Barbara Takenaga

Angel (Little Egypt) State III

2007

Color lithograph with gold metallic powder, Edition 15. Barbara Takenaga writes: “About the prints, they’re part of a series of recent Angel paintings — which were influenced by seeing a small painting fragment of angel’s wings by Fra Angelico. I liked the way the feather pattern is similar to the Asian motif of fish scales or waves of water. There is a reference to the natural world, as well as the heavenly, but in an abstract, decorative approach. With the scale change of smaller elements in the center and larger dots on the edge, there is the implication of folded space that moves from near to distant — with some sensation of being pulled toward a far off place. The metallic background is dusted with gold or pearlescent powder over deep orange, which gives the surface some shimmer and color change. The title, Angel (Little Egypt), comes from the colors that are reminiscent of ancient Egyptian collars...

Barbara Takenaga has had fun embellishing the last prints in the editions – Switchback State I and State II from 2011 – with extensive hand coloring. She has inverted and rearranged ...

Color lithograph with hand coloring, Edition 20 Her most recent prints are "Lines of Force (Fire Red) State II" and "Lines of Force (TBR) State II." Vibrant hand-colored lithograp...

The artist describes this project: Making these monotypes was a wonderful new experience for me. They combine a painterly, abstract background with a graphic structure of hard edged...

Katherine’s delicate and evocative monotypes portray nature’s flora in all its glory, from the most organic trees and branches to airily etched florals. They are the result of a per...

Katherine’s delicate and evocative monotypes portray nature’s flora in all its glory, from the most organic trees and branches to airily etched florals. They are the result of a per...

Ross Bleckner (American, b. 1949), "Selection Sequence", Etching and Aquatint in Colors on Paper, 2002, marked "AP4" lower left, signed in pencil and dated lower right, unframed. Ima...

Gouache and graphite on handmade paper. 24 x 18 inches unframed. 28 x 22.25 inches framed. Artist Statement: “As an artist, I find endless possibilities overwhelming and use self-imposed boundaries to focus my work. This often includes some combination of: a literal grid or graphite border, employment of barbecue skewers or wooden chopsticks in lieu of paintbrushes for mark making, use of a monochromatic or limited color palette, and a reliance on shape and pattern to tell a story. Limiting the elements at play adds a measure of gravity to each decision, and every detail about the paper, the viscosity of the paint, micro variations in hues, and even the sharpness of the point on a skewer matters. I’ve found that the more restrictions I put in place when I paint, the freer my work has become, allowing a tension to form between the organic and prescribed. Rather than sketch before starting a new piece, I spend time with the paper and begin to visualize possibilities. From there, I can expand the work incrementally. Whether I’m working in an adapted form of pointillism, playing with opacity and hue, or building patterns through repeating shape, the work evolves in its own time. It is an intentionally open process of discovery that seeks to uncover the greatest potential of the basest elements we have at our disposal”. - Kate Snow