Auction Art - SCROLLS
I am moving from a 4000 square foot house
to a 1500 square foot house. The new place is more rugged, no
climate control other than what Mother Nature deems necessary and what I allow Hydro One to ameliorate.
Which means my paper-based art and larger
canvas works will all be vulnerable.
Thus, 18 of them are up for online auction, along with other things that need to find new homes.
Bidding closes on Thursday, December 6.
Over the next three days, I will describe
the different types of works in more detail, starting with the scrolls.
Bidding is anonymous and progresses in
increments of $2.50. You can pre-set your highest bid and the system will
notify you if someone challenges that.
The auction house will ship at buyers’
expense.
If you’ve ever wanted one of my works of
art, this is your chance to get them below market price. I still have over 100 large works in my
collection and ca. 80 of these are available online.
Here is more background on four of the large paper scrolls, Upstream, Ariel and Caliban, Road to Freedom and Big Baby Dragon.
Lot 125
This painting is 11 feet long and can be
viewed at full length either horizontally or vertically. It is adjusted to a
smaller size by scrolling the paper up or down at either end, thus it can be
any measurement from 3 feet to full size.
Made from a roll of handmade paper,Upstream is a complex and layered work created with many materials, including
watercolour and pencil crayons, collaged tiny ovoid shapes cut from other of my
watercolour and acrylic paintings (paper and canvas), gold leaf and ink. The main scroll of paper is heavily textured
and the long sides undulate in a natural scalloped effect from the edges not
being cut.
While not literally realistic, these fish
images feel alive and fluid.
The background was created over many years,
and the fish (ink) were created last in one burst when I was staying up all
night to follow the livestream of an international informatics competition
where my son was competing in 2014.
These images truly emerged spontaneously
without any preset ideas. While I have
done many scrolls in my career, this is the largest and the subject is unique. I feel that all the scrolls have a narrative
quality, but I never impose the story.
This work is robust and can be rolled for
transport.
Lot 126
A very long (ca 12’) scroll painted on
kraft paper with a double-sided base of acrylic with the principal figures
painted in oil.
Also collaged onto the surface are pieces
of cut outs circles and ovoids of other art works, old stamps, time-worn small
metal objects and ribbons of painted, distressed paper.
The swirl of ovoid shapes above Ariel’s
upturned face are flying up towards an abstract image of the sun, also collaged
to the main scroll. Beneath the figure
of Caliban is a fish with shadows of prehistoric piscine shapes beneath that
figure. The almost cartoonish and oddly benevolent image of a Caliban appears
to be uplifting Ariel and paradoxically, his is the only figure with wings.
This large work is very fragile and would
be best protected in a frame. Ideally it
would also be transported flat, though it can survive one or two more rollings.
And even if it were to crack, it can be mended as the tumultuous surface easily
integrates further trauma.
Lot 127
I did a series of oil-based
watercolours inspired by the basement windows of the miserable apartment where
I stayed with my now ex-husband and baby son while my ex was subbing with the
National Symphony in Washington and I was preparing to record one of my solo albums (Notes from Abroad). There
were about 12 images in this series, and while they were colourful, only two of
them sold.
I sliced the remaining 10 images into
narrow strips, and over a period of six weeks, my dining room table was
hijacked to service the creation of this scroll. It took time to place the strips as the
juxtaposition of colours seemed to be very precise, meaning that when I set one
strip next to the other, it would be immediately clear if it resonated. I had
cut all of the paintings into dozens up dozens of strips prior to starting the
project. I could glue only a few at a time, then would set plastic and heavy
art books atop them to create a flat bond.
The completed work is just over 6 feet long, it is my smallest
scroll. Pictured horizontally in the catalogue for ease of photographing, I prefer to hang this work vertically.
The base is made from a single, integral
large piece of handmade paper, velvety in texture, with soft naturally
undulating edges. There is a large ink
drawing on the back with a soft grey ink wash. This work is the most rugged of
my scrolls and will roll easily.
Lot 128
This was my very first scroll and combined
many of my favourite things… dragons, found paper and a painting medium that
was completely new to me. The recycled
paper is from an Ikea bookcase, the mystery powdered tempura paint that I
bought in a country drug store was a white powder that only revealed it’s
actual hue when mixed with water, and then dried exceedingly quickly, giving me
almost no mixing time. And this little irreverent dragon has withstood the test
of time, fearlessly brandishing his baby smoker’s teeth and cockeyed grin. I love him.
This work is historically significant as it is my first painted dragon and I have gone on to paint many seriously
expressive dragons with far more expensive materials. And the scroll surprisingly robust given that
it is the polar opposite of acid-free. It can endure rolling for shipping.
