You don’t know my neighbor (we call him Mr. Tony) but he is a fine specimen of humanity. Long have I tried to find a way to thank him for being helpful, kind, humble and an excellent neighbor.
Recently, he has begun a project of passion. He owns a dozen or so chickens. They bring great joy to him, his wife and his mother-in-law who lives with them. But this chicken coop project started to take on the appearance of an artistic fugue. Shed after shed began to emerge in his back yard. And I stood there in awe and wonder to watch it emerge, grow, evolve.
And in a flash, I know how to say thank you to Mr. Tony. So, for about a week, I photographed, drew, carved, started over but finally, my own opus to his project.
I present “Mr. Tony’s Eggsellent Chicken Emporium: Your Eggs for Nothing & Your Chicks for Free” 2026.
And just so you know it is a real rendering and not an artistic imagining:
Another new (to me) idea for a print. This is Johanna. She is based on someone else’s drawing but in a style I’m trying to adapt for simplistic portraits. Johanna is 5.23″ x 6.75″ on 8.5″ x 11″ paper (note the increase in size from previous prints…the new Woodszilla!)
I also have discovered printing on “translucent” paper. It is akin to what we once called vellum. When mounted over a colored backing it permits some of the tint from the backing paper to come through. Watch for future experimentation.
BTW, why Johanna? Well, I carved this one night when I couldn’t sleep. I got up at about 4:30 and I worked on her until past sunup. I had Bob Dylan on the headphones at one point, as the sun was rising, he sang, “And these visions of Johanna, they kept me up past the dawn.”
How could she be anything else? Edition of 12 plus A/P.
I got a little ambitious and put together a six color reduction print of a bluebird for my granddaughter. Generally, I am pleased with the bird, but the elderberries he’s standing on are a tangled mess and it’s hard to distinguish between the purple of the berries and the black of the branches. Small spheres are hard! As compensation, I learned a lot about composition and technique. Glad I did it; I should do it again someday and make it better. Edition of 12, approx. 4″ x 4″
