Greetings, There are many things to make the world feel darker or lighter, but life has felt brighter since the inauguration. It's the busy bookkeeping time of year, but I'm still making as much art as I can. I've been playing with size and going for extremes. These two are large for me - a whopping 9"x12".
Berkeley has more crows than any other bird. Recently, I did some research and learned that the main crow we see in Berkeley is the American Crow. It's abundant numbers might make you think that crows are this ubiquitous all over the world. Not true. Many crow species are extinct in the wild especially the ones native to islands like Hawai'i and Guam. The main drivers of extinction have been habitat loss and the introduction of invasive species.
In homage to Alala - The Hawai'ian Crow, I drew this portrait. She rests for a minute and looks over her shoulder to see what is pursuing her. You can still the Alala in captivity where biologists encourage mated couples to breed. How the loss of the native bird will affect Hawai'i's ecology has yet to be determined.
This piece is a monotype using a large begonia leaf. The darks and lights were a surprise when I pulled this off the plate. I then augmented the values with dry pigment powder. When I look out my windows, there are tons of plants so I call this piece The View from Here.
Now for the tiny work. I decided to make a set of prints that are a simple portrait of every day plants. The work isn't quite complete, but will share these three.
Fennel 3"x5": I love the skeletal effect that the ink produced.
Eucalyptus 3" x 5": Love it or hate it, but you will always know it when you see it. I'm calling this one done, though I may tweak it a bit.
And for the tiniest of them all...
Unknown 2.5" x 2.5": I found this plant on Addison a few weeks ago. No clue it's species, but since we're in Berkeley it might be a sage. Working at this small level is gratifying and I will do more.
Also, I managed to get into another art show. This piece is currently on display at the Las Laguna Art Gallery in Laguna Beach, CA. The exhibit is online here.
Looking forward to my vaccine some day soon. For those of you over 65, please go get vaccinated so we can hang out again.