Sketch of Men in Christ Masks
A gouache sketch exploring how the mask as cultural object, repetition of that object and the placement in a profane setting changes the nature of the religious subject.
after masters
Watercolor sketch after Giorgio Morandi, Natura Morta
A watercolor sketch after Italian master Giorgio Morandi, of his Natura Morta, at the University of Iowa Museum of Art.
Sketch for a sculpture of Christ Crowned With Thorns after Bouts
A gouache sketch for a sculpture, after Bouts’ Christ Crowned With Thorns, in the Nelson Atkins museum of art. A mildly absurd, decorative copy of Albrecht Bouts’ work of 1495, including the original’s inseparable round frame. Conceived as a vacuform object and also as a dimensional, popup-like work on separate panels.
Oil sketch study after The Rommel-Pot Player by Frans Hals
An inadequate oil study after Frans Hals Rommel-Pot Player, at the Kimball Art Museum in Ft. Worth, Texas.
Pencil and watercolor sketch of Angolan Katayo mask from the Stanley Collection in Iowa City
Pencil and watercolor sketch of a striking and beautiful wooden Katayo mask ( Chokwe, early 20th c.) from the Stanley Collection in Iowa City. Additionally, a sketch of a “friction oracle”, and observations from the Neo Rauch show at the Des Moines Art Center.
Adoration of the Magi modello on the wall
I’m happy to have this back in the house and hung on the wall. Paper modello, sculpture, pop-up whatever after Bassano’s late-Renaissance Adoration of the Magi (1563).
Sketchbook with Rubens study, portrait of Tess and Sam
A sketchbook page with a colored pencil study after Ruben’s Head of a Young Man (1601), a watercolor of Tess and a pencil of Sam B. These are the last pages of a huge Moleskine watercolor sketchbook that I could never love, the paper being of indifferent surface texture and an awkward, utilitarian A3/11×17. On […]
Drawing of Elephant Hunter sculpture, by Malvina Hoffman
Pencil study of The Elephant Hunter sculpture (1927), by Malvina Hoffman. This was one of the most striking pieces from the current retrospective of Hoffman’s work at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. If you are in Iowa, I recommend taking time to visit this exhibition.Like her mentors Borglum and Rodin, Hoffman gravitated toward interpreting the […]
Sketchbook page with St. Anthony and The Black Magus
A sketchbook page showing gouache drawings after Teniers (Temption of St. Anthony) and Pieter Aertsen (Adoration of the Magi – Presentation in the Temple). Here I am trying to figure out color and composition for my current paintings.
Modello for The Cards Players, after Bruegel
This is a gouache modello painted on laser-cut foam board, after Pieter Bruegel’s Card Players. A grotesque, brutal, ridiculous fight scene.
Adoration of the Magi modello
A small laser-cut cardboard modello for a larger oil painting after Adoration of the Magi, Francesco Bassano, 1568.
Temptation Of St. Anthony after Teniers, WIP
A wall-mounted amalgam of Tenier’s many (hundred) paintings of the Temptation of St. Anthony, in the style of a nativity creche. I’m trying to figure out the rear-most figure with the broom, and to consider how the piece might be lit from inside.
Temptation of St. Anthony, after Teniers
A gouache study after David Teniers’ painting at the Minneapolis Institute Of Art. Teniers (and his workshop) painted this charming moralistic set-piece from the medieval Golden Legend several times during the later half of the 17th century.
St. Paul no. 10, after Cano screen print
Visiting the Golden Age of Spanish Art exhibition at the Kunsthalle Munich with my daughter in March, I was struck by Counter Reformation master Alonso Cano’s powerful, lifelike polychrome bust of Paul, from 1660. Based on many preparatory drawings, sketches and photos made at the exhibit, I created this three-color silkscreen. The handmade screens themselves are hand-painted separations. […]