"Backyards Provincetown" by Blanche Lazzell

I first saw this wonderful white line woodcut on the cover of the book Blanche Lazzell and the Color Woodcut - a book that presents a rich selection of reproductions of the artist's work. Many artists have been drawn to draw, paint, print, or photograph townscapes such as these that present a layering of architectural structures with the trees and other larger landscape elements that are interwoven into the scene. The uneven rhythm of the rows of walls and roofs is not only lyrically pleasing and interesting; it also unifies a place while maintaining the unique individuality of each abode, and that is comforting.

"West Virginia Hills" by Blanche Lazzell

I'm looking at a lot of Blanche Lazzell again this week because I'm interested in venturing back into white line woodcuts and specifically landscapes. Although as of yet I've only created one true landscape using this technique that doesn't also feature figures.

I am amazed by Lazzell's ability to make her landscapes somehow fantastical and yet also warm and familiar. The misty textures combine so elegantly with the motley of color choices. The bands of color that arch across the skies in so many of her landscapes are an especially intriguing decision for both describing the rich atmosphere and visually connecting the land formations that form the dynamic horizon with the otherwise static sky.

"The Monongahela at Morgantown" by Blanche Lazzell

I consider autumn to be the most beautiful time of year. Cool and crisp, yes, but most of all it is the rust-colored foliage set against the blue beyond that captures my attention. I feel I am flying over a world set in balance.

Sketchbook Sunday: Nautilus Shell Collaborations

I often print extra copies of my woodcuts and linocuts for my kids to color. I have a bunch of extra nautilus shell linocuts I've printed to practice drawing the protagonists in my new book project. Here's a couple I let my daughters finish.

Nautilus and Ammonite: Friendly Strife

The next finished artwork for the Nautilus and the Ammonite book project. It is here that the young, twin sisters of the sea meet for the first time. 






The nautilus and the ammonite
     Were launched in friendly strife,
Each sent to float in its tiny boat
     On the wide, wide sea of life. 

Holiday Sale of Cats A-Z and Owl and Cat in Love

Now through December 23rd I'm selling signed copies of Cats A-Z and Owl and Cat In Love at discounted prices plus free shipping within the United States!

Links to my online store:
Cats A-Z $16.95 $15
Owl and Cat In Love  $20 $18 

If you prefer not to buy through Etsy, you can also contact me directly with the subject line "Book Order."

There are also lots of affordable original art for sale on my Etsy store.

Sketchbook Sundays: Thoreau and a Beaver

This week I had my kids finish a couple sketches I started, with interesting results.

The first was a sketch of Henry David Thoreau. I started it as an example for a student who wanted advice on drawing portraits. Thoreau was particularly on my mind since I recently watched a play about his night spent in prison for civil disobedience, and I've been re-reading passages in Walden. My youngest daughter basically made him up like a clown or perhaps this is a cross between Thoreau and Dr. Frank-N-Furter of Rocky Horror Picture Show fame. Either way it seems a fitting enough way as any to bring the ol' free-thinking Transcendentalist into the contemporary world.

The second sketch was also from something old and deceased - a decades-old taxidermy Beaver found at the Wagner Free Institute of Science. My older daughter seemed inspired by Care Bears, as the Beaver now has a colorful pair of hearts on his tummy.

There is no escape from pop culture. It consumes us.