New Hooked Wool Drawings

2011 # 24, hand dyed wool and egg tempera on linen, 10 x 10 1/4 inches.

When I made my last group of hooked wool drawings, which you can see here, one of the pieces was quite small, made from a scrap of linen. I thought it would be interesting to have four of the same small size, to hang as a group. My idea was to keep them simple: two painted shapes accompanied by hooked wool lines. In #24 the side by side shapes float above two lines.

2011 #25, hand dyed wool and egg tempera on linen, 10 x 10 1/4 inches.

2011 #26, hand dyed wool and egg tempera on linen, 10 x 10 1/4 inches.

In #25 and #26, the shapes are held inside the lines. There's an odd balance between the flat painted forms and the lines that have an actual physical presence; so that the hooked wool doesn't completely dominate, I've used saturated colors for the painted shapes.




Here are the four pieces hung together on the studio wall. And below is a detail view of the one of the appliqué pins that I found at the local sewing shop and are perfect for hanging the drawings, with their small white tip that disappears against the work. I like the idea of an informal hanging, the pieces dropping loosely against the wall. In this, I was inspired by two artists, Richard Tuttle and Blinky Palermo, whose works operate against a "high art" culture.




Note: in my last post on hooked wool drawings I mentioned an upcoming show of these works along with paintings. Last week, the dealer decided to change the direction of his gallery, so my works no longer fit in his program; my promised show for September will not happen. I am disappointed, but such are the vagaries of the art world, and in the larger scheme of things it is not very important.