Ammonite by Joseph Raffael                                   The scale of his watercolors is impressive.

Now that I’ve delivered the work to my show at Gallery in the Woods in Brattleboro, VT. I can get back to some other art I’ve  been wanting to share.

I’ve blogged about Joseph Raffael before, but this artist does NOT disappoint. Earlier this spring I went to NYC again to see his work at the Nancy Hoffman Gallery in Chelsea. It is a celebration of his 80th year. We caught the show just before it closed.

Somehow Raffael captures the light, energy and spirit of the objects he chooses to paint with glorious luminosity. Of course, I love the subjects he chooses. A childhood family mantra expresses this fascination with the details of the natural world:

Sorry I can’t find the title to this painting.

Then we gather as we travel,
Bits of moss and dirty gravel,
And we chip off little specimens of stone;
And we carry home as prizes
Funny bugs, of handy sizes,
Just to give the day a scientific tone.

The poem is from Robinson Crusoe’s Story by Charles Edward Carryl. Any one of my five siblings could recite it at the drop of a paintbrush.

Detail of Shell painting

It’s in the minutia that Raffael triumphs. He creates his luminous, precise realism with tiny, sloppy brush strokes and daubs and drips of juicy color. Here’s a detaill from the painting above.

And meanwhile, back in the studio I am working on the details and minutia of the world I live in, recreating rocks and creatures on canvas.

Contrast, color, texture and detail…

Towhee with Petroglyph original acrylic on canvas ©lizamyers 9″ x 12″                                             original available for sale (framed)
$525 + shipping