How Many Miles to Babylon No. 9, Work in Progress

Here's No. 9 in the How Many Miles to Babylon series for the show "Surface" at Space Gallery in Denver, opening September 25th, this year. Please come on by, I'll be hanging with Mary Jo Marks Aardsma, Diane McGregor, Sharon Swidler, Nancy Koenigsberg, Tonia Bonnell, Sophia Dillo, Carlene Frances, Sue Gibbons, under the good auspices of gallerist Michael Burnett, at 400 Santa Fe Drive, Denver. Space Gallery got a terrific write up here.

How Many Miles to Babylon No. 9 is 18"x24", oil, oil wash, polyester thread, copper roofing nails, wood glue on unprimed cotton canvas.

How Many Miles to Babylon No. 9, c. Nancy Charak artist, 2014

Work in Progress, How Many Miles to Babylon No. 7

Can't resist putting it up for all to see. Here's No. 7 in the series, How Many Miles to Babylon. To repeat the poem...the first six lines are from the old British nursery rhyme, the final five lines are mine, for what it's worth. This piece, like the others in the series, is 18"x24", oil wash, polyester thread, copper roofing nails, wood glue on unprimed cotton canvas.

How many miles to Babylon?
Three score and ten.
Can I get there by candle-light?
Yes, and back again.
If your heels are nimble and light,

You may get there by candle-light.

How many miles to the hanging gardens,
How many miles to the Babel tower,
How many miles between the two rivers,
How many miles from the Hydaspes,
How many miles to Enkidu and Gilgamesh wrested in clay?

How Many Miles to Babylon No. 7, c. Nancy Charak, artist, 2014

How Many Miles to Babylon No. 6, Work in Progress

Here's No. 6 in the series, 18"x24", oil wash, polyester thread, copper roofing nails on unprimed cotton canvas. No. 7 is in work.

How Many Miles to Babylon 06, c. Nancy Charak, artist, 2014

Work in Progress: How Many Miles to Babylon 05

Here's No. 5 in the How Many Miles to Babylon series, on the table out on the balcony drying, or rather, curing. Oil paints don't dry, they cure. 18"x24", oil wash, polyester thread, copper roofing nails, wood glue on unprimed cotton canvas.

How Many Miles to Babylon 05, c. Nancy Charak, artist, 2014

Work in Progress, How Many Miles to Babylon 04

Here's No. 4 in the How Many Miles to Babylon series. I can't wait to drive these up to Denver to Space Gallery. They are redolent of oil paint, turpentine and linseed oil. They're setting out on my balcony in the dry desert air to cure.

How Many Miles to Babylon 04, c. Nancy Charak artist, 2014

Work in Progress, How Many Miles to Babylon 03...

Another work in progress, How Many Miles to Babylon 03, 18"x24", oil wash, polyester thread, copper roofing nails, wood glue on unprimed cotton canvas. Saying this is a work in progress means that it's not finished, but is under serious consideration for being so, and that the photo work is askew because I didn't set up on a tripod.

Work in Progress, How Many Miles to Babylon 03, c. Nancy Charak, artist

Work in Progress, How Many Miles to Babylon Series

Work in progress, I'm calling this grouping the "How Many Miles to Babylon" series. They are 18"x24", oil wash, polyester thread, nylon mono-filament, copper roofing nails, wood glue on unprimed cotton canvas. Since they are work in progress, the images, while detailed, are roughly done without a tripod and thus are a wee bit skewed.

How many miles to Babylon?

Three score and ten.

Can I get there by candle-light?

Yes, and back again.

If your heels are nimble and light,

You may get there by candle-light.

How many miles to the hanging gardens, 

How many miles to the Babel tower,
How many miles between the two rivers,
How many miles from the Hydaspes, 

How many miles to Enkidu and Gilgamesh wrested in clay?

How Many Miles to Babylon 01, c. Nancy Charak, artist, 2014

How Many Miles to Babylon 02, c. Nancy Charak, artist, 2014