Boy on the Brink

Awhile ago, I was cleaning my art studio and came across this drawing from 2011.  I WISH I would have taken a picture of it before I revamped it.  Instead, I worked it over with ink, pastel, acrylic, and collage from heavyweight letterpress paper. I think his look catches him between childhood and the restless ambition of teenage-yearning-to-be-an-adult assertion.

 9" x 12"

Flowery Language

I'm finding myself involved in too many things.  This situation happens to me frequently.  I'm interested in this, I'm interested in that, and pretty soon I am running out of time no matter how much I chase it.  I've overextended myself yet again--will I never learn this lesson?!  I find myself in a tizzy as project deadlines scamper on down the road, and well, you know the score, I'm sure.

And even though I'm in this state, I still feel a pull, a tugging at my sleeve--or rather fingertips--that I MUST make something.  Draw something, paint something, before I forget how.  Well, I don't think I'll forget, but let me just say, I know exactly how Alan Bates' character (the painter Saul) in the film "An Unmarried Woman" felt when he said, if he stopped painting for one day, he may never paint again.

Anyway, here's the fellow that came out of me today--a tortured Mr. Reginald.

Nearly driven insane by unrequited love, 

Reginald STILL spoke in flowery language.

(acrylic, India ink, gouache, pastel)

I really liked the look of this stripped-down version below.  

I thought it had a "letterpress-feel" which I loved.  

Alas, I couldn't stop myself from bringing forth those flowers.

Hatch Show Print - Letterpress

I am a huge lover of letterpress.  The inky, imperfect poster or cards made from a real, honest-to-goodness printing press and ink.  No digital perfectness wanted!

My husband and I were in Nashville last week, and one of the places I absolutely HAD to go to was Hatch Show Print.  The smell and sound of the presses working, all those lines of type!  Ah, it was a brief journey back into another era.  When I was a kid, I had two idols, Julia Child and Benjamin Franklin.  Yeah, I know...weird kid.  Anyway, I briefly imagined ol' Ben printing away with his 3-penny loaf of bread nearby, and me watching, typing on my electronic typewriter that was reminiscent of those clickety-clacking presses.

Here's some pictures for your enjoyment, along with a poster I bought there.  It's still a little curled, so please forgive.  For more on Hatch Show Print, click here.

On the sidewalk heading in...

Here's the poster I bought.  They rolled it up so nicely for me!