Lily S. May–Life with Art
I've been working and not working on this linocut since March or April. I put it aside after seeing the first proof. In it, the creature's body was not working right for me--it was not defined enough. The rough print has been hanging folded on my bulletin board since then. I had intended to print… Continue reading Mercy for the Children Linocut
I carved this linocut in March or April, took a rough proof, made the adjustments I thought it needed and finally printed the image last week.
Yesterday I printed the "Portrait of a Wary Bird" in black oil based ink. It's on a lovely Japanese paper whose name I have unfortunately misplaced. Here she or he is:
I've just returned from a terrific trip to the Canadian province of Newfoundland, off the east coast of the mainland. The beauty of the land and ocean were healing. In addition to hiking and other sightseeing, I drew every day and will show you some of these pieces later. Meanwhile, here's 2 photos from our… Continue reading Back from Newfoundland
Here's what I'm working on now--a variation of the piece I showed in Learning. This time, I've used only the watercolour crayons, both wet and dry. I'm slowly building up colour and texture and paying attention to shapes. I believe the piece is a work in progress--the more I contemplate it, the more aspects I see… Continue reading Learning 2
In honour of summer and the Pride Parades here in Toronto and around the world, here's a hot pink and rainbow coloured gouache painting I made several years ago. It's called The Swimmer.
As I'm going through my old journals, I find forgotten elements--particularly the content of dreams. A few weeks ago, I came upon a curious and appealing dream fragment from June of 1993. At that time, I awoke with words telling me that centuries would pass before we discovered that the "L" in "Lion" was understood… Continue reading The Lion’s Birdnote
This week, while out walking under trees in my neighbourhood and admiring other people's gardens, I came upon some tremendously beautiful clematis. This spring I've been restraining myself from photographing every flower I see, particularly those that I have many photos of. I've been doing better this year at stopping to admire scilla, crabapples, lilacs,… Continue reading Abundant Clematis
I have kept journals--diaries--on and off for the past 40 or more years. In the 1990s and early 00s, I hand wrote a huge amount in dozens and dozens of lined notebooks--mostly recording my dreams and feelings but also world events and my activities. I've been working on a big project, going through my journals… Continue reading The Nature of Making Art
Last week, I printed the Sisters of Mercy linocut with the violet ink tinted with white. It's on a pale blue Japanese paper with long fibres that I like. Then, on the weekend, I was out of town in Prince Edward County in Ontario. The countryside was filled with lilacs--lining the roads and lanes and… Continue reading Violet and Lilac
Arts of May 