Uplands and Lowlands

This piece was all about layering.  I painted the background several times before even attempting to add (and subtract) vinyl pieces.

Warning, these photos are not great.  My bad.

First layer of vinyl orzos.

I painted over the first layer of orzos, peeled them off, and sanded.

I flipped it for easier application, but you get it.

I added the orzos up to about a third where I had them before, painted, peeled, and sanded.

Already looks pretty complicated.

Closer shot.

 Layer three: repeat above steps.

This is before I sanded for the last time but after I painted and peeled.

I sanded and decided I was done.

I had a little bit of an issue deciding where to add the vinyl orzos I wanted to keep because I didn't want to cover up any of the cool design of the overlapping layers.  I ended up frosting the top, basically.

Uplands and Lowlands, 36 x 24 inches, 2018

Detailzz!

I like the little bit of metal peeping out on the edges here.

The title comes from a poem by William Herbert Carruth called "Each in His Own Tongue"

(second stanza)
"A haze on the far horizon,
  The infinite, tender sky,
The ripe, rich tints of the cornfields,
  And the wild geese sailing high;
And all over upland and lowland,
  The harm of the goldenrod--
Some of us call it Autumn,
  And others call it God."

Kind of pagen-esque--I like it even better after revisiting!

Hey, thanks for reading!  More on Instagram!

McCartney

McCartney
salvaged wood, vinyl, paint, paper
23 x 37 inches

Another doubled-up background, this was the first "big" piece.  As with Hardy Stock, this one has been reworked, and actually turned upside down, and I'm glad I was brave enough to keep going.

I was listening to an interview with Paul McCartney when I was making it (the first time) and couldn't separate it from the finished product, hence the title. 

Broad are thy Skies

Broad Are Thy Skies
salvaged wood, paint, vinyl
12 x 35 inches

More shelving from the apartment find.  I was reading a book of Kansas poems, and many of the titles in the series came from lines or phrases pulled from those old poems.  (The book was published in the 1920s.)

Blue Helmet

Blue Helmet
salvaged wood, tea bag papers, paint, vinyl
11.5 x 17 inches

I love tea.  Might as well use every part of my obsession in my work, right?  I glued nine tea bag papers to the salvaged wood before painting and sanding.  After I added the vinyl I sanded that, too.  You can see the edges of the papers making a squarish design, ghosting through the top material.

Mixed Media Quickie Number Three

Queen of the Castle
craft paper, painted found newspaper, vinyl, marker, painted paper
approx.  11 x 11 inches

I'm getting a lot of traction from the negligee section of Sears' 1969 Spring/Summer catalog.  Who can sleep with all the scratchy lace on their skin?  Remember, this is before Lycra was blessedly mixed into every fabric on Earth.