Handprint
Watercolor on handmade and layered papers
This piece reaches back to some of the oldest art we know, the handprints left on cave walls more than 37,000 years ago. A pale handprint rests near the center of a rough, torn-edged sheet, pressed into a field of smoky black and gray washes. Flecks of turquoise and orange break through the dark, and the dark ground reads like a night sky.
The paper is as much the subject as the paint. Several kinds of paper are layered and joined here, their edges ragged and their textures varied: a netted, cell-like pattern runs down the middle, rings and circular impressions swell on the surface, and fibers fray at the top. Each paper stands for a stretch of the road I’ve walked. The handprint stands for what I will leave behind in this world when my life is done.
The mood is questioning. The pigment bleeds and pools without settling, the paper stays soft and pliable, and nothing is quite fixed. What will remain, and who will find it?
Details:
Method: Watercolor
Quality: Malleable
Mood: Questioning
Materials: Watercolor on layered papers of different kinds
Ancient and personal at once, this piece asks viewers to consider the marks they are making and what they will leave for those who come after.
Handprint
Watercolor on handmade and layered papers
This piece reaches back to some of the oldest art we know, the handprints left on cave walls more than 37,000 years ago. A pale handprint rests near the center of a rough, torn-edged sheet, pressed into a field of smoky black and gray washes. Flecks of turquoise and orange break through the dark, and the dark ground reads like a night sky.
The paper is as much the subject as the paint. Several kinds of paper are layered and joined here, their edges ragged and their textures varied: a netted, cell-like pattern runs down the middle, rings and circular impressions swell on the surface, and fibers fray at the top. Each paper stands for a stretch of the road I’ve walked. The handprint stands for what I will leave behind in this world when my life is done.
The mood is questioning. The pigment bleeds and pools without settling, the paper stays soft and pliable, and nothing is quite fixed. What will remain, and who will find it?
Details:
Method: Watercolor
Quality: Malleable
Mood: Questioning
Materials: Watercolor on layered papers of different kinds
Ancient and personal at once, this piece asks viewers to consider the marks they are making and what they will leave for those who come after.
