The beasts series of paintings are drawn and “washed” on paper with various water-based media, including Sumi-ink, gouache, casein, watercolor, crayon, white ink, and pencils.  beasts are mostly drawn and painted in shades of gray and sepia.  When combined, watercolor, crayons, ink, gouache, pencils, etc…, the materials become unpredictable. The paint moves a certain way when mixed with ink.  Pigment  breaks apart, watercolor is resisted by crayon-wax leaving a speckled residue, which I then accentuate with pencil or ink.  Forms would emerge.  The forms seemed to resemble familiar things.   

While working on the beasts paintings, I was looking at the work of Henry Moore and becoming influenced by his drawings of mothers with children, and the tunnel drawings.  (Many of his studies were drawn with crayon and watercolor.)  Moore’s  figures seemed “sculpted” of curving lines, which repeated, defining forms, but also anchoring them to their space.

 

beasts are modeled after pieces of dried flowers (broken buds, leaves, and parts of stems…).  My intent was to draw the basic shape of the dried flower pieces and then morph them into more animated figures. They seemed to “live” in an atmosphere, or environment.  The figures would set down roots and became something bordering  real and imaginary.  I called them beasts.  (Small “b”.)