Following introductory information (history of the oeuvre; my process, etc.) about this series of drawings I post a selection [the “Gallery”] of a dozen drawings from the total collection of some 52 works. I would be pleased to discuss collections of or from the entire series.
A number of the images from the Gallery are available for purchase as individual works. I have included several that have been sold and/or are being reserved as considerations for possible acquisition(s) as part of a collection of several or more.
This is in keeping with the desire I have mentioned of having some drawings remain together as an interactive series. I am open to inquiries and discussion on this matter, and would be pleased to present a sample collection to interested parties.
The inclusion of objects sold or not for sale at this point also helps to put forth a broader representation of what the works in this aspect of my work as an artist look like.
There are variances in the photographs posted here as a result of intended variations in the imprimatura, a ground of stamped gold block-print ink, on which I did the pencil drawings.
My process begins with stamping the paper with gold block print ink, using various sized rectangles I cut from a rubbery material used for block printing. Repeated stampings yield a range of intensity and degree of coverage of the ink. In some cases I leave a rectangle of paper that has not been stamped.
I employ this randomness to interact with the preciseness of the pencil work. There is only an approximate awareness for me as to just where increments of the drawing will appear on the grid. Such a measure of unpredictability adds elements of uniqueness to the already, in basis, mysterious subject.
I have not put titles on these works. As with many of my non-objective pieces, I believe that the response, interpretation, and appreciation of the viewer here should be left up to themselves. I differentiate the works by way of the dates of completion that accompany my signature on each drawing.
I see this not wanting to impose a title as being closely akin to what it was that I saw in the source image that inspired me to choose it as a subject. For nearly all of this series it was the engagement brought about by looking into the eyes of each individual who is looking intently, directly back at me, that served as that initial inspiration.
I have had a collection of these drawings on the walls of my two studio rooms for ten to twelve years, and the eyes continue to hold me.
Cubist Nude on Blue
Working from drawings I had done during a period of figure drawing and other sources, I started my return to the subject of the female figure a quarter of a century later with realistic pencil studies. But I quickly moved on to Cubist and other interpretations.
Gradually I returned to a rather Renaissance-like realistic manner of drawing nudes with small (10” x 7” – 14’ x 10’) studies of heads, torsos, and hands. Some drawings had separate details on a single sheet.
Nude Study
Then I began a series of larger drawings, on sheets paper in the range of 30’”x 23 1/2”. And as I worked on these another evolution occurred. I began to come upon subjects who were looking directly back at the viewer, be it artist, photographer, or other.
The German “Vier Augen”, “Four Eyes”- their way of looking each other in the eyes as they hold a conversation – came to mind. This is quite different from the typical manner in which Americans look off to one side as they talk to each other.
The models were in fact regarding the one who was regarding them. There was a reciprocity expressed in the image. I found this unspoken interchange compelling. And seeing this, I came to the idea of “Regarding Women Regarding…”, which became the focal point for a full series of drawings.
This led to a collection of 50 or more drawings. My art work (and my writing as well) has always tended toward staying with a theme over a period of time, and keeping to related subjects or ideas.
I enter a zone, be it with magic square variations, cubist interpretations, turtles and their settings, figures and so on, and stay there. The work, visual or written, becomes enhanced and expanded upon by the interactions and interconnections that arise over time, as I move from subject to subject. My technique and command of the theme at hand are strengthened by a sustained focus.
As I look back on these nudes on gold, works from ten to twelve or more years ago, I doubt very much that I could go back to the place, or zone, that I was in. The MacArthur Foundation funding was enormously instrumental in allowing me to have that continuity, keeping to the concept until the series was completed. This was one of many ways in which I felt that I was honoring the heartening and richly enabling endorsement of that “Genius Grant”, and the charge I felt it carried.
As the deep doubts that I could return to the place from which these drawings arose, and the fact that that I came to regard the individual works as being so closely related to each other, archival dilemmas came forth. It is highly unrealistic to think that this collection can be kept as a body of work in its entirety (although I would certainly welcome and happily discuss that possibility). But I do hope to keep some pieces together in smaller collections.
My overall consideration here is to have a representation of this unique compartment in a core archive collection. And then to offer smaller groupings, as well as individual works, for acquisition by museums; visual art archives; private collectors; art investers – any interested agency.
A gallery of selected drawings follows this account of my “Nudes on Gold”. I would happily provide additional images to any entity considering an acquisition.
Click Here for the “Nudes on Gold” Gallery
My Five Published Books
Trout Reflections
Following the Water
Year of the Turtle
Self-Portrait With Turtles, A Memoir
Swampwalker’s Journal
Hand Bound Books
A Book of a Number of Hours
A Book of Winter Buds
A Book of Winter Branches
Borradores
Landscapes – January 20, 1978 – April 1978
Variations: February 1, 1967 – August 1, 1968
Visions: Drawings and Paintings: 1976 – 1988
Exhibitions
“Seldom Seen” Exhibition at the Davidow Center
“Beyond Words” Exhibition at the Currier Museum
Galleries
“Seldom Seen” Gallery
David’s Wildlife Studies Sketchbook
Virtual Gallery of Art Produced for My Five Books
“Regarding Women Regarding…” Introduction
Sketchbook Gallery: 4/1/1985 – 10/14/1987
Swamp Sketchbook
The Swamp Dialogs
Drawings and Watercolors Produced to Illustrate my Published Books
CODIT – Compartmentalization of Decay in Trees