Category Archives: Uncategorized

This Jim Crane, AKA “Dad” (circa 1960) reminds me of something more recent. . .

Carey Crane, work in progress 2020 – 2021

Spring Cleaning: While straightening up in the garage recently, I came upon a number of photographic prints (!) of my painting/collages. These are mostly from North Carolina years, circa mid-to-late 1990s, living near Chapel Hill, Pittsboro, and later, Asheboro. Some of these will be posted on the “archive” page where pre-Hecho en Nuevo Mexico art resides.

Above: 24 X 48 panel. Mostly collaged fabric and paper. It has a nice depth and “glow” in the actual piece as I recall.

24 X 24″ Panel. Fabric and paper collage. Maybe some modeling paste and India ink. Notable for plant forms based on picture plants. These forms later morphed into Sweetgum tree leaves (after cutting out hundreds of silk leaves for a museum project) and eventually into “Agave” forms in New Mexico years.

This is a small panel collage with silver leaf and papers. I like the (for then) less-characteristic earth tones. This would be late 90’s Pittsboro from the rented neon-factory studio shortly before the move to Washington, DC.

I think that F & L still have this one? Acrylic and enamel spray paint on canvas with fabric collage. After-the-fact, I see a jovial little fellow dancing through a jungle in a top hat. Made during North Carolina Zoological Park / Ramsuer years.

“Pagoda.” Oldest in the bunch. ~36 X 24″ paint on canvas, some collage. From un-cropped photo I see that this in leaning up again the barn-house off 15-501 surrounded by cow pastures and woods. Bucolic. I imagine that the land supports a subdivision now.

Bonus photo, much later. From New Mexico shortly before the move to Maryland. 30 x 30″? Acrylic and spray enamel paint on canvas. I left this one behind and I can’t say why. I like it now, and brought others that I am not as fond of. It is just hard to judge one’s own work when it is relatively fresh I suppose.

Another bonus – “Blanco Verde” ’15 in situ. a New Mexico collage/painting. A personal favorite. Seems like it came from a “good place.” It looks happy here in L’s house.

Getting warm enough on some days to work large canvases outside again. Hope to “see” you in a few weeks with new 2021 and continuing work. Think I may collage some fabrics . . .

In Situ: Big Sis LP sent me this photo of of ~2013 painting “Forbidden Fruit.” To paraphrase The Big Lebowski, the central mask on the left “. . . really ties the room together.” That mask and painting are having a lively conversation, no? What a party. You don’t have to wear a mask if you are a mask.

I occasionally receive photos of my artwork hung in people’s homes or offices. Or home/offices these days. I love to see how they look in a context other than isolated online, in a gallery setting, or especially stacked around the house!

Our Father began an eclectic collection of masks and figurative sculpture from about ’62 on. Undoubtedly an influence on our Family aesthetics and collections; and my painting surely. We have carried on the tradition.

I am thinking of gathering “in situ” painting photos that some of you have sent to me over the years into a web page. Please do send or re-send any that you have.

Happy Solstice, and good yule. All best celebrations possible. Here’s to brighter days ahead.

Here are “Works in Progress” glimpsed at in the previous Fe-Line post. They will both be about 66 X 32″ completed when/if on stretcher bars. All acrylic on raw canvas at this point. These were started at the same time, similar pallette. Different feels though, don’t you agree?

This May be completed? Need to (try) to sit with it for a few days. Relatively large scale. Like the metaphor of the Chesapeake meeting Rip-Rap: water meets rock (mineral, yet engineered,) atmosphere meets hardscape . . . 

Stretcher bars for “Rip Rap” arrived yesterday. Here it is stretched and worked some more. Larger scale than I have been working in recently, 60 X 30″. Also have not worked off of a stretcher to start with for some time. Have another ready to stretch, but stretcher bars are sitting in Pennsylvania.

Hope to have more to share soon.

Rip-Rap: work in progress 8 4 2020

*Riprap, also known as rip rap, rip-rap, shot rock, rock armor, or rubble, is human-placed rock or other material used to armor shorelines, streambeds, bridge abutments, pilings and other shoreline structures against scour and water, wave, or ice erosion.

Yep, *Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riprap

One of two larger works, in the works. Thinking of surf encountering “human placed” barriers to “erosion,” and the inherent drama therein.

Crazy day today. tropical storm Isaias’ pounding wind and rain in the morning, blue skies in the afternoon. I’d like to claim this as a tropical storm painting, but it was underway a week ago.

Here is a New Mexico painting “Jetty” that evokes a coastal storm:

Ironically “Jetty” was painted in the desert of southern New Mexico. Further irony is that it was made from a Masonite panel used as backer to route an X-Prize logo when I worked at the New Mexico Museum of Space History, Alamogordo. Here is the logo. It is “upside down” in painting:

Desert, space, surf. Desert space logo as coastal Jetty.

One of five Juror Choice awards, MFA Summer Show. Nice.

More creatures. Not for everybody. Right for somebody. Used to look like this:

Sayanara.

Haven’t worked like this for a while. Un-stretched. unprimed canvas. Stretched it’ll be about 60 X 30″ and look something like this:

I will work back into it once it is stretched and sealed. Time to roll it up for now.