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Freehand Papercuts

Drawings (click on image to enlarge)   FOLDED FIGURE 15 x 11 1/8   •   Watercolor   •   2005   •   $220 Top LEGS 15 x 11 3/8   •   Pencil   •   1999     Top FEET 11 1/4 x 15   •   Charcoal, acrylic wash   •   2006     Top STUDIES OF HANDS 9 x 12   •   Pencil, colored pencil   •   2002     (after wax medical sculptures at La Specola Anatomical Museum, Florence, Italy) Top PORTRAIT OF ELENA 7 1/2 x 11 3/16   •   Pencil   •   1998   •   $200 Top PORTRAIT OF INDIA 15 x 22 1/2   •   Acrylic on paper   •   1996   •   $200 Top PORTRAIT OF JAMES 12 x 8 3/8   •   Pencil   •   1995   •   $200 Top CAFÉ, TEMPLE DISTRICT, PARIS 9 1/4 x 8   •   Colored pencil   •   1997     Top MICHIGAN AVENUE FROM CHICAGO ART INSTITUTE 4 3/8 x 7   •   Pencil   •   1997   •   $280 (F) Top PLUM BRANCHES, BOOTS 11 5/8 x 9   •   Watercolor   •   2000   •   $300 (F) Top PONTE VECCHIO, FLORENCE 6 x 4 3/8   •   Colored pencil   •   2001     Top JENNIFER STANDING 11 1/4 x 15   •   Chalk pastel, acrylic   •   2008   •   $200 Top GEORGE FLINGING 10 x 13   •   Gouache   •   2005   •   $200 Top DHYANA KNEELING 15 x 22 3/8   •   Acrylic, chalk pastel   •   2008   •   $250 Top FAN JENNIFER 15 x 11 1/4   •   Chalk pastel, acrylic   •   2008   •   $250 Top ROBIN 19 7/8 x 12 7/8   •   Charcoal, Acrylic   •   2008   •   $250 Top PENIS LANDSCAPE 6 x 8 3/4   •   Watercolor   •   2001   •   $300 (F) Top WHITE IRISES 27 3/8 x 25 3/8   •   Acrylic, charcoal   •   2004-5     Top LOWER TORSO 22 1/2 x 15   •   Charcoal, watercolor   •   2001   •   $800 (F) Top   Watercolors (click on image to enlarge)   RIALTO BRIDGE, VENICE 5 x 6 3/8   •   Watercolor   •   1995     Top POPPIES 8 1/2 x 10 7/8   •   Watercolor   •   2006   •   $250 (F) Top CORN COCKLE 8 3/8 x 10 7/8   •   Watercolor   •   2006   •   $300 (F) Top KONA VIEW W/HIBISCUS & OHIA 10 x 11   •   Watercolor   •   1980     Top JACK'S YARD, KONA 22 x 30   •   Watercolor   •   1980     Top JACK'S PORCH, KONA 8 3/4 x 12   •   Watercolor   •   1980     Top BRIDGE, TOLEDO, SPAIN 10 x 13 5/8   •   Watercolor   •   1997   •   $200 (F) Top STREET, FLORENCE, ITALY 9 5/8 x 6 1/4   •   Watercolor   •   1995   •   $180 (F) Top SEINE VIEW 11 1/2 x 9   •   Watercolor   •   2001   •   $180 (F) Top WOODS, GALEANO ISLAND, B.C. 8 1/4 x 12   •   Watercolor   •   1996   •   $350 (F) Top   Oils & Acrylics (click on image to enlarge)   ALICIA 1 40 x 30   •   Oil   •   2001   •   $4500 Top ALICIA 2 40 x 30   •   Oil   •   2001   •   $3300 Top ALICIA IN A SLIP 37 x 28   •   Acrylic on canvas   •   2006   •   $3300 Top ALICIA STANDING 22 x 32   •   Acrylic on canvas   •   2006   •   $3300 Top ALICIA'S LEGS 26 x 29   •   Acrylic on canvas   •   2006   •   $2500 Top LES FLEURS 72 x 45   •   Oil   •   2000   •   $12000 Top VIBRATO AT THE GROTTO 86 x 66   •   Oil   •   1983   •   $25000 (Featuring Eric Dolphy, ts; Bobby Hutcherson, v; Richard Davis, b; Roy Haynes, d) Top SELF PORTRAIT 18 x 24   •   Acrylic   •   2007     Top ELENA STANDING 34 x 40   •   Acrylic   •   2005   •   $8000 Top GRIS MONK 60 x 60   •   Oil   •   1984-5   •   $8000 (Featuring Thelonious Monk, p; Charlie Mingus, b; Roy Haynes, d; Charlie Parker, as) Top CANTINA, PLAYA DEL CARMEN 55 x 44   •   Oil   •   1994   •   $8000 Top LUNAR 44 x 55   •   Oil   •   1987   •   $1800 Top LANGUID 30 x 40   •   Oil   •   1999   •   $8000 Top CASPAR INN 68 x 52   •   Oil   •   1980   •   $25000 Top CINDY 23 x 72   •   Oil   •   1993   •   $4500 Top EBB 66 x 51   •   Oil   •   1986   •   $10000 Top NU STDG 23 x 72   •   Oil   •   1999   •   $4000 Top IRON, COOLER, MIRROR 22 x 32   •   Oil   •   2004   •   $3000 Top SLOW DRIFT 63 x 46   •   1989   •   $8000 Top SOY EL REY DEL BOOGALOO 38 x 48   •   Oil   •   1986   •   $3300 (Based on tune by Pete Terrace, on LP of same name.) Top THE DISOBEDIENT JANITRESS 42 x 23   •   Oil   •   1979   •   $2000 Top SISTERS 44 x 34   •   Acrylic on canvas   •   2007   •   $5000 Top LAURA ROSE 34 x 30   •   Acrylic on canvas   •   2006-07   •   $4500 Top CLASSICO 55 x 50   •   Oil   •   1991   •   $8000 Top SUSAN AT POIPU 40 x 24   •   Oil   •   1989-90   •   $3500 Top FROM THE ADIOS 52 x 68   •   Oil   •   1983   •   $4000 Top   Collages (click on image to enlarge)   TOWN HALL 36 x 42 1/4   •   Collage of printed metal   •   2005   •   $4000 Top VOX POPULI 20 x 16   •   Collage of paper   •   2002-4   •   $800 Top DEMOCRATIZATION (ORANGE & BLUE) 40 x 48   •   Collage of paper   •   1990   •   $1800 Top PACIFIC (ORANGE & GREEN) 40 x 48   •   Collage of paper   •   1989   •   $1800 Top INTERGALACTIC GROOVES 66 x 96   •   Collage of paper   •   1996-2004   •   $10000 Top FLORENTINE 42 x 36   •   Collage of plastic bags   •   1998   •   $1800 Top EX-TRASH 48 x 32   •   Collage of wood, paper   •   2001   •   $3500 Top LAZLO IN ITALY 36 x 48   •   Collage of paper   •   1995   •   $1800 Top TIGRES 26 x 48   •   Collage of paper with plastic bags   •   2002   •   $800 Top CANTINA 42 x 36   •   Collage of paper   •   2007   •   $1800 Top   Graphics (click on image to enlarge)   JAZZ IN PAINT 19 x 25   •   Silkscreen, letterpress   •   1988   •   $220 Top AUGUSTIN RIOS DE MORÓN 18 x 23   •   Silkscreen, letterpress   •   1977     Top ELLINGTON 12 1/2 x 25 1/2   •   Silkscreen, letterpress   •   1987     Top LINDA'S RESTAURANT 19 x 25 1/2   •   Silkscreen, letterpress   •   1987   •   $200 (Shown: Linda Keegan, owner, voc; Tom Garvin, p; John Heard, b) Top LSD POSTER 26 1/4 x 32 1/2   •   Woodcut   •   1964   •    (Inquiries invited) (The one and only First Ever LSD Poster) Top ESPRESSO BAR 13 x 25   •   Silkscreen, letterpress   •   1986   •   $180 Top NEVER 19 x 25 1/4   •   Silkscreen   •   1987   •   $250 (Collaboration with Theresa Whitehill) Top SLIP 19 x 25   •   Silkscreen, letterpress   •   1988   •   $100 Top   Freehand Papercuts (click on image to enlarge)   These pictures are cut entirely freehand: literally drawn with a knife. This unique art is a radical departure from the conventions of traditional folk art. As far as is known, there is nobody else working in this medium who goes beyond flat decorative design, who works strictly freehand, and who executes large, formally complex pieces. The process is subtle and the results dramatic. Ross translates what he sees into black or white shapes, and cuts each white shape by memory into the black paper. Although the work is entirely improvisational, the slow, steady discipline and visual finesse create finished compositions of remarkable coherence. Kenneth Baker, prize-winning art critic of the San Francisco Chronicle, wrote about Ross’s work: "....improvisation seems to be a kind of artistic principle with him. This is dramatically apparent in several freehand-cut paper pieces that are essentially drawings done with an X-acto knife. "Cutting his images from a sheet of black paper, Ross avoids simple silhouettes in favor of an interplay of figure and ground so complex you cannot imagine him envisioning it in advance of executing it. Nor can you believe, in view of the images’ intricacy, that Ross has maintained the contiguity of the initial uncut sheet in turning it into a kind of doily-like stencil. Yet I could find no point at which he took a shortcut: each image is an unbroken web of perforated paper. The visual effect of the images is something like that of a linocut, but when you realize what you’re seeing, the show of dexterity in each piece makes it crackle with an energy that no planographic process can yield. "As 'Luba’s Floral II' shows, Ross makes no sacrifice of decorative grace to technical convenience. This view of a plant in a vase has all the vitality of Matisse’s late drawings in brush and ink, no mean feat." Two of the original freehand papercuts have been reproduced as lasercuts. LUBA'S FLORAL and SPIDER MUMS have been issued as limited edition lasercuts. These outstanding reproductions are not 'printed' on white paper. The laser technology uses a brass template which replicates the original artwork; the template is placed over black paper and a beam of pure, condensed light is scanned across it, vaporizing the black paper exposed beneath and recreating the hand-cut shapes with pinpoint accuracy. To further refine the process, Ross makes 25 to l00 hand cuts on each piece. Each of the two laser pieces has been issued in an edition of 100 copies only. BIRDS OF PARADISE, EUCALYPTUS 13 x 23   •   Freehand papercut   •   1987     Top MAUKA MILOLII 15 x 22 1/2   •   Freehand papercut   •   1980     Top SPIDER MUMS 23 1/8 x 34   •   Freehand papercut   •   1983   •   $200 | $300 (F)  (Lasercut, edition of 100) Top LUBA'S FLORAL Freehand papercut   •   1980   •   $130 | $200 (F)  (Lasercut, edition of 100) Top RHODODENDRON 23 1/2 x 29 1/4   •   Freehand papercut   •   1986     Top NIGHT TRAIN POSTER 20 x 28   •   Freehand papercut   •   1981     Top email More work by Robert Ross, and his essay on drawing from the nude figure, can be found at the Mendocino Figure Drawing Collective website.