My wife, a French teacher, and I have traveled many times to France.  On one of these trips, we visited the replica of the Lascaux cave.  Lascaux is one of the world’s richest examples of cave art with over 1500 engravings and 600 paintings or drawings as well as abstract designs.  These paintings are estimated to be around 17,300 years old.  The paintings at the Chauvet cave, in central France, are even older.  Deep within these caves in the absence of natural light, these works could only have been created with the aid of torches and stone lamps filled with animal fat.  I marveled at all of the animals depicted on the walls and had the idea that I could depict these images on crumpled watercolor paper in a creative way.  I thought the contours in the paper would look like the surface of the cave walls.

 I chose to use watercolor and pastel as the media and allowed the works to develop over time.  I would select a subject and sketch a design, add watercolor, wet the surface, and crumple the paper.  Then, dry the paper under pressure overnight.  The next day: uncover and add watercolor and pastel to further develop the work. Different effects and textures emerge as this process is repeated.  I learned that this process required patience, allowing the development of the piece to proceed in its own way.  The completed works can be seen below.

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