Mahfouz in Merimekko / trudeau 2012

Mahfouz in Merimekko / trudeau 2012, a photo by trudeau on Flickr.

Provoked by the need of a proper birthday greeting to my friend Dale Alsandor.

Somewhat a satire (Marimekko is a Finnish textiles / design company) as well as a nod to the elegance of Arab wrapping.

St Maurice, Nubian / Coptic martyr, by robert trudeau 2011

St Maurice / robert trudeau 2011, a photo by trudeau on Flickr.

St. Maurice was an Egyptian from Thebes in Upper Egypt, says Wikipedia.

His Egyptian origin is stressed by the Coptic Greek name "Maurikios", which appears in the papyri, and is identical with the later Roman name "Mauritius", according to G. Heuser in his Personennamen der Kopten.

In fact, the name is found in epitaphs of the Ptolemaic Egypt and Egyptian Christian periods, and is still used as a personal name in Egypt's Coptic community.[2]

"The oldest surviving" [13] image that depicts Saint Maurice as a Black African [14] was carved in the 1240s for the Cathedral of Magdeburg, a strikingly accurate depiction of a contemporary armed knight; there it is displayed next to the grave of Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor. Jean Devisse,

Black, the History of a color, Michel Pastoreau, is where I discovered the story.

Given as a holiday gift at the end of 2011.

St Maurice / study / robert trudeau 2011

St Maurice / study / robert trudeau 2011 , a photo by trudeau on Flickr.

About the year 325 CE the Egyptian Christian general, Maurice, was ordered to Gaul. There he and his men were martyred for refusing to attack the opposing troops. They refused because the foes were also Christians.

He is known as St Moritz and also as St Mauritius. There are many churches and shrines dedicated to his name in Europe.
He is the first African man, a Nubian, who earned widespread veneration in the church.

Catalog for artists / Dia de Los Muertos 2011 / Robert Trudeau

Catalog for artists / Dia de Los Muertos 2011 / Robert Trudeau, a photo by trudeau on Flickr.

No telling which you might prefer, the earlier and motley draft or this, the straight-up final product.

Catalog for artists / Trudeau 2011

Catalog for artists / Trudeau 2011, a photo by trudeau on Flickr.

A draft of a sketch for the Dia de los Muertos to be presented at minicine? on Sat, Oct 29.

Pharaoh Ai / trudeau 2011 pen and ink

Pharaoh Ai / trudeau 2011 pen and ink, a photo by trudeau on Flickr.

There were many deified kings in the vast Egyptian pharaonic era; this is one about which you've heard little. Because he was exhumed only this week.

Pharaoh Ai is a spontaneous sketchbook exploration. One of the things my hand trends to when not guided by purpose is the vizier's visage.

And you can tell that I'm intrigued by the idea that the image is composed of a vast number of interlocking cross hatcheries. The portrait oscillates because of the many lines in the body of the work.

Tequila Williams, red ink, Aug, 2011

Tequila Williams, red ink, Aug, 2011, a photo by trudeau on Flickr.

Prints in basic colors.

Pine board and lath frame.

Recent breakthroughs include a new frame style: slab of wood painted black, print glued to the board. Lathing frame butted at top and bottom.

Also, Insty Prints converted the black ink to prints using colored lines: got versions of this print in red, blue, green and yellow.

I like it and consider it progress. The ink change was provoked by a change in the kitchen. "Creole Riders" and "The Interlocutor" came down and in their places are two of Talbot's still lifes, a yoncopin on table and bowl of red apples. I saw that black lines, no matter how sinuous, don't really reach the energy level that a room gets from a color display.

Printing with color ink is a way to move into the difficult world of hues.

Tequila Renae Williams, Shreveport, Louisiana / July, 2011

Tequila Renae Williams / Trudeau 2011, a photo by trudeau on Flickr.

Met her on Texas St, downtown Shreveport. She was accompanied by her mother and 2 small and squirming children. They were waiting for the bus, I believe.

As a sketch Tequila has been through 3 or more drafts prior to this version. Originally she was destined for the Nude show at Bossier Arts Council. There were exigencies. She's headed to the Philadelphia Center auction for Aids relief.

Here on the edge of the art world, I'm what's called a marginal artist. That means part-time, not an art school grad, nor the beneficiary of any formal instruction. Have sketched all my life; it took years before I came to think of myself as an artist.

Pen and ink on Vellum Bristol, 8.5 X 11.