Black Hills Artist
Black Hills Artist
If you ever find yourself on a high, jagged ledge somewhere in the Black Hills, chances are you’ll have the opportunity to gaze out from 1.7-billion-year-old granite. And it’s just possible that it will change you. Your mind will try to absorb the wonder of surrounding geological units and processes — like intrusive magma, transgressive seas, wind-blown sand, and tropical sediments. All the while, it’s the process of erosion that allows you to immerse in these ancient environments, which are reflected in the artwork in this section.
Acrylic and muscovite specimen | 10” x 10” | $750
Abstract art rarely represents an accurate depiction of visual reality. Instead, it communicates compositions that balance forms, textures, colors, and lines. The abstract art shown here uses a variety of techniques to convey experimental ideas.
I created these paintings using the view of a rock under an X-polar microscopic in a laboratory. Light penetrates a thin section of a rock placed under the microscope and allows geologists to identify minerals, characterize the rock type, and interpret the rock’s history within the geological environment. As I gazed through the microscope, an array of vibrant colored minerals emerged. It is an outstanding exemplification of “abstract” with wild, vibrant colors and multitudes of shapes for each mineral. It does not get better than that!
Acrylic and biotite specimen | 10” x 10” | $750
Abstract art rarely represents an accurate depiction of visual reality. Instead, it communicates compositions that balance forms, textures, colors, and lines. The abstract art shown here uses a variety of techniques to convey experimental ideas.
I created these paintings using the view of a rock under an X-polar microscopic in a laboratory. Light penetrates a thin section of a rock placed under the microscope and allows geologists to identify minerals, characterize the rock type, and interpret the rock’s history within the geological environment. As I gazed through the microscope, an array of vibrant colored minerals emerged. It is an outstanding exemplification of “abstract” with wild, vibrant colors and multitudes of shapes for each mineral. It does not get better than that!
Acrylic and Pierre Shale | 40” diameter | $2,800
A sizzling sun pierces a cloudless blue sky beating black Pierre shale as we hike on an ancient seabed. White rocks scatter our path. These were once a part of round concretions buried in shale. With sediment erosion concretions reached atmospheric conditions and fractured into angular forms. In our play of contrast white fragments are showcased on a black stage of shale.
For commemoration of the hike, fissile shale pieces were collected and glued on canvas. Modeling paste formed concretion fragments and acrylic paint enhanced color and relief under a painted blue sky. This artwork encircles hiking relics from a 75- million-year-old sea floor.
Acrylic and Copper | 24” x 14” | $800 | SOLD
A gnarled tree bends its life to the elements leaving their message engraved on its being. This tree has viewed erosional processes that sculptured the land on which it grows. In this image, acrylic paints and modeling medium create a gentle curved flow capturing angular twists and rugged growth. A splash of copper crowns this living legend that lived to adornment.
Acrylic on Board | 5” x 7” | SOLD
As chemical and physical conditions align, layers of embedded shales serve as hosts to “marcasite dollars”. This sulfide mineral form served as a catalyst to fire my imagination. Color, fibrous habitat, and the quirky cock’s-comb appearance of marcasite came to life through line and texture. Miners referred this as a marcasite sun; I chose to suspend the image as a two-dimensional moon floating in an illusional landscape.
Acrylic and Splash Copper Specimens on board | 23” diameter | SOLD
The beauty and elegance of copper encouraged my commitment to this lustrous metal resulting in a “splash copper” painting. Copper is heated to 2,200 degrees F, poured into straw, and when cooled, a chemical patina was applied prior to polishing the metal. Acrylics and alcohol inks flowed around the copper resulting in birch foliage that presses against an aqua sky as white trunks enter a void of warmth.
Acrylic and Malachite Crystals | 16” x 11” | $750
When in the Black Hills, you’re never far from a stand of ponderosa pines. They form the backdrop of many thoughts and experiences. Here, green, luminous malachite crystals merge with pines. The resulting image is one of embedded crystals fingered by mystical clouds and reflected on the still waters of Stockade Lake in Custer State Park. This acrylic painting captures a haze of cool serenity and hints at fires that once blazed through the park.
Acrylic and Azurite Crystals | 8” x 8” | SOLD
The tallest peak in the Black Hills never fails to deliver views that stir something deep inside you. Sunshine dances across the magnificent granite outcrops and profiles, while the deep shadows hint at mysteries you want to explore. In this piece, embedded azurite crystals join with acrylic paint to form the “monumental” image of Black Elk Peak. Paintbrush strokes release wispy cirrus clouds, green diagonal shores, and surreal images secreted in cool water.
Acrylic and Jasper Specimens on board | 27” diameter | SOLD
Life makes its way, right? In fact, pine tree seeds find a way to germinate on rock surfaces, and saplings force their roots down through rocks and hard soil in search of water and nutrients. This fight for life became visible for me when snow and wind downed a mature tree near my studio, exposing a massive root structure clutching chunks of rock. In this circular painting, gnarled roots emerged with sweeping strokes of magenta backed by smoky grays. Detailed brushstrokes document a growth of twists and turns. The encapsulated jasper rocks glow with saturated reds, purples, and mauves.
Acrylic and Metal on board | 15” x 30” | $1,285
Scarlet crystalline faces of proustite can produce a color high. To create this fever-dream artwork, sculpted crystals were formed with acid-free mat board. Strokes of layered acrylic paint detail vivid linear striations and reflected prisms within the crystalline forms. Proustite is a mineral ore and, in this piece, chrome plating represents the embedded “silver.” The work conveys the beauty and addictive allure of proustite, which fades in the sunlight, while still attaining a reflective degree of permanence.
Acrylic, Styrofoam, and Metal on board | 15” x 30” | $1,285
Quartz is a predominant mineral within the 1.8-billion-year-old granite of the Black Hills. Molten magma emerged from the Earth’s mantle and cooled beneath Earth’s surface. That mountain-forming event was the impetus for this mixed-media piece. Sculpted Styrofoam painted with translucent layers of acrylic paint morphed into milky quartz. The veins of quartz serve as a host for gold, which is represented in this low-relief artwork by a metal alloy.