Underwater Desert. 2023. Print on Paper. 11x14. S/N Ed. 250 Artwork - Limited Edition of 250

This piece was created for a gift to a dear friend. The original went to her. It was inspired by the colors in a piece of furniture that she gifted to our eldest to furnish her first home. A rusty, earthy terracotta MCM sofa with beautiful lines and sleek wooden legs. Overwhelmed by her generous gift, I went home and started this Mixed Media piece. The original is not for sale but the prints are gorgeous! Vada Color in Traverse City does my image capturing and prints. Paper is a beautiful archival heavy paper that will look amazing in any style of frame. The colors are deeply hued and textured, playful yet rich. This is the second piece in my "Rising Tides" Series. What if the land and water merged? Who would be watching whom? This question if often on my mind on a high hill overlooking Lake Michigan. There are fossils everywhere of saltwater creatures that once inhabited this region, particularly Leelanau County and it's peninsula where we reside. Salt Water once covered this region, and remnants of the inhabitants are to be found on every beach. I have jars full of fossils found in the yard, on beaches, and at the roadside. The style is loose with fluid abstract lines and curves. I used artist's crayon and pastel, watercolor, acrylic, and ink to heighten the intensity of the piece. It is at once a carefully composed fine art piece as well as an initiator of smiles. Mixed Media allows the merging of several mediums at once, blending cut papers and paint using a wet on wet method for each layer. After the individual layers dry, adhesive adds carefully cut pieces to the dry paint. After it dries, another layer of paint is applied. It takes 5+ layers of paint, paper, and color to get the effect I aim for.