Monday, April 23, 2007

Whirligig #35

 

Whirligig #35, 20″ x 17″ x 11″ (51cm x 43cm x 28cm), aircraft plywood, African mahogany, assorted metal parts

 

New from Chuck Dunbar’s

Whirligig Design & Development

WHIRLIGIG #35

WITH

SPECIAL ACTION CAM DRIVEN

WAVING CIRCLE

 

 

PRECISION ENGINEERING

PERFECTILY BALANCE CAM DRIVE

 

See Whirligig #35 in action on my Youtube Channel

http://www.youtube.com/chuckdunbar

 

 

Posted by Chuck in 05:11:03 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Drawing with Edna

 
For those who may have just arrived, Edna and I have been working on the same image at the same time.  Two years ago, just for fun, we worked on the same 40″ x 30″ (102cm x 76cm) canvas for a few hours.  The results were interesting at best, but we had fun.  A few more painting experiments followed, some of which can be seen here.  Search under Edna.  Last autumn we decided to try some joint drawing.  We like the results and decided to use some good paper.  We worked almost weekly for about six months.  We showed the results to an Albuquerque art dealer with whom we have both worked.  She liked the drawings very much.  We will exhibit sixteen of the drawings this May at Art Is…OK Gallery.
 
Last Thursday, April 12th, Edna and I got together for another day of drawing.We followed our usual routine: talking about/evaluating previous results 9:30-10:00; drawing 10:00-12:30; lunch 12:30-1:00; serious drawing 1:00-3:30.  Times may vary a little bit, but about four hours working.  Sincd the upcoming exhibit marks a break of sorts in the images we have been developing, we felt that we would look for something new to work with.  The five images below are the afternoon’s work.
 
 
 
Untitled Drawing, 29″ x 23″ (74cm x 58cm), black pastel on Strathmore 2 ply Bristol
 
 
 
Untitled Drawing, 29″ x 23″ (74cm x 58cm), black pastel on Strathmore 2 ply Bristol
 
 
 
Untitled Drawing, 29″ x 23″ (74cm x 58cm), black pastel on Strathmore 2 ply Bristol
 
 
 
Untitled Drawing, 29″ x 23″ (74cm x 58cm), black pastel on Strathmore 2 ply Bristol
 
 
 
Untitled Drawing, 29″ x 23″ (74cm x 58cm), black pastel on Strathmore 2 ply Bristol
Posted by Chuck in 04:31:17 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Whiligig #36 Plan

 
 
Whirligig #36, 24″ x 18″ (61cm x 46cm), pencil on paper
 
 
Whirligig #36 is a departure from the previous whirligigs. This one is vertical and features three independent blades sets, the middle one rotating counter clockwise and the top and bottom set clockwise. The blades will be made of .015″ (4mm) thick brass sheet, bent in the middle to a 45 degree angle and will be soldered to the brass arms. The hubs will still be made like those of earlier whiligigs from African maholgany. There will only be two blades on each hub. The two other arms will be made of thin walled brass tubes of different lengths and will be fashioned to whistle as they spin around.
 
I am painting Whriligig #35.
 
I will be exhibiting work at two galleries in May and June. At Johnsons of Madrid, Madrid, NM, I will be exhibiting three whirligigs and several paintings in a group show. Edna and I will be exhibiting twenty to twenty four drawings at Art Is…OK Gallery, Albuquerque, NM. I will post more about these exhibits in the next week or so. I have made a new section in the sidebar to feature the work in the various exhibits.
Posted by Chuck in 04:47:11 | Permalink | Comments (1) »

Monday, April 2, 2007

Bonsai Forest of Siberian Elm

 
 
 
Siberian Elm (ulmus pumila), 20″ (51cm) high
 
This is a “thousand” tree forest I grew from Siberian elm seeds four or five years ago.  It came into leaf about two weeks ago.  Siberian elm is the local weed tree in Albuquerque, introduced in the 50’s by an ecologically ignorant mayor.  This tree works for bonsai here because it’s cold and drought tolerant.  When cultivating it for bonsai, care has to be taken in pruning pre-bonsai trees growing in the ground.  Very large caluses form where the larger shoots from the trunk are cut.
Posted by Chuck in 04:55:28 | Permalink | Comments (1) »