R60 The Dactylology of Raven

R60 The Dactylology of Raven
24 x 36" oil on panel
corporate collection (sold)

My daughter Abigail posed very patiently for all five of the 'angels'.  I was fascinated by the icon-like gestures of sign language when seen one letter at a time.  The V shape, one of my favourites, and a recurring shape in my work, here appears centrally and recalls the somewhat defiant universal gesture.  V, the meeting of two parallels, the inverse of perspective.

I wanted to try a work with one colour for the faces and hands of the creatures, and the rest 'etched' in black oil, the flatness of the black areas contrasting with the more dimensional flesh.  Instead of the usual feather-shaped or wedge-shaped scribble I use for shading, I wrote the word 'raven' repeatedly.  I had already tried this a little in R24, 'Nuclear Creature'.

R59 Figures with Tokens on their Fingers

R59 Figures with Tokens on their Fingers

12 x 16" graphite on panel

private collection (sold)

R58 Raven, Woman, Jar of Snails

R58 Raven, Woman, Jar of Snails

12 x 12" oil on panel

private collection (sold)

A test sketch to try brown oil paint in place of the Payne's gray I have used up to now for the 'etched' oils.  This picture is done in burnt umber.  As often happens, the 'sketch' turned out to be a rather interesting picture, especially I think, in the rather stark treatment of the face.

The burnt umber is a smoother, wetter colour to work with compared to other earth colours.  It is easier to draw lines in with the stylus, and draws well off a fine brush, without thinning.  This workable texture is important for detailed pictures, where many of the outlines are worked negatively, that is, the paint is worked up to a white (or coloured underground) edge, which is left to represent a line.  This method of working takes much more time, but is more effective in painting in white lines or areas later, or using a larger blunt instrument for broader lines which never appear as stark and clean as the 'left' areas.  And interestingly enough, even the commonly-used masking fluids do not leave the same line, the line that I am after.