphic design (fire stripped landscapes and ruins). Looking into the motivation and the "why" of the work, I came up with the thought that I was putting scabs over the wounds left by the many personal losses. And aren't scabs the beginning of healing?

Burnt
pen and ink with watercolor
9" x 6"

I have always been attracted to graphic art, and with the nomadic life I've had since the fire, working on small pieces with pen on paper has made sense. This first one, Burnt, seemed more like a doodle, but I began to spend more time abstracting the images, letting my mind and eye influence the line work. Then by adding the bright red watercolor paint to the graphic elements, a wildness is created. FIRE!! 

Twisted Branches
pen and ink with watercolor
9" x 6"

Last House Standing
pen and ink with watercolor
9" x 12"

In the latest piece, Burned Bark, I used a charred tree for inspiration. The tree sits at the corner of the deck of the house we are now renting. The deck overlooks the McKenzie River. A large portion of this piece is the line work describing the intricacy and fragility of the branches compared to the solid trunk. After finishing the tree with its twisting branches, I imagined the night of the fire with both banks of the ablaze. Surely the river had reflected the red flames devouring the valley that night.

Burned Bark
pen and ink with watercolor
12" x 9"