LUCIA'S MAPLE
ACRYLICS ON CEDAR W/RED OAK FRAME
SUMMER 2014

     Leigh and I really enjoy our morning walks around La Conner.  Lately we have loved looking up into the Bigleaf Maples along our walk and seeing the contrasting green colors of the leaves.  Some leaves are highlighted by the sun while others hide in the shade.  The light green and golden winged-seeds hanging in clusters beneath the leaves really add to the overall beauty of the view.  Looking up at the patchwork of greens reminded me of a beautiful carved and painted box designed by Lucia Mathews and made by the Furniture Shop (see Wendy Kaplan, The Art That Is Life, ©1987, page 20).  The design on the top of the box is a multicolored array of poppies that I love.  I also was inspired by her painted 4-panel folding screen showing what appear to be magnolia flowers and leaves (see Kenneth R. Trapp, The Arts & Crafts Movement in California, ©1993, page 8).  Mathews’s bright colors are well-suited for California but our colors tend to be dominated by greens and grays.  Thus, I will dedicate this small painting to her.  I made the frame out of red oak using pegged, hand-joined, mortise-and-tenon construction methods.  I used the Japanese technique (shou-sugi-ban) of charring and oiling the oak to finish the frame.

DIMENSIONS:          HEIGHT:  18 inches
                                  WIDTH:  10 ¼ inches

                                                               PRICE $275