Amber Crucible

This piece was created in the blisteringly hot speed of two weeks instead of six weeks to meet a deadline for a solo show at a gallery here in Seattle, WA. It had existed as a potential piece called "Liars" for awhile inside dreams, until I decided to force march it out for the show. In two weeks, I worked from wake to sleep, and estimate at that time, I spent between 200-250 hours just on this one image alone. Wowsers!

These are two heraldic wolves (in one body) holding a leafless blue rose in their paws. It has a hairless lion's body, its form hairless by mange or disease. The rose vine is also "hairless", since it has lost both leaves and thorns. This is a fearsome beast, representing grudging impossibility, anxiety, and teeth gnashing anger. This small and grossly overcrowded space of anger and anxiety is an overheated vessel that will force change.

Scratchboard and watercolor, as usual. This image is 16x20 inches, and full bleed right to the edge of the panel. I completed this late last February, but could not post since it was too large and complex for me to scan on my own. I ended up having to seek the help of a professional art printing shop to get this scanned. Aside from the addition of my watermark, I have not altered this image from the one I received from the print shop. It seems they have a much better scanner than I do that can actually scan darks without having a heart attack. Sigh