Trompe l'Oeil

and Other Acts of Prestidigitation

Someone who knows art may be confused as to why I classified this under 3D. The answer is because this genre has been creeping its way toward other dimensions as I discover the breadth of it. Another might be that other artists have refused to limit themselves in the same way. In truth, I simply can't tell where one leaves off and the other begins any more.

The image above was the beginning of a lasting theme. I refuse to quilt like the women of my tribe, partly because I don't have the patience that skill takes. Second, the professors gave more respect to large canvases and Imy only vehicle was a Chevy Cavalier, so I developed a system of rolling the things up. And last, I just wanted to see if I could do it, make the thing look like a real quilt. It's fooled many people, but truth be told, the 1000's of painted stitches probably took longer than sewing it would have. But again, where's the fun in that?

I made a living for a long time with painted quilts and floorcloths. And there IS a larger reason the latter fascinate me more. This is one of the truly, female, American art forms. Pioneer women painted on durable canvas to stay the cold from dirt or plain board floors, as well as to add a little beauty to drab prairie cabins. It's part of my legacy and I honor them with each rendition and explanation I offer people. How rich does it feel to walk on art?

It's Everywhere It Wants to Be

Like a 300 Lb. Gorilla

While I was working my first graphics position, I volunteered to paint set decorations for the local theater. There really wasn't much to do in the Midwest - besides barhopping - and I thought I might meet some interesting people. The set manager was an aging man who had painted around the world, was a master at the form, and told fascinating stories. His major contribution to my life, before I even knew what the genre was called, was to teach me how to paint a marble palace for 'The King and I'. I will forever be in his debt.

I fell in love, and whatever I have done since has been designed to broaden my horizons and further this particular, labor intensive love. The ultimate high? Read on.

Trompe l’oeil: (tromp-loy) French for ‘fooling the eye’ and generally means the realistic, 3D painting of something that’s not really there, like trees in your living room.

The Fat Lady Sang

She's Such a Drama Queen

Unless I am paid for my services some day, the set pictured below will be my last endeavor for community theater. Yrs, I have learned my lesson and would not have done this one, except for a director who was a phenoenal man with a short time to live. He wanted his last play to be a production of 'Amadeus' on a stage too small for a one-act play, let alone THIS extravaganza. There are few people he could have recruited who knew how to accomplish the thing, and I'm not bragging. The secret lies in the fact that I'm a retired carpenter , as well as an artist. The project required that scope of understanding.

The challenge was to have 4 scene changes that could be done instantaneously, because the play is frightfully long, and because there was precious little storage space in the wings. The panels you see were painted on 4'x8' plywood and slid back and forth in the frame between the pillars, which are carpet tubes, by the way. Even some of the 'curtains' are not real. To top it all off, there was nowhere to rent an 18th C. pianoforte, so I built one. Of course it's just a non-playable prop. I'm not THAT talented. There is no other theater person for whom I would have gone to these lengths, and I miss you, Sy. You reminded me so much of the first set manager. Still, it was the dream of a lifetime of learning.

“It is the ugliness of old age I hate.  Being old is not bad if you keep away from mirrors, but broken-down feet, bent knees, peering eyes, rheumatic knuckles, withered skin, these are ugly, hard to tolerate with patience.” Hundreds and Thousands: The Journals of an Artist, Emily Carr