Sunday I biked to the Morris Arboretum where Martha Knox was selling her woodcuts at an art show. Just to show my support, I purchased a copy of "Leopard Slug," a small, hand-painted piece I believe is from her series "In My Yard." Today I put it in a two-dollar Ikea frame and hung it on the wall above my desk. For such a small picture, it adds a surprising and wonderful dash of color to my living room. I thought I was being quirky when I picked it out, but Martha tells me it's actually one of her more popular works. I can see why. Everyone loves slimy invasive species.
The bike trip to the arboretum was a killer. I was fine when I stuck to the Schuylkill Trail, but Harts Lane in Whitemarsh was a steep climb on the order of "the wall" Manayunk. At one point I had to get off the bike and walk, and at several others I had to stop and catch my breath. When I returned home, I lay down on my bed and didn't move for close to two hours.
7 comments:
I don't know what the original print is like, but the image on the web page is positively eerily 3D, as if it were embossed on the screen, an excellent illusion created by the shading on the body.
Before I noticed that, though, I was struck by what good taste this slug has, finding blue dirt to wallow in in order to show off its orange skin.
This is really very good.
Martha will be happy to read that. On the copy I have -- they're hand colored woodcuts, not prints -- the slug retains its three dimensionality, but the soil is whitish, not blue.
Joe, Thanks for the mention, and glad you like the print so well in your space.
Cal, The white-grey part was a cement sidewalk, and I painted it with grey with a dash of blue mixed in exactly to give an appealing contrast with the orange-brown slug. Glad you noticed. :-)
So is it a print or isn't it? I'm thinking I might sue. ;)
After mistaking the cement for dirt, I'm feeling a little gun shy over the print/no print issue, but if you can't take a risk when you're already hiding behind a pseudonym, what kind of cowboy are you anyway? So I say a woodcut is a print. Martha?
I don't think she's coming back to this blog anytime soon, but here's her response to my email: It's an original Hand pulled woodcut print (the black portions) that was then hand colored with watercolor paints. So both a print and hand colored.
Like a hand-tinted black and white photograph.
Post a Comment