Shona Macdonald

Ground Covering #12

2014

An homage to cannabis and weed culture, Mary Reilly works with both powdered graphite and graphite pencil on paper in her photorealist drawing, "The Crew." The artist memorializes tr...

Framed: 10.5 x 10.5 in. In her drawing, Tree No, 103, June 15, 2016, Dina Brodsky uses ink to emphasize the textures of the tree bark and the surrounding grass. By working strictly ...

In Tree No. 50 , January 6, 2016, Dina Brodsky uses ballpoint pen to endow her subject with an almost graphic feeling. The high contrast of the black ink with the snowy white paper m...

Charles Yoder’s use of tight cropping and steeply-angled perspective adds a layer of implausibility to his nocturnal scenes. Branches intersect to form h...

Drawn to nature and Greek mythology, Marcia Scanlon works with mixed media on paper to layer, connect, and reanimate ancient stories. Her works are well-rooted in literature, inspired, in part, by Homer’s Odyssey, Sappho’s poetry, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, as well as Baudelaire’s Convergences, and Joyce’s Ulysses. Her revisiting of these stories, coupled with her own lived experiences, creates a unique literary syncretism rooted in science, nature and the artist's materials themselves as her watercolor images of upstate flora and fauna are compellingly set against Mendeleev’s Period Table of Elements. Scanlon received her MFA in painting from the University of Minnesota and has had numerous international solo and group shows. Her work is in museum and corporate collections, such as The Art Institute of Chicago, Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Weisman Museum, San Diego Museum of Art, and the House of Arts and Letters, Larnaca, Cyprus to name a few. Currently, she works in studios in Soho and rural upstate New York. Artist Statement on Mendeleev’s Dream Series: This series starts with the pre-Socratic philosopher Anaxagoras in the 5th Century BCE. Anaxagoras described the world as a primary brew of undying elements, whose material variations were never caused by an absolute presence of one element, but rather by that element’s dominance over the others. “Each one is… most manifestly those things of which there are the most in it.” He introduced the concept of Nous (Cosmic Mind) as an ordering force that dislodged and separated out the variations from the original, nearly uniform brew. Anaxagoras’s concept of undying, omnipresent elements moves me deeply. What a genius and good guesser. Next comes Mendeleev. I look for ways of connecting my regard for ancient Greek mythology and thought to our present day, so I was enchanted by Mendeleev’s dream, in which the vision of the periodic table of elements...

Reilly uses a toning technique to endow her graphite works with a smooth, seamless quality. Rather than distinct outlines, her flower petals glide gracefully into the surrounding spa...

Shire (2022), surreal abstract dream-like landscape, blue, silver, pink, black "Shire" by Shamona Stokes portrays a dreamy, inviting, surreal landscap...

Lightning My Load (2020), surreal abstract dream-like landscape, sky, skyscape, blue and orange "Lightning My Load" by Shamona Stokes portrays a dream...

watercolor, gesso, and gilding on BFK paper. Gold Leaf. Depiction of the Tower Bridge in London. Medieval figures.

The interconnection of human consciousness and the natural world is what inspires the work of Santa Fe artist Matthew Mullins. Mullins’ watercolor and acrylic ink paintings merge hum...

This delicate botanical drawing is made with 14 karat gold on painted black paper. The exploration of ephemerality, and the fragility of a dandelion gone to seed, its leaves and buds are the focus of this series by Margot Glass. The exquisite beauty of the humble dandelion often considered to be mundane or undesirable is discovered and elevated through close examination and exquisite drawing by the artist. Framed in a light natural wood frame with archival materials. 12 x 9 inches (unframed), $1400. (unframed), 14 x 11 inches (framed), $1650. (framed). Signed, dated and titled on verso, initialed on recto. Glass draws with 14 karat gold and graphite (appearing silver) not only for the delicacy of line the metal point provides, but also for the allure of using a semiprecious and precious metals as a drawing material. Working on a dark ground allows the gleam and luster and delicate reflective silver and gold properties of the metallic medium to present as high tones against the black ground. Glass is interested in the tradition of using nature as idealized ornament in art and design while seeking to observe and represent these plants as accurately as possible in all their irregularity and imperfection. The metallic lines enhance the decorative qualities of the filigree patterns formed by the seed heads and leaf veining. Her compositions are tightly cropped to bring the subject as close to the edge of the picture plane as possible. Margot Glass’s work been exhibited widely in the United States and internationally. Glass’s education includes studies in the Brown/RISD Exchange Program, Brown University...

Watercolor on paper Atmosphere -masses of evaporating water in the air- describes Ekaterina Smirnova's paintings best. Working in watercolour, Smirnova has a unique approach to this ...