Bonitas Canciones

About this Series

After I spent the summer of 2016 working on paintings on canvas, I decided in the fall to return to mark making on paper in a new format for me, longitudinal. I cut 22″x30″ sheets of 90# Stonehenge in half for the first series of pieces. I also decided to limit my palette to mostly black and grey tones with hints of color. As I progressed, I switched to 140# Fabriano Artistico, which is a wonderfully luscious surface to work on, for Series II.

I had originally named this group of drawings Long Short. On further thought, I changed the name to Bonitas Canciones, Beautiful Songs, sung by Mili Bermejo, whose jazz songs I listen to often. Her voice is in the background of these pieces.

Please note that the weight difference between the two papers isn’t a matter of quality or heft, but the “basis weight” between papers intended primarily for printmaking (Stonehenge) or for drawing/watercolor (Fabriano).

• Bonitas Canciones Series I, 11″x30″, graphite pencil, conte, prismacolor, erasure, pencil shavings and smudge on 90# Stonehenge – created 2016 and 2017.
• Bonitas Canciones Series II, 11”x30” on 140# Fabriano Artistico and are made with marks that include: pencil, graphite, charcoal, Sumi-E ink, watercolor, ebony, oil stick, pastel, conté crayon, and prismacolor. Created 2017.

Photo credit: Jack Kulawik, jackkulawik [at] gmail [dot] com

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