Box Turtle Sketch

I've been struggling to find just the right idea for an etching for a show called "Earthscapes" (which is coming due too fast for me!). Sometimes it's hard to think of something when you're on a deadline but it keeps you from procrastinating! I shuffle through my sketchbooks and my photos to see what might work. Sometimes pacing and walking works. Sometimes. Then I start digging around for chocolate because my brain seems to function better with chocolate. Ha! I always have hunger pains when I'm looking for ideas .    
This time I came across a photo I took of a box turtle that was in my yard and it appealed to me as a good subject. The shell reminds me of a landscape. And it's nestled in it's own little landscape of earthy grass and pine. Here is a first sketch of the turtle that I plan to etch. You can follow along as I show the steps to create the etching.

Etching of a Window - Inspired by Paris (a peek at the process)

A friend of mine who's fond of etchings asked me recently to make an etching of an old French-inspired window. Knowing that I have an interest in learning French AND that I do etchings, she knew that I would be the perfect artist to create her piece. It was fun working with her as we discussed our ideas about what it should include and how it might look. I started the

etching on a copper plate as usual with the line etching and then later added aquatint to give it more tones. Here I'm showing the plate inked after the first etching and the print I made from it. I liek the way it looks. I worked on the plate with my scraper and burnisher to make a few changes before etching it a second time. Only a few changes were made. Then it was on to aquatinting!

inked plate after first etching



print after first etching and before aquatinting



Wynwood Walls - Miami, Florida

When I was in Miami last week visiting relatives, we went to see a project called Wynwood Walls which was conceived in 2009 by the late Tony Goldman who was very fond of street art. He thought the windowless warehouse buildings of the Wynwood area of Miami would make great canvases for the greatest street art ever seen in one place, giving it the respect he felt it deserved. With some help, he found what they considered the best street and graffiti artists to participate in the project. It continues today as you can see in my photos. It's crazy to see so much in one place. It's very colorful! You can go here if you want to know more:
http://thewynwoodwalls.com/About/



you can click on each photo to see larger but this one
(blogger is making me crazy!)



These Birds are Blue.

I'm getting ready for another bird painting, this one of bluebirds, and what better way to start then to do a few pencil sketches. The eastern bluebird is a year-round resident of Virginia, unually found in fields and other open areas or areas with scattered trees. They are seen frequently in my neighborhood. Last year I had a tomato plant. (I know, I didn't think I could grow them!) This year maybe a bluebird box. Maybe I can grow a few. :)

It's an Egg! Really?

I think this is the prettiest brown egg I've seen and I can't bear to break the shell. So it's been sitting there in the carton alone for some time now. I just look at it and say "maybe next time!"

Isn't it strange the optical illusion that you see in the photo - how the holes seem to come forward and back? I love these types of illusions.

Frog Etching

This is one of my first etcings that I did while I was in school but still really like. I like the tones even though I didn't use any aquatint! There is some plate tone which adds to the effect. My teacher liked the way the dark spots came out on the frog - looking fuzzy and almost three dimensional. I'm sure that I etched those areas in the nitric acid (what we used in school at the time) for quite a long time to make the lines very black. Anyway, linework can be very satisfying!