lady orleans.

ah, to be painting again. i don't know how i let so much time lapse. 

lady orleans

watercolor, gouache and ink

2010

it's my first completed piece of 2010... and it feels bittersweet. this is the beginning of a series i've had in mind for years. 

in december of 2005, i visited new orleans for the first time since katrina hit--about three months post. my aunt's house was in the lakeview neighborhood, where there was a major levee breach. Though the building still stood, it was gutted. my heart wrenched, yet the sights were strangely beautiful, grotesquely magnetic. a generations-old player piano lay on its back, the refrigerator was dropped gently in the entry by the receding water, and the most amazing mold patterns kissed the walls. it was those spores, like wallpaper, that stuck with me. and so was born the idea for this painting. more to come. 

schopenhauer.

ah, arthur schopenhauer. 

wrinkles, flesh, feathery hair... all my favorite things. 

there are many portraits of schopenhauer out there, but this pose was the only one i wanted to paint. he was a request from another german philosopher, so the pressure was on--i had to get him right. hopefully, i succeeded. 

i could paint old wrinkly men and women all day, honestly. babies? gimme a break. innocence and purity in that sense are not things i'm drawn to. weathered wisdom, however, is something i can get behind.

brandy.

brandy has the most amazing coloring. chocolate cherry spots and a pinky nose.

brandy

acrylic on canvas

2009

mister darcy.

would you believe me if i told you this cat's person is an english professor? shocking, i know.

mister darcy

&

naughty mister darcy

acrylic on canvas

2009

drake.

this guy was photographed by the pool. he's about 13 years old.

drake

acrylic on canvas

2009

though he's old and tired, there's a semblance of contentment. 

khaki.

the first cat of the bunch. this was the funniest looking cat i've ever seen... she has these gigantic eyes that make her look like she's a walking photoshop project.

khaki

acrylic on canvas

2009

i do like the somewhat monochromatic thing going on here.

lilienne & mande

oh, jeez... people and their pets. at least the one on the right looks content. 

liliene & mande

acrylic on canvas

2009