Inverse and Obverse

Suze Woolf painting and papercasts of the same burned log Suze Woolf painting and papercasts of the same burned log

Painting Details

Inverse: Watercolor on shaped Arches watercolor paper, paper-casts from molds of burned logs
Obverse: Pyrography on shaped Arches watercolor paper, paper-casts from molds of burned logs
Each 32 x 22
 
Ever since my residency at the Banff Centre, I have been trying to make the meaning of the artifact inherent in the process and materials. Handmade paper, albeit from cotton rather than wood pulp sources, pressed into molds made from burned logs, is one method. So is pyrography - drawing by burning. In both cases I have contrasted the flat representation with the dimension copy.

As the climate warms, forest fires are becoming more frequent and catastrophic in the western United States. My deep anxiety with the impacts of climate change on wilderness are emerging in this series. Burned-over areas of forest are riveting. Unfamiliar tree forms are newly exposed. Formerly hidden terrain features become visible. Normal greens, blues and browns are transformed. All the worst fires of the last fifty years have occured in the last five years.

Please contact me if you are interested in learning more about any of my images. All represent original paintings, not reproductions. I have many more paintings than are shown on this site. And, since I frequently work in series, there may be additional views of the subjects shown here.