Acrylic, ink, pastel on canvas (2024)
Size: w 20″ x h 40″ x d 1.5″
This painting is taking hours and hours but it has gradually revealed itself in depth, texture, rich colour. Not quite finished, as yet.
Fire Escape (Details of Work in Progress)
Icarus and the Black-Faced Spoonbills
Acrylic, graphite, crayon on paper (date unknown, est. between 1990 and 2005)
Size: w 20″ x h 16″
Into White (III) Disintegration
Acrylic and graphite powder on canvas (2023)
Size: w 16″ x h 12″ x d 1″
Part III of Triptych Into White (I, II, III: Destruction, Extinction, Disintegration)
Into White (I, II, III: Destruction, Extinction, Disintegration) — see previous posts for October and November — is a response to the current wars in the Ukraine and the Middle East, to the accelerating rate of extinction of species, to our rising fear for the future of the planet. It is currently on display at the Tri-Art Gallery in Kingston ON until early January 2024 as part of White, the first in a series of exhibits based on pigments. The entire show can be viewed online at https://www.triartgallery.ca/white
White is terror, white is peace; extreme heat and bitter cold. For me, white especially symbolizes absence, before the beginning and after the end, the initial void and the final emptiness. White is eternity, what always was and what will remain when time runs out. I see white as non-existence but not to be confused with death, as it is outside the circle of mortality within which all other colours are eventually absorbed into black. White is thus unknowable as it lies at one remove, not next or beside but one step away from life, after the chalk line has been erased.
Destruction: The action or process of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired.
Extinction: The complete disappearance of a species from Earth.
Disintegration: The process of losing cohesion and unity; of coming to pieces, falling apart.
Into White (II) Extinction
Acrylic, handmade paper, ink on cradled birch panel (2023)
Size: w 16″ x h 12″ x d 1.5″
Part II of Triptych Into White (I, II, III: Destruction, Extinction, Disintegration)
Extinction
Extinction is the complete disappearance of a species from earth (National Geographic Society).
Extinction: A situation in which something no longer exists (Cambridge Dictionary).
Into White (I) Destruction
Mixed media (acrylic, wood shavings, metal scrap, fence wire), 2023
Size: w 16″x h 12″ x h 1.5″ cradled birch panel
Part I of Triptych Into White (I, II, III: Destruction, Extinction, Disintegration)
Destruction
Rubble, ash, splintered wood, stone dust, pulverized concrete. What remains after the bombing of cities and catastrophe of earthquakes.
Dragonfly Dance: Young Nereids and the Red-Crowned Cranes
Acrylic, ink, pastel, Japanese paper on cradled birch panel (2023)
Size: w 24″ x h 12″ x d 1.5″
The red-crowned cranes of northeast Asia are known for their beautiful plumage and graceful courtship dances. Here, they are joined by young Nereids practising their ballet steps. The dragonfly, an audience of one, is barely visible at the top centre of the painting. I owe my inspiration for this work to photographers Tim Flach (“Red Crown Cranes Courting” from his Endangered series) and Sarah Waiswa (“Last Act” from her Ballet in Kibera project) — thank you to both.
Nereids and the Ruby Sea Dragon (Detail of Work in Progress)
Acrylic, ink, Japanese paper on canvas (started 2021, still in progress 2023)
Size: w 22″ x h 28″‘ x d 2″
This is the first of two (or more) baby octopuses joining the Nereids in this painting. I think I am procrastinating about finishing the sea dragons who occupy the bottom half of the canvas, but who’s in a hurry? Unfortunately the sun came out when I had just gotten started photographing, so the top half of the image is a bit obscured in the glare.
Nereids and the Ruby Sea Dragon (Detail of Work in Progress)
Acrylic and Japanese paper on canvas (started 2021, still in progress 2023)
Size: w 22″ x h 28″ x d 2″
Yet another detail, this time of one of my two Nereids. Progress is slow over the summer months but I can see the way to the end (I think).
Nereids and the Ruby Sea Dragon (Details of Work in Progress)
Acrylic and Japanese paper on canvas (started 2021, still in progress 2023)
Size: w 22″ x h 28″ x d 2″
I started this painting over two years ago. It went off course into a dead end and has been collecting dust for some months now. Recently I painted over the bits that weren’t working. We’ll see where it goes. The tentative title is still the same, though I have yet to paint the ruby seahorse itself. The leafy seadragons, seen back in my “in progress” post for March 2021, are shown above along with a detail of the ocean surface.
Lost Friend: Northern White Rhino
Acrylic and pastel on cradled birch panel (2023)
Size: w 18″ x h 24″ x d 1.5″
Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, died 19 March 2018. His daughter and granddaughter, Najin and Fatu, are still living, but the subspecies is considered “functionally extinct” as it is no longer viable. I mourn the passing of this great creature with this painting and also the one posted in March (Leaving Eden) https://npaulartworks.com/2023/03/13/leaving-eden-nereids-and-the-northern-white-rhino/
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