Brian Fisher Print, Paint and Sculpture Blog

"Byzantium"  Oil on canvas,  15 3/4 x 39 3/4 in. My painting takes it’s name f ro m the ancient city of Byzantium, at the confluence of trade between the Aegean and Black Sea, founded in 667 by Byzas of Megara, Greece.  It would in the course of history become Constantinople, (324 AD), the Eastern capitol of the Christian, Roman Empire and eventually the seat of the Muslim, Ottoman Caliphate, (1453 AD). Today it is called Istanbul and a remarkable city that is representative of what is past, passing and to come. This painting is inspired by Yeats vision of a layered but fixed world that is artificial, unchanging, where ornament or object are perhaps the ideal incarnation of the soul.  These lines from his poem “Sailing to Byzantium”, in particular, are a reference for my painting “Byzantium”. Once out of nature I shall never take My bodily form from any natural thing, But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make Of hammered gold and gold enameling To keep a dr

Above is my Collograph about the myth of Persephone and Demeter, named “The Persephone Cycle.” Image size, 18x18 in.  It’s on display at Hinge Gallery  in March, April  during the Quartermaster Press Print Show:  Life-Cycle  and during the "Vashon Island Art Studio Tour" at Brian Fisher Studio, map #16. Part 1: The Myth of Persephone and Demeter    Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, Goddess of fertility, harvests, and perhaps the earliest version of a Great Earth Goddess except for Rhea, her own mother.  Beautiful, virginal, Persephone was Demeter’s daughter by Zeus and the maternal focus of her life. Hades, Persephone’s uncle, fell in love with his young niece and decided that he would have Persephone for his bride but knew that Demeter would never approve of such an arrangement.  So, Hades colluded with Zeus, her father, his brother, who agreed to a secret “union” and to his plans for Persephone’s abduction. One day Persephone w

Left: Plate for Persephone cycle series of prints  Right: "Persephone Cycle II" Part 2: The Myth of Persephone and Demeter When Zeus could no longer ignore the suffering of mankind.  He sent Hermes as emissary to negotiate Persephone’s return to her mother.  Hades reluctantly agreed to her release and in parting gave Persephone, who had eaten nothing since her abduction, a pomegranate.  This apparent act of kindness was instead a deception and curse.  Anyone who eats the food of Hades must remain in his realm.  Persephone ate only a few seeds but that was enough for Hades to make the legitimate claim that she must remain with him. Finally, Rhea, the mother of Zeus, Demeter and Hades, proposed a compromise. Persephone would have to stay with Hades in the Underworld for six months each year. The rest of the year, she would be allowed to ascend to Earth and live with her mother.  Hades would have Persephone as a consort and Demeter

Want the Change Want the change . Be inspired by the flame where everything shines as it disappears. The artist, when sketching, loves nothing so much as the curve of the body as it turns away. What locks itself in sameness has congealed. Is it safer to be gray and numb? What turns hard becomes rigid and is easily shattered. Pour yourself out like a fountain. Flow into the knowledge that what you are seeking finishes often at the start, and, with ending, begins. Every happiness is the child of a separation it did not think it could survive. And Daphne, becoming a laurel, dares you to become the wind. Rainer Maria Rilke My "Daphne," an oil on canvas over panel, who runs towards change and away from someone or something that she  perceives as inescapable (without change,) is on exhibit in:  The 2017 Wahington State Juried Art Competition (The CVG Show). Jan. 21- Feb. 25, Wed.  11 AM-5 PM, Sat & Sun. 12-4 PM.,  Co

Daniel Mendelsohn wrote, “The writers we absorb when we’re young bind us to them, sometimes lightly, sometimes with iron. In time, the bonds fall away, but if you look very closely you can sometimes make out the pale white groove of a faded scar, or the telltale chalky red of old rust.”  He was describing how Mary Renault’s books and her correspondence with him had influenced his life.  He could also have been describing the physical scars of a survivor of lightening strike. I first read “Fire from Heaven,” and the “The Persian Boy” when I was 15 and Renault cast a literally spell over how I viewed my adolescent world.   In many ways the characters and places she described continue to influence how I filter circumstance and the art I create. The biblical interpretation of  “Fire from Heaven” is about sacrifice, (burnt offerings) and retribution.  When I created my rust Monotype “Fire from Heaven” shortly after Trump won enough Electoral votes to qualify him for Presidency I admit t

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. All Creatures Great and Small is my Monotype about all that we have in common with our fellow creatures.   That includes of course the unique world that has shaped our evolution and the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid, the DNA that we share. Humans are most closely related to the great apes of the family Hominidae.   We share 98.8 percent of our DNA with bonobos and chimpanzees. 98.4 percent   with gorillas and with mice we share nearly 90 percent of human DNA. Humans and dogs share 84 percent of their DNA!   No wonder I love my dog. She is me! Of course, humans, dogs, mice and apes are going to have DNA in common. They are all mammals. Humans and birds though are a different matter. Yet we, too, share a lot of DNA, 65 percent.   We even share a quarter of our DNA with a grain of rice. Amazi

Vashon Island's Art Studio Tour 2016, the first two weekends in December, is a great opportunity to see, visit and purchase directly from the artists!