Giovane Cedar Art
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  • PAINTINGS 1
    • Waterfall
    • The Frog Poet
    • Ginkgos & Waxwings
    • Eagle's Pride
    • Spring in Bloom
    • Flower Moon in May
    • Northwest Rain Kosode
    • Snow on the Beach
    • It Only Takes One
    • Scattered Fans
    • White Circle of Silence
    • In the Spirit of Serizawa & Kubota
  • Paintings 2
    • Autumn Introspection
    • Bats' Lunar Playground
    • Foxgloves Reaching for the Sky
    • Plum Tree on a Snowy Night
    • Autumn Moon by the Sea
    • Chickadee in the Snow
    • Down by the Stream on a Lazy Summer's Day
    • Towhee & Currant in Spring
    • Sparrow's Spring
    • Autumn Grasses (Oribe Tribute)
    • A Tribute to Itchiku Kubota: Ozette Sunset
    • Cathedral of the Trees
    • Baillie Scott Trinity
    • Raven's Forest
    • Eagle Embraces Her
  • Paintings 3
    • The Guardian
    • Crows at Sunset
    • Cormorants
    • Skagit Scene
    • Dream Birds
    • Curious Crow
    • Hydrangea's Final Bloom
    • Pine Island
    • The Four Guardians
    • Circle About the Moon
    • Eelgrass Nursery Rhyme
    • Cedar Green Man
    • Serizawa's Kimono
    • Cats United
  • Paintings 4
    • Dance to the Moon
    • As Autumn Approaches
    • Echizen Crows
    • The Spirit of Fallen Camellias
    • Temple Hawk
    • Goldfinch Dream
    • Autumn Carpet
    • An Eala Bahn (The White Swan)
    • Horse Ema
    • Lucia's Maple
    • Eagles Spring Dance
    • Watts Chapel Tribute Memorial
    • Voysey's tree
  • Blog Page
  • Other Work
    • Paintings 5 >
      • Cedar Waxwing
      • Spotted Towhee
      • Stellar's Jay
      • Evening Grossbeak
      • Red Breasted Nuthatch
      • Black-Capped Chickadee
      • Cardinal
      • Camellias in Bloom Woodblock Print
      • Hot Otter Love
      • č’u•? is Seal
      • Loons & Horses
      • Hawk on a Pine 1
      • Elk Along the South Fork
      • Spirits of Ozette
      • Lingcod Guardian
      • Plum Blossoms in Spring
      • Journey Home From Ozette Island
      • Tsooes Sunset
    • Boxes >
      • Rose Tree Box
      • Celtic Bread Box
      • Creature of the Box
      • Kells Cats Chest
      • Miyamoto's Rice Box
    • Trays >
      • Dragonfly Tray
      • Kaiseki Tray
    • Karakami Square Series >
      • Karakami Square #1: Cherry Tree
    • Screens >
      • Eagles 2-Panel Folding Screen
      • The Four Seasons Screen Series >
        • Winter Screen: Eagle & Pine
        • Fall Screen: Canada Geese & Maples
        • Spring Screen: Cherry Trees & Finches
        • Summer Screen: Swallows & Willow
      • Frog's House Screen
      • Waterfall Screen
    • Peacock Sconces
  • Resources List
  • Catalog
  • Sold Paintings
  • Gifted Art & Personal Collection
  • Night at Marymere Falls
  • Eagle on a Pine
  • Skagit Landscape of the Mind: Full Moon at Midnight
  • Eggplant Harvest
  • Tomatoes & Wisteria Entwined
  • Running the Waves
  • When the Salmon Run
  • Autumn Deer
  • Dunlin Flight
  • The Fox Spirit (kitsune)
  • Crow on a Snowy Branch
  • Skagit Landscape of the Mind V: Winter's Cool
  • Trees IV
Picture
RAVEN'S FOREST
 ACRYLICS ON CEDARW/ RED OAK FRAME
(FALL 2013) 
     Early in the fall, Leigh & I took my sister Renee to visit Leavenworth, WA.  It was one of those foggy gray days in the Skagit Valley when we set out for the drive.  As soon as we started gaining elevation the fog was left below and it turned into a crisp fall day.  The color of the leaves was at its peak and the brilliant tones of yellow, orange, and red could not be bested.  One particular tree in all its autumn glory was a magnificent old Red Oak in the heart of Leavenworth.  In this instance the tree lived up to its name as the leaves were a dazzling fiery red.  They reminded me of a piece of red lustre ware I saw on a film about British pottery, a dish made by William De Morgan.  The 1885 earthenware dish is in the Victoria & Albert Museum and shows leaves swirling around a central dragon figure.  De Morgan’s stylized leaves were the inspiration for the leaves I planned to use on my tree, instead of a more realistic oak leaf design.  The design of my tree was to incorporate the central vertical piece of my frame, and was made to represent the Tree of Life.  Its overall shape was inspired by the Art Nouveau door and entrance to a shop in Brussels, Belgium designed by Paul Hankar (see Klaus-Jurgen Sembach, Art Nouveau, ©2010, page 45).  When Renee and I were down by the Wenatchee River, you could hear the throaty call of ravens.  Ravens are amazing birds and ones of significance in both the Northwest Coast Native tradition and in Celtic mythology.  Ravens symbolize the interconnection between life and death and show how both are intertwined in our world.  Thus it was appropriate to include them in my painting showing the connection between heaven, earth, and the underworld.  I made the frame first so that it would fit the two five-foot by 18-inch pieces of red cedar I had obtained.  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.  Thus made, the blackness of the frame would blend into the blackness of the tree’s trunk.

DIMENSIONS:  HEIGHT:  64.25 inches
                           WIDTH:    43.5 inches

                                                               PRICE $2,500
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William De Morgan dragon dish
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Art Nouveau door and entrance to a shop in Brussels, Belgium designed by Paul Hankar
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