Brian Fisher Print, Paint and Sculpture Blog

"Centaurs", Brian Fisher. Monotype Print (1/1), 10 x 10 in. The Ailanthus Altissima, Tree of Heaven, planted by my Grandma Fisher had metamorphosed into a thicket resembling a giant asparagus patch by the time I was born.  My cousin, brother and I had however recognized the trees true equine nature and would each select and snap a brittle steed from the patch and gallop up the creek bank and into the pasture.  While they imagined themselves as cowboys or Indians I knew, I always knew, we were Centaurs. From “The Centaur” by May Swenson My forelock swung in my eyes, my neck arched and I snorted. I shied and skittered and reared, stopped and raised my knees, pawed at the ground and quivered. My teeth bared as we wheeled and swished through the dust again. I was the horse and the rider, and the leather I slapped to his rump spanked my own behind. Doubled, my two hoofs beat a gallop along the bank, the wind twanged in my mane, my mouth squared to the bit. And yet I sat on my...

"Nature Boy", Brian Fisher, Monotype Print with 24k gold leaf.       When I was young my Grandma Lula and I were big fans of Nat King Cole.  Whenever we listened to records (all the time) I asked that she play his soulful recording of "Nature Boy" over & over and yes... one more time please?  This green man image is one of several monotype prints inspired by Eden Ahbez's magical  words and Cole's rendition of "Nature Boy".  Listen to the link below. Nature Boy There was a boy A very strange enchanted boy They say he wandered very far, very far Over land and sea A little shy and sad of eye But very wise was he And then one day A magic day he passed my way And while we spoke of many things Fools and kings This he said to me The greatest thing you'll ever learn Is just to love and be loved in return The greatest thing you'll ever learn Is just to love and be loved in return Eden Ahbez

Inspired by the trees and landscape around me, all seemingly illuminated from within.  This is "Seasons Change", 10 x 10 in. collograph print over wood panel. Autumn burned brightly, a running flame through the mountains, a torch flung to the trees. Faith Baldwin, American author.

Kronos, painted steel Threshold Guardian, garden art. Thresholds are boundaries between worlds.  They are liminal because they are neither here nor there, in or out. They represent end and they are beginning.  They may exist as physical boundaries, the wood or stone lintel at your feet, but are also embodiment of the worlds where the unconscious and awakened consciousness meet. They are time out of time. Once upon a time I ran. I was fast enough to win some races.  What I remember best about those experiences were out of body movement towards a simple goal, a finish line. The guardian of the threshold was time himself. I have been working on new interpretations of personal threshold guardians.  Above is my take on Kronos, “Father Time” (watches and clocks were once called chronographs). Kronos is for me the running man, embodiment of the race, our dance in time and my own experience of timelessness. -->

On June 7, 2019 the Vashon Island Heritage Museum will open IN AND OUT: Being LGBTQ 🏳️‍🌈 on Vashon Island.   The exhibit is interactive and collaborative with a series of programs that examine and celebrate the long, quiet history of LGBTQ+ people of Vashon-Maury Island.  Stephen Sila and Ellen Kritzman are co-curators of this wonderful show and I'm honored to have been asked to be part of it. You might like to participate as a patron of this historic exhibition here- GoFundMe. I have been working this past week at the studio of my generous and talented friends Ilse and Hartmut Reimnitz.  They are both busy finishing artwork for the all island VIVA Studio Tour, May 4-5 & 11-12. I thank them for making room for me to work on the 10+, 25 x 37 in. images that are my contribution to "In and Out".    Above are details from Anthem , two large collagraph/monotype prints.  Anthem is my take on songs of pride, self discovery and emp...

Klew, Brian Fisher, monotype print, 9 x 22 in. “Klew” my monotype print (1/1) will be on display, #16 on the VIVA Studio Tour , May 4-5 & 11-12.  Please stop by to say hi and see what I’ve been up to.  A clue is a way of finding our path out of a perplexing matter or metaphorical labyrinth.  The word and its meaning began as Klew, a ball of thread.   If you have ever said, “I don’t have a clue” you were referencing the myth of Ariadne, Theseus, the Minotaur and the Labyrinth. Ariadne was a princess of Minoan Crete and half sister to the Minotaur.  When Theseus, prince and hero of Athens arrived on the island of Crete as sacrificial tribute to King Minos and his step son the Minotaur, Ariadne fell in love with him.  She gave Theseus a ball of thread that he unwound behind him as he searched the labyrinth to find and destroy the Minotaur.  Deed done he rewound the thread and retraced his steps.

The River of Forgetting, Monotype print with 24k gold leaf by Brian Fisher  (22 1/2 x 29 in. ) In early Greek myth, Lethe was one of five rivers that flowed through the subterranean kingdom of Hades.  Souls who passed into Hades had need to forget the suffering they had endured, or perhaps, the torment they had inflicted.  So, if a soul were ever to achieve peace and reincarnate, that soul would drink from Lethe, the River of Forgetting and be cleansed of memory.    My original print, "The River of Forgetting" will be on display during the VIVA Holiday Art Studio Tour, the first two weekends in December 1-2 & 8-9, Saturday & Sunday from 10am-4pm.  Maps are available at Vashon Island businesses and online at VIVArtists .