Hen of the Woods Drawing

Like many artists I see potential art materials in many things beyond traditional art making mediums, tools and supports. I use a variety of homemade tools to carve extra thick watercolor paper made by Strathmore at their old mill in Turners Falls. Color is added with paint, powders and pencils. I spend at least two or three months on each of my carvings. I find the work to be meditative and compelling, exciting at times, difficult at others, but a journey that I feel grateful to be on. I am always learning more and more about our precious nature. I hope you enjoy seeing my work and feel a little bit different the next time you take a walk in nature. I also create using watercolor and acrylic paintings using traditional supports and materials. I have been interested in natural forms for as long as I can remember. I especially love flowers, sticks, nests, birds, feathers and objects I find on my daily walks along the trails and rivers near my home. My interest peaks as natural objects all around us begin to take on unusual characteristics such as twisted leaves, partially eaten pine cones, leaves trampled and imprinted in the mud with ice forming and concealing, scrolled bark. To me, nature become truly magnificent as objects we enjoy in their full beauty begin to mature and age. It is the life cycle of nature that pulls at my artistic senses. I have a small museum of natural things I collect and friends have given to me through the years. At the start of a new project, I spend some time rearranging and studying some of the objects, often finding my next subject. Sometimes on a walk I see something that sparks a new idea. I often begin with a few sketches, arranging and rearranging things until I am eager to start working. I use the sketches as a reference point if needed, but I prefer to just start carving contour lines directly into the paper. I add a variety of powders, graphite, watercolors and colored pencils onto the carved surfaces, staying open to new possibilities as my work evolves.