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For Sale Framed Pen and Ink

737 MAX

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The two accidents arising from the original design flaw in the Boeing 737 MAX are worth remembering for the terrible impact they had on the victims and surviving friends and family, and this piece is meant to honor their loss. Ongoing issues with production of this particular aircraft suggest it’s still not out of the woods.

Candidly, I’m not especially happy with the technical aspects of this piece, particularly the plane itself (which is not true to the proportions of the actual aircraft.) The victim’s family on the ground of one of the crash sites and the engine wreckage both have a bit too much ink on the page as well, and I wish I’d gone a bit lighter there. All that said, the overall look is decent, and there are some bright spots (like the duck/toucan, and the hidden moth) that are very redemptive and ameliorate my mild dissatisfaction.

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For Sale Pen and Ink

Hands Across America

This piece was created as part of my preparation for my exhibit with Michelle Carlson at the 20 North Gallery. It’s part of a set (along with Giant Sucking Sound) that’s designed to draw attention to the crushing long-term effects that free trade has had on blue-collar workers in the US: manufacturing work moving overseas has led to chronic underemployment and unemployment in the rust belt, which in turn has led to despair, disability, and drug abuse. This is reflected in the working hand, the idle hands, and the handful of pills.

As far as the technical aspects go, I’m thrilled that my ability to draw hands (which are notoriously difficult) seems to be getting better: I can see there’s plenty of room for improvement, but I’m happy with how these came out. The other elements in this piece also turned out reasonably well, and I like how the more whimsical elements, such as the distorted face and the striped-vs-spotted monsters facing off around the clawed leg, bring a bit of balance to the heavy subject matter.

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Pen and Ink Sold

Giant Sucking Sound

Giant Sucking Sound. Rapidograph pen and ink on Strathmore 400 Series Bristol paper. 14″ x 14″. $600 (SOLD)

This is the second piece (along with Hands Across America) that was created as part of my preparation for the Falling Into Place exhibit with Michelle Carlson at the 20 North Gallery. It’s meant to draw attention to the decimation of American blue-collar jobs resulting from the mass movement of manufacturing overseas as a result of free-trade policies adopted in the 1990’s.

There’s a lot about this piece that I like from a technical perspective. There are very few mistakes, and those that are there are not obvious. The face in pieces is that of a very close friend, and I like that shattered-mirror-like effect so much that I’ll undoubtedly use it again in future work. All of the realism elements came out really well, and many of the abstractions harbor traits requiring some intellectual effort to interpret, which is intentional. This one and its companion piece mentioned above are two of my personal favorites thus far.