An ongoing series of quick'n'simple digital paintings depicting the eyes of a variety of animals. The sheer variety of form displayed by this one organ across the animal kingdom almost beggars belief; yet, in their disparate and sometimes incredibly strange ways, all of them have evolved to function to perfection (at least for the needs of the animals that bear them).
Also: You like watching animals? Let's see if you like animals watching YOU!
Painted exclusively en plein air in subfreezing temperatures, ranging from mid-20s F to nearly 30° below F (-4 to -34° C), the Black Ice series is a unique exploration into experimental painting and the nature of cold and extreme conditions. In a procedure I call "chillpainting," sheets of watercolor paper are spread horizontally, covered with a thin coating of water, and then inked with India ink. (Acrylic ink does not work, at least not in the same manner.) The ink used in the paintings forms crystalline ice after being allowed to freeze over. (The trick is to then coax it into thawing without losing too much detail!) The technique is capricious, and there were probably at least as many failed attempts as the semi-successful ones exhibited here.
