Monday, June 8, 2009

Susanna and The Voyeurs (2)

When I posted Susanna the other day I somehow neglected to send the photo which could be enlarged. I hope I've corrected that this time. Susanna has been a big hit and was sold at the First Friday Art Walk. This state was printed 11" x 17" and hand color with watercolor & color pencil. The paper is Digital Media archival with Epson Archival inks. Once again, that wide format printer has paid off, by golly.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Cinderella Fence Post

To the left is the fence post before its trip to the beauty shop. Actually it was replaced with a new one of the same family as the carpenter ants had about devoured the old one. Several years ago I purchased the ceramic tiles with our address numbers while on a trip to Italy. The numbers have been hanging around the studio, quietly waiting their turn for attention. Last week I had reached critical mass in the procrastination department and set about the beautification of the fence post which had been leaning in one corner taking up space. I received a new tool for Christmas which has an attachment that made cutting the trough for the tile a very easy matter. The cut had to be about 3/8" deep as these were thick tiles. The tiles were then seated with mastic and grouted with a tan sanded grout (left over from another tile project). Then some scroll and floral motifs were carved and the whole thing stained with a Rosewood/Cherry stain (left over from the kitchen). My darling son was gracious enough to bribe a friend to come out with him and set the new post for me. I'm so pleased with it, I wonder why I didn't do it years ago and now have plans to do one for the other end of the driveway. (It is a semi-circle drive with two entrances.) I haven't told the son of the latest plan, yet. ;-)

Susanna and The Voyeurs

Susanna is a composite image (worked in Photoshop) — the forest, a group of men, and Susanna in her bath. It is based on the biblical story of beautiful young Susanna who has dismissed her servants for the day and gone out to her tub for a nice relaxing bath. Some old men take advantage of the chance to watch her and then manage to get into her bath area, accost her and demand sex. She refuses, so to punish her they accuse her of hanky-panky with her lover. But, during the trial, Daniel surfaces and cross examines the men and they have conflicting accounts. Instead of Susanna being stoned to death, the two accusing liars lose their lives for bearing false witness. The moral of the story, I'm sure, is a lofty one about truth & innocence trimphing over lies & false accusations , however I choose to believe that it is if you are going to bathe outdoors do so with a watch-dog on duty. In the biblical story the accusers are pillars of the community, well respected elders. In my version they are a group of church men who have been on some sort of religious retreat. They are more the lookie-loos, than men who would do any harm. The print is digital with watercolor and color pencil. It was printed on a wide format printer with Epson Archival inks on Digital Media paper from Daniel Smith.