Hive #3 by James Edward Scherbarth, Framed

Mustard and olive with a rusty honeycomb spreading through the lower right, like lichen taking over a garden wall.

Hive #3, framed, is oil and cold wax on paper by James Edward Scherbarth (1949-2021), dated 2016 and signed and dated en verso. Many cold wax painters use stencils, mesh and found textures to print patterns into the soft surface between layers. Here the square image is dense with yellow-green and ochre. Fine vertical lines and a ribbed texture fill the upper left, with black strokes sweeping through. A rusty orange patch at lower center carries a reticulated, cell-like pattern. A cream mat sits within a brown wood frame. It is 13 inches wide and 13 high, the image 6 by 6.

The bees would approve of the color scheme.