CAVE ART

I have been a caver and cave artist for 30 years. The wilderness underground is an undiscovered country for most people. For cavers like myself, it is like a trip to another planet and a chance to see places and things seen by no one before us. Besides the thrill of discovery, caves are fascinating and beautiful places to look at. Cave passages are like sculpture galleries, and my art is a way to share the experience.

I also do cave photography. Most of my cave art is done by using my photos as reference. Doing art in a cave is usually difficult at best. It is generally a hostile environment that doesn't treat artist materials (or the artist) very well. It is wet, cold and muddy. I find that I do a lot better translating the experience in my studio.

Scratchboard is my favorite medium for doing cave art. Scratchboard is a white clay-coated paper that is covered with black ink. The drawing is done by scratching off the ink with a razor or a needle to reveal the white underneath. I think that it portrays the visual experience of caving very well. The inky black shadows and contrasty lighting come across very well on scratchboard.When viewing these images, remember that it is difficult to reproduce the finer lines in these images on a computer. The actual art has finer detail and greater value range than you can see here. I also also like to do paintings of cave environments.

Please allow a minute or two for the images to download.

Click on images to see a larger version:

 

Sinks Of The Roundstone

The Window, Actun Xpukil, Yucatan

Actun Xpukil, Yucatan	Gatesof Paradise	Dreamer
Sloan's Valley Cave
The Water Gatherers/Rio Frio Cave
Old River, Wells Cave
The Window
Phreatic Passage
Still Life With Cricket
Humungus Canyon Cave