Brian Fisher Print, Paint and Sculpture Blog

"Damascus" is a monotype print collage from my Magic Carpet Ride series for “Cut and Paste” showing with paper cut artist Danny Kopsak’s new work at Vashon Center Gallery. Opening Aug 11, 5-8, exhibiting through Aug 27, in VCA's Summer Arts Festival 2023. “Whoever would sit upon this carpet and will it to be taken up and set down upon another site, shall, in the twinkling of an eye, be borne thither, whether that place be near at hand, or distant many a day's journey and difficult to reach.” It is said that Solomon’s magic carpet was made with a warp of green silk and weft of golden thread. It was sixty miles long and sixty miles wide. When he sat upon the carpet he was caught up by the wind and flew so quickly that he could breakfast in Damascus and dine in Media.

  My monotype print,“The Pearl Divers", is currently on exhibit at JGO Gallery, on Bainbridge Island. My mother in-law was an opera fan. Not long after she moved to the Northwest, Seattle Opera performed The Pearl Fishers, ( Les Pecheurs de Perles),  by Bizet and she declared "You will love it" and "We must attended this performance!"  At the time I was living through hellish back pain.  Perhaps the pain is what made it memorable (I stood in the back of McCall Hall for most of the performance),  but its' beautiful friendship aria, sung by the central characters Zurga and Nadir, have been with me ever since.  Thank you Doris for insisting on the experience!

  "Jacob Dreams of Angels" is my monotype print, (1/1), with silver metal leaf, currently on exhibit at  Vashon Center for the Arts Gallery, Jan 6-29, 2023 in The Notable Collection .   The Torah and the Bible tell of Jacob’s vivid dream about a stairway or ladder to heaven with angels ascending and descending. It is in this dream that the God of his grandfather Abraham and father Isaac, appears to Jacob and promises the land that he sleeps upon to his descendants and that through Jacob and his descendants that all the families of the earth shall find blessing. What a profound dream and the ladder a powerful symbol of connection between the physical and an unknown where dreams are sourced or realized.

"Angel Over Atwood", relief monotype print. (1/1). 24" x 36", is named for a small town on the prairie located at the intersection of US Highway 36 and Kansas 25 in Northwest Kansas and nestled in the Beaver Valley on Beaver Creek. This was Cheyenne, Comanche, and Arapaho country before white European settlers replaced them. Under the Works Progress Administration Atwood built a lake and when I was born called itself- Atwood, City by the Lake.    After the American Civil War my Fathers’ family moved to this area and to other small towns and land around Atwood. They came at a time when life meant struggle and to simply endure could be thought of as success. They brought little with them other than the belief that they would persevere and an ability to laugh often. Above all they were practical, though some of them were quite religious and (according to my grandfather) superstitious. I am sure that some saw angels in the tall grass as the wind swept the plains or...

The 2022 Notable Show at Vashon Center for the Arts Gallery opens Jan. 7. I've been working on angel myth as subject in paintings and monotype prints since early 2021. It's so satisfying to see work finally coming together. Michael, Angel of Strength, shown here, is the last of four oil paintings on canvas over panel for the exhibit.  My inspiration for these paintings and prints are Italian   Renaissance   artist   Fra Angelico’s “Technicolor” angel winged paintings of Gabriel, the Angel of the Annunciation and my sincere curiosity about the human need for answers and explanations .    Our love of the evolving narrative always intrigues me !

Delighted to show with these Fine Art Print Artists! Quartermaster Press and invited guests at the Hardware Store Restaurant on Vashon Island Nov 5-30, 2021.

My spin on Aesop's fable,  The Fox & Hare, (m onotype print, with 24k gold leaf), is one of my many fable based prints on exhibit in "On Being Human" at Roby King Gallery, 176 Winslow Way E. Bainbridge Island WA, September 3-26. So the story goes-   One warm afternoon Fox napped and woke on a sun soaked slope to find Hare watching her intently. “Why do you stare little friend?” Fox asked. "Are you really as cunning, as smart, as others say?” Hare asked.  Fox rolled on her back and thought for awhile before replying, “Perhaps I could show you just how cunning I am little friend? You are cordially invited for early dinner, where we shall continue this conversation. Come as you are, come now if you like?” So Hare, filled with curiosity, followed Fox home. Fox though, had nothing at home to eat except? Now Hare exclaimed, “I have learned too late that your cunning is not about intelligence but unjust trickery that would sacrifice the innocent to fill you own belly.” ...

  Friends or Foes, my monotype print (1/1) with 24K gold, will exhibit in ”On Being Human”,  at   Roby King Gallery on Bainbridge Island, Sept. 3-26, 2021.   Although several of my prints in the "On Being Human" exhibit are my take on teaching fables attributed to Aesop, this monotype is more personal.  It's about those relationships that shape us because they are... challenging.  It also pays homage to truth as a bottom line we can agree or should agree to. Sometimes that challenging relationship is a close one and your friend is a friend because they tell the truth out of love for you.  Things you need to hear can still be difficult to hear, even from a friend!    Sometimes the relationship is less defined but you respect the other person's comments or actions because they act from integrity or... maybe they are relatives and believe wholeheartedly in what they share?  It would often seem that the mor...

Aletheia and the Bedtime Story, my monotype print (1/1), will exhibit in ”On Being Human”,  At Roby King Gallery on Bainbridge Island, Sept. 3-26, 2021.  Link here to the gallery and more of my work on display at Roby King. Myths and Fables are often read and told as entertainment, but as we know, the truth is in the telling and the power of truth, we hope, wins out.   My print is a bit of a visual pun on the name Aletheia, who was the Greek Goddess of truth, truth revealed, the naked truth… she is more familiar in Latin as Veritas.   Aesop, who’s teaching stories inspired my latest “fable” print series, tells two fables about the Goddess of Truth, Aletheia. In one, a man traveling in the wild discovers Aletheia living alone, far from civilization and asks her why she dwells in the wilderness.   She replies, “ Among the people of old, only a few told and repeated lies, but now those who lie exist throughout all of human society! ”   From this fable we learn...

Sting Like a Bee, monotype print with 24K gold, for the “On Being Human” exhibit at Roby King Gallery, September 3-26, 2021  Bees have existed for perhaps 130 million years. An estimated 65 million years ago some of them survived the meteor that struck earth, caused global temperatures to drop and brought the extinction of larger mammals. Some of those bees had already evolved a social lifestyle, like Apis mellifera Linnaeus, the western Honeybee. Along with hive mentality they also evolved a way to defend themselves, a sting. We, the descendants of smaller mammals who also survived destruction, are dependent for sustenance on pollinating bees.  My monotype print “Sting Like a Bee” depicts one of Aesop’s teaching fables that present flora and fauna as characters with human fallibilities. The Queen of the Bees could bear it no longer. Humans were forever plundering her hives of honey, so she decided to petition Zeus for justice and a means of defense. She gathered t...

  “Mind Walk”   is one of my monotype prints in the Black / White Show at Roby King Gallery, 176 Winslow Way E. Bainbridge Island, WA, May 7-30, 2021. Before Google or the printed page a trained memory was vitally important and the only way to retain and share knowledge.   Across cultures, but particularly in Greece and later Rome, humans created elaborate memory systems known as Mnemonics or memory devices named for the Greek Goddess of memory, Mnemosyne.   Based on strategies of association of "places" and "images" with the desired subject to be remembered, these techniques aided in the retention of information and its retrieval.    

  My monotype "Carnival of the Animals" imagines a party of exotic beasts on parade.   Partly inspired by Camille Saint-Saëns suite of 14 movements by the same name and the fact that all animals, plants, and fungi share an ancestor that lived about 1.6 billion years ago. Every lineage that descended from that progenitor retains parts of its original genome.   We are all in this parade!  We are the Carnival of Animals!   Currently for sale at Vashon Center for the Arts Gallery in the Notable Collection.

Prayer, from the Notables exhibit, came down earlier this week but is available on line at Vashon Center for the Arts Online Gallery.  You can see the show in a Virtual Exhibit , walk through, if you didn't have the chance to see it in January. Prayer 19 x 37 in. Monotype Print (1/1) and Painted wood base-relief Prayer depicts those moments proceeding battle as imagined from within the Trojan Horse.   These concealed warriors are the last hope of the Greek coalition to capture the city of Troy.   They may win the fight and city, or they could all die.   Either way the war that had already lasted ten years will end.   The portion that is print in “Prayer” evokes personal reflection before battle.   The bas-relief symbols of “Prayer” tell part of the story that proceeds this moment and conclusion of the Trojan War.

  Working on base-reliefs last August, photographed by artist Terry Donnelly. I was able to complete much of the print/bas-reliefs "Prayer" and "Prepare", (now on exhibit at Vashon Center for the Arts and also online at VCA), in my outside studio this summer. Terry came by to capture art in process on several occasions. I had a great time talking while working and getting to know Terry better!  I am so honored to be a part of his "People at Work" photography series!

  Horse Play is my monotype print (1/1) with 24k gold leaf on exhibit in the 3rd Annual VIVA Membership Show at Vashon Center for the Arts.  Visitors are welcome to view the art and talk with artists from 12noon – 8:30pm on 1st Friday, October 2, 2020.  I'll be there at 5pm.  Gallery hours are Thursday – Saturday 12noon – 4pm and the show is up through October.  Please visit and check out art in Print, Painting, Collage, Assemblage, Sculpture, Ceramic, Fiber, Wood, Mosaic, all by 100 Vashon Island Visual Artists.  It's an exciting exhibit that reflects the diversity of work and approach to art being created on Vashon Island in 2020. VCA is located at 19600 Vashon Highway SW, at the corner of Cemetery Road and Vashon Highway.  Summer hours are Tuesday through Friday, 11:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M., Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 – 4:00. Walt Whitman's words from "Song of Myself" inspired Horse Play-  “The Stallion” by Walt Whitman A gigantic beauty of a...

Opening last night- my solo exhibit at Bellarmine's Gathering Space Art Gallery , Tacoma Wa, March 5-30, 2020.  
Thank you artist and teacher Ben Meeker for the opportunity to show and for the incredible Mediterranean spread! I wish I had a photo of that! The circle is a reoccurring element in much of my imagery and is representative of many things to me. These three Rust Monotypes reflect cyclic stages of the hero's quest for balance in his/her exploration of our creative, spiritual and cultural impulses. Each was made by using an open steel plate and acetate stencils; a variation on the water-jet cut steel plates I sometimes print from. Thanks to everyone who could come and all the wonderful conversation!

Medusa, my monotype print, will exhibit at Roby King Gallery , Bainbridge Island WA, Feb 7- March 1, 2020 in "A Trio of Print-makers" with work by Lynn Brofsky, Brian Fisher & Steve McFarlane. So delighted to be part of this talented lineup!  The opening Reception is Feb 7, 6-8 pm. Check it Out! The Myths of Medusa and Perseus have been told and retold for time out of mind and the image of Medusa as Gorgon can be found in art and architecture for thousands of years.  Even today she appears on the flag of Sicily and ever since Gianni Versace adopted Medusa as his logo in 1978 her iconic image has become even more pervasive. 

The eighth century BC poet Hesiod, of Boeotia, composed a poem, the Theogony, about the creation of the world and the Greek gods.  In it he describes the Gorgons, the mortal Medusa, whose name comes from the old verb médô that means “I rule,” and her two immortal sisters, Sthenno or “strength” and Euryale “the one that leaps or wand...

  "Theseus", 25 x 37 in. is my monotype print with 23k gold leaf exhibiting at Roby King Gallery, 176 Winslow Way E., Bainbridge Island, WA in "A Trio of Print-makers" with Lynn Brofsky, Brian Fisher & Steve MacFarlane. The opening reception is February 7, 6-8. Gallery Hours: 11am-6pm, Tues.-Sat. through February.

 If ever there was one "Once upon a time..." story, the Athenian foundation myth of Theseus covers all the the Jungian archetypal conquering hero motifs. He is tested, he is good, he slays monsters, returns with wisdom and is a unifying King. It's Greek myth so of course doesn't end all so well for Theseus but it's probably my favorite hero story!

“Oedipus Rex”, my rust monotype on vintage linen is now on exhibit at Roby King Gallery , 176 Winslow Way E. Bainbridge Island, WA. Jan 3-Feb 2, 2020. Oedipus was born to Laius, King of Thebes and his Queen Jocasta. At his birth, it was prophesied that this child, Oedipus, would murder his father and marry his mother.  So Laius, frightened, sent Oedipus to be exposed to weather and wild beasts on Mt. Cithaeron.  However, Oedipus did not die, instead he was found and adopted by the King Polybus of Corinth and his Queen.  When Oedipus is called bastard as a young man and told that King Polybus might not be his real father, he left Corinth and journeyed to Delphi and its’ Oracle in search of an answer to his true parentage. The Delphic Oracle does not tell him who his true family is but does tell him that his destiny is to kill his father and marry his mother.  In order to thwart the prophecy, Oedipus decides never to return to Corinth and his eventual inherita...

The Vashon Island Connection   -Brian Fisher, Pam Ingalls, Susan Lowrey opened last night at Roby King Gallery ,  176 Winslow Way E. Bainbridge Island, WA.  Jan 3-Feb 2, 2020.   Thanks Andrea Roby and Wes King for a wonderful evening!  So much fun!