"Nautilus Shell"

Oil on museum quality, archival ampersand gessobord™ panel - 8” x 8”

Reoccurring themes and revisiting familiar subjects have been an artist's prerogative throughout history so who am I to go against tradition?  I used this shell as a model a few months ago and was pleased with the result with the exception that it was perhaps too small.  That painting  "Victorian Nautilus Shell" was as much about the stand as it was the shell.  In this iteration I let the shell take center stage.  The little bit of verdigris stand showing was such a gas to paint that I may have to scrounge around for more old brass objets d'art to play with in the future. 

"Victorian Nautilus Shell"

Oil on archival, museum quality, 1/8” Ampersand Gessobord™ panel – 5" x 7"

Ah, the Nautilus! I’ve been told that I have the body of a God. Sadly the God they had in mind was Buddha. In a fit of madness, I bought a home Nautilus machine to try to change that perception. Anyone who knows me well knows I wouldn’t run out of a burning house, much less jog, so this purchase was ill-fated from the start. As you can guess, it did yeoman’s duty as a clothes hanger before I finally found it a good home with a health conscience friend. Suffice it to say, I am content to look like Balzac for the time being. My other anomaly is that although I loathe boats, I have a fascination for submarines. When I was a lad in grade school, I had a Nautilus lunch box. The Nautilus was our first nuclear attack sub, launched in 1954. It was also Captain Nemo’s ship in Jules Verne’s tale 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. I have never been on a sub under sea although I have been on the USS Torsk which arrived in Baltimore to serve as a museum and memorial in 1972. So there it is...more insight into this artist.