Disco Demon

In Freehand III the art professor had us pick a theme that we would use for the rest of the semester. I chose dancing because it was something I enjoyed doing. At fraternity parties I enjoyed being out on the dance floor. Anyway, I chose to go with a cheerful theme.

My first drawing didn’t go over well with the art professor. He considered it too “cartoonish.” That criticism left me extremely frustrated. We talked about solutions. He suggested I try to make the music a physical object around a figure. So, I played with that idea. Well, the result is this drawing below. I’ve continued to experiment with the image and translate into other media.


charcoal on paper, 29" x 36.25"

Dance Man

graphite on paper, 8.5" x 11"

Dance Energy

This is a piece I painted in the fall of 1985. It was a follow up to “Electric Dancer.”

In early 1987 the piece went missing from my studio at Mississippi State. I only have a slide of the piece.


acrylic & alkyd on canvas, 22" x 28"

Bump

colored pencil on paper, 16.75" x 20.75"

Jump

colored pencil on paper, 16.75" x 20.75"

Ravin' Russel

mixed media on paper, 14.5" x 19"

Dancer Pieces at the Westwego Art Center

Three dancer pieces are now on exhibit at the Westwego Art Center. It has been a while since I've shown these. They were completed in late 2000 around the time of my foot surgery.

Ravin' Reba

mixed media on paper, 14.5" x 19"

Ravin' Raymond

mixed media on paper, 14.5" x 19"

Slam Dancin'

graphite on paper, 17.5" x 19.75"

Stomp

graphite on paper, 16" x 20.75"

Slow Dancin'

graphite on paper, 17" x 20.75"

Katrina Destroys Dancer Pieces

In 1997 I created a series of eight mixed media dancer pieces. Everyone of them sold within a year's time. Unfortunately, two of them were destroyed when Hurricane Katrina hit this area. One was in a house flattened on the Gulf Coast. Another was in a house that had some minor water damage. I know three of them are safe. I have yet to hear about the remaining three pieces.