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.
