Learning

Snatch Studies, 2014. Graphite on paper, 10x8".

Beyond the incidental and much-sought thrills of discovery in the artistic process, I prize art as a means of inquiry. I learn so many things in the pursuit of images possessing both naturalistic fidelity and allegorical significance,

For example, I became intrigued with barn owls as stealthy, ghostly snatchers in the dark. In a search for references, I came across diagrams illustrating how the degree of darkness influences the hunting owl's posture in flight. I never imagined such slight differentiation mattered!

In copying those illustrations, I drew the owl and its varied strategies for survival into my mind's eye, my memory. In addition to their artistic usefulness, these sketches broaden my understanding of, if not empathy with, other living creatures. Yet another reason to celebrate and devote myself to art as an endeavor.

Snatch I, 2014, Mixed media on art board, 1x8".

Snatch II, 2014. Mixed media on art board, 10x8".

Snatch III, 2014. Mixed media on art board, 10x8".

Snatch IV, 2014. Mixed media on art board, 10x8".

By Day, 2014. Graphite on paper, 10x8".

By Night, 2014. Graphite & chalk on paper, 10x8".