Beauport Easel

On this gorgeous warm day I tried out my new Beauport easel, a version of which I saw in action at Snowcamp. At $250, I had put it on my "someday" list, but then noticed it on sale at Jerry's (www.jerrysartarama.com) for $99 and change. That seemed about the best deal I'd ever get. After getting a replacement for a warped part, some help from a friend (thanks, Hannah!) and some adjustments, it's good to go. The paintbox in the photo was my mother's; it holds everything else I need except paper towels.

For the trial run, I figured the back yard would be handy in case I needed anything I hadn't thought of (I didn't). So that scratchy mess on the easel is the back of our house. I meant it to be just a little slapdash, but I'm kind of liking it. If I finish it I'll post it here.

The easel is great; a huge gust of wind came by that would have knocked over my box-and-tripod arrangement; this baby just hung on without a rattle. It will take huge canvases or panels, too. That's a 12" x 16" and it seems small. According to Jerry's website, it's on sale until the end of April (I have no connection to them except as an occasional customer).

Blog Change and Mouse

Because recently I've been receiving bunches of spamish posts that I've had to delete, I've added the (rather annoying) code-word filter to the blog. From now on, anyone who wants me to gamble or to buy certain medicinal products from China will have to at least be a real person who can read and type. This means that the rest of you will have to put in the code word you're given when you want to post a comment. At least, sometimes, they're pretty funny.

As a little consolation, here's a woodcut I did for an exchange awhile back: "Sin Nombre," a four-color woodcut, 4" x 4" on Japanese mulberry paper. Sin Nombre is the Spanish word for the hantavirus, a fairly rare but deadly disease contained in some mouse droppings. My interpretation of the virus is in the background of the harmless-looking mousie. It doesn't show well on the monitor, but in the original print the background ink is gold.