Aron Dubois

Aron Dubois

Zine Experiment

Several two-page spreads from a zine I put together based loosely on the life of Claude Dallas. Some of these drawings/paintings were retouched to be made into black and white photocopies, others are new for the zine. The cover is based on a charcoal drawing I did last year. The mountain lion image didn't copy as well as I had hoped, but most of the rest of the images did.

New Small Ink Drawing

untitled ink drawing - aprox. 5x10" on paper

Inspired by "Urban Tundra"

I exhibited the above painting "Urban Tundra" at the Stark show at Foothills Art Center last year - while it was there some class groups came through and wrote about different works in the show. One nine year old student by the name of Roxi wrote a really touching story about this painting;

During the winter in the school year my mother sends me to school with two warm biscuits and half an apple. When I'm walking to school sometimes I will stop walking and eating to close my eyes and listen to the trains pass by and the mills working away. I can smell and almost taste the smoke in the air. I can feel the snow crystals piercing my skin. I wonder if I can see Papa working at the mills. I wonder when Papa will have a vacation to spend time with Mama, my little sister Mary, and I. When my Papa will say "Tell me a story, Elanor." But Papa never gets vacations from work. Almost everyone's dad works at the mills. When I go home Papa is tired and won't talk to me. Mary is tired too. A few years later the mills shut down and father has more time with us. Father will finally say, "Tell me a story, Elanor." Now we can see the stars without the mills. Mary has gotten older and is going away for two days for a camp at the museum made out of the mills. I could never forget what they looked like when the mills were still running. I have this feeling that the mills will open up again.

Small "Kairos" Study

Small "Kairos" study (for Dana), ink and watercolor on paper, 8x10" - part of a small series of paper works for the visiting artists in my classes. I posted the one I made for Katie a week ago.

The Lifted Brow Issue 6 Out Now

I just got my issue of the Lifted Brow from Australia. Issue No. 6, is a book and two CDs -the theme is that of an atlas of the world, newly observed by a huge list of artists and musicians. I have two ink-wash paintings in the book based on the so-called "battleship island" off the coast of Japan. Both paintings are reproduced as two-page spreads. Order now before they sell out.

Nathan Abels -two ink wash paintings of Hashima Island

Small Rodin Study

A small acrylic ink study of a Rodin sculpture that I painted this afternoon. I'm going to be doing a lot more small watercolor and ink works in the near future.

Small Ink Study

Nathan Abels, untitled - small ink study, ink on primed paper, 5x7"

The Lifted Brow available for Pre-Order

The Lifted Brow No. 6, is a book and two CDs, is now available for pre-order. The theme is that of an atlas of the world, newly observed by a huge list of artists and musicians. I have two ink-wash paintings in the book based on the so-called "battleship island" off the coast of Japan.

Luke Painter

Luke Painter
Woodlot House, India ink on paper, 45"x69", 2008

Timberland, India ink on paper, 48"x72", 2007

Weald, India ink on paper, 48"x72", 2006

photo by yours truly.

A. G. Rizzoli

These images c/o Giornale Nuovo.

Bill Amundson recommended the work of A. G. Rizzoli (1896-1981) to me last week and it is fascinating stuff. Similar to Henry Darger's highly personal and elaborate mythology, Rizzoli would come home from working his day job and explore an alternative world interpreted primarily through utopian and (as he understood it) heavenly-inspired architecture. His elaborate drawings of friends and acquaintances depicted them as gothic inspired buildings - meticulously drafted and often combining colored ink drawing with prose and other text. You can read more about his story online here. I'd highly recommend this book about his work.

New Work; Clifford Griffin

Nathan Abels, "Clifford Griffin", Acrylic and Ink on Rag Board, 14x18", 2009

Nathan Abels, "Clifford Griffin" (detail view), Acrylic and Ink on Rag Board, 14x18", 2009

I just finished this painting - in fact, I still have some residual white paint on my finger tips. You're looking at what is probably my first painting with a figure in it since grad school. It's not that I'm against figurative work, but I haven't been inspired to paint figures in some time.

Recently I was asked by local artist Katie Taft to participate in the tentatively titled "Biographic" show at Abecedarian gallery (running from September 18th to October 24th). As the title indicates, the show is related to stories about people. It will be accompanied by a written component (in the works). Some artists are going to approach it as an interview, others as more of a tribute (like mine). I'm actually way ahead of the due date - a rare thing for me.

I've been really interested in Clifford Griffin's story lately so I thought I'd roll with that momentum and do this painting of him. I made a couple of trips up to his memorial a couple of weeks ago - which is located above Silver Plume - the hike was written about on this blog here. I've also done a lot of research about Clifford Griffin at the Denver Public Library Western History department. There aren't many images of Clifford but I did find a couple of really artistic compositions of him sitting on some outcroppings above Silver Plume and for this painting I combined those with my own photos of the site he is buried at:

Photo of the Griffin Memorial by Nathan Abels

I'll have more info closer to the time of the exhibition.

Melissa Wilkinson

Untitled, ink on mylar, 18"x 24," 2008

Untitled, ink on mylar, 18"x 24," 2008

Untitled, ink on mylar, 18"x 24," 2008

Untitled, ink on mylar, 18"x 24," 2008

Melissa Wilkinson

Ian Dingman Art

These two and many more are available on Ian Dingman's site for really affordable prices:

Don Only Dances In Complete Isolation
2009
ink and watercolor on paper
6.25 x 10.5"

$180

Village In The Foothills
2008
ink, watercolor and gouache on paper
9 x 9.5"

$160

Fridtjof Nansen

Watercolors and ink drawings done by polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen in the late 1800s.

New Painting: "Lost to Sight"

"Lost to Sight", Acrylic Ink on Paper, 22x30", 2009

New Untitled Ink Painting

(Untitled) Acrylic Ink on Paper, 22x30", 2009

Lettering Pens

Cool packaging I scanned from some old pen tips.

From the Archive: Ink on Panel Series

I did a series of paintings in 2006 that were done with spray paint, acrylic and a lithographic printmaking process on panels. I made the backgrounds, then hand-burnished images onto the panels from pronto plates. I mixed the ink specific for each panel, and often combined several images on one panel, so each was unique. I enjoyed the textures and atmospheric effects on these panels. It's funny - when I look back at older works sometimes it is like hearing something new in an old song.