"Original Sin"

And this is the one which "Four Bitten Fruit" is the sequel to...... an off-the-cuff rendering done last year just before the fall show - and sold, it spawned interesting comments and a few ideas which probably will not be bothered with.. this idea came because of seeing two photos, one the monkey and the other a model, sitting in much the same position, so thought it clever to have them sitting on a wall together - the apple was a natural consequence, with the theme/title coming right with it....

"Four Bitten Fruit"

This is a sort of 'sequel' to one done a year ago, "Original Sin"... in this, all is essentially the same save there's an apple core in the monkey's mouth, and three partially eaten ones beside the figure...... and the theme is basically like the other one, with the humor of philosophy involved in a number, really, of metaphoric relatings here..... since the camera did a poor job of showing the monkey, enclosed is a close-up before the wall was colored......

"The Lost"

This is, for the moment, the last of my marble metaphor series...... colored pencils on 9"x12" Stonehenge paper, it is a further enrichment in striving to get marbles to look more 'there'...... the metaphor, of course, is hardly an original one, yet this is a nice presentation of the cliche...

"Anyone Can Pollock"

This is one of the few times I have deliberately done a spoofing of another's work - in this case off a movie favorite of mine, "Ratatouille"... of course, it is also a put-down of that kind of 'art' typically personified by Jackson Pollock, that spatter/drip 'vomit disposal' that doesn't even qualify as good decorative design.... in short, a quick, amusing piece to go hand-in-hand with the little rodent's initial appearance, in an old and quickly sold work called "Critic", itself a take-off of Norman Rockwell's spoofing of Pollockian mischief.... colored pencil on 20"x16' Stonehenge paper....

"Fulfilled Life"

This is the last of my series [for now anyway] of bowl of cherries.... as seen, this is life in space, the final frontier, looking down on a landmass..... it is the final quest in a full life..... 20"x30" colored pencil on Stonehenge paper... the metaphor speaks well for itself.....

"Opening Ritual, Second Cup"

This is the color version of "Opening Ritual", noting that it takes a second cup before the day becomes in full color... it is also my most ambitious use of stippling in color inks, and am quite pleased wih the result - indeed, the only thing I would wish had the fortitude to do is to carry the coloring to the four sides, namely give the light sky blue color to the blank parts..... but the tediousness of so doing is, for the present, not enough to warrant so doing..... perhaps in a later rendering.... as with the original, the only item relating to real is the cup, a somayaki - the rest is all from my head.....

"The Individualist"

This is another one using those Walking Egg Cups of Carlton Ware in England... there was to be one more in the series - "The Marching Morons", but it is the same as this, save for the one cup not having outlandish socks.... so decided not to bother with it..... 10" x 20", this still shows the set as they actually exist, except of course for the one, seen in the close-up...... colored pencils on stonehenge paper..... other than this as another symbolism of conformity in society, there is little to add beyond the individualist is, as presumed, another 'self portrait'.....

"Personal"

This is actually a study for an upcoming color version of "Opening Ritual" - to be called "Opening, Ritual, Second Cup"...... but this can and does stand on its own...... all in stipple using FW inks and a crow quill nib....... is a somayaki cup.....an heirloom, actually, from not long after the War, part II...

"Expectations"

This is a work a little different from my usual.... originally, it was to be an acrylic piece along with others done in the 11"x14" size back a couple years ago, but never gotten beyond the sketch phase..... so I decided to try doing it in colored pencil..... a pregnant woman looking out the window at what is seen in the pane's reflection, a shuttle lift-off, implying of course a link to one of those going up with her pregnancy, and the hopes of success for both...

"Opening Ritual"

The idea of this is in an obvious one - the use
of a cup, usually
one of coffee, on a shelf by a window, along
with a bonsai getting the morning light..... all in stipple
on a 20"x30" illustration board.... there is a formality
involved here, as seen in the visual, as well as in the
use of 'ritual' in the title.... other than the cup, which is a
somayaki cup, one of several I own, all is imagination, tho
inspired by real-life bonsaii and curtains.....

"The Recalcitrant"

This is one of an ongoing series of walking egg cups as made by Carlton ware in England..... they essentially are all alike save for the shoe colors and sock patterns.... in this one, an obviously different one is involved, to amusing consequence in appearances....

"Mental Escapees"

Another in my series of 'self portraits' [as, for instance, my "Full Life"], this deals with the inevitable of one 'losing one's marbles' - in this case, mine seeking to explore not only 'outside the box' but the bag as well......like the other, is 20"x30" color pencil on stonehenge paper, and despite its otherwise negativity, is actually showing possibilities 'beyond' as in expanding one's horizons.... there's a host of other metaphoric relatings to be had in this, if one looks more closely - but that is what a good rendering is all about, the continued act of contemplation.....

Close-up......

"Lemmings"

This is one in a series on the old idea of "losing one's marbles".... originally thought of it as being on a 20" x 30" stonehenge, but thought then the height be too much in wasted space, or adding too much in un-needed drafting table, so did it on a 5" x 32" piece of foamboard, and think it works well....

"Welcoming Committee"

Other than the coconut, all here is imagined, and a festive tribute to the sense of joy imparted by the traditions of the Pacific islands..... there is lots more which could have been included, but those, actually, are implied in the glass and the trimmed wood - that reason is utilized for achievement and flourishing, and is thus a part of the welcoming to newcomers.....

"The Politics of Nature"

As much a study in contrasts as it is a parody of propaganda posters, this was an attempt at invoking humor into an otherwise morbid arena of thought, especially in context of today, where there is concerted and futile effort in gaining concensus in having 'intelligence' amongst the vegetables...... one could with equal aplomb call it "Passing the Day", and have it remarking on the banalities of the 'fence chats'...... the abstract theming is actually the same in both cases....

Close-up......

"Cornered Stones"

This is a redoing of an old work of years ago, which, to my knowledge, no longer exists - and in the process improve on it, giving it a greater dynamism than the old had, to say nothing of greater color and detail.....on 40" x 32" acid free foamboard, it more appropriately displays the largeness of the arena, even as its vantage point is more restricted - or rather say, focused..... it is one of my homage works to my old friend of long ago, John Paul Sherman, who gave the theme/title to the original, and by aclimation, this as well.....

"Rubicon"

Continuing with ths same general theming, turned to a marble at the edge of the table... is a small work, 14" x 8" colored pencil on stonehenge paper...... and, as a tangent, has begun a series of marble renderings.....

close-up......