Motown Series...

This work is 1 in a series of 6 prints. July, 2011

This print was created using a linoleum block. Key information on using the block:

·         Positive space – the area that remains after the carving process.

·         Negative space – the area cut away and the areas that are not exposed

·         Relief- the area where printing ink is applied  to the areas left standing after carving

·         Linoleum block – a composite of hardened linseed oil, ground up cork and other materials

·         The Print- an imprint of the design. ¹

This is the plate used to create both images (above and below). It is 9 x 9 inches.

I enjoyed using this color for this series. When I was in the print studio, I stared at the block for about an hour before I decided to go with theis very daring color but I was happy with the result and printed a series of 20.

1.        Banister, Manly,  Prints from Linoblocks and Woodcuts,  Sterling Publishing Company, Inc, New York, NY, Page 7

Upcoming Exhibit-October 22nd

Original Paintings/Fine Art Prints/Photographs

Opening Reception:
Saturday, October 22nd 
4:00-8:00 p.m.

Georgetown Visitation
    Heritage Room
1524 35th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007

Exhibition Dates: October 22-24th, 2011

*complimentary parking

California Dreamin'

 This photo, taken in 1994, was the inspiration for the painting below. It was taken at Venice Beach the year before I moved to Los Angeles. Though my time there was brief, it was filled with great memories and artistic growth.

This work is 30x40" and it is acrylics on canvas.

Monotype Prints, 3of 3

This work (above) is a monoprint on paper. The image, The Ambassador Bridge, was drawn onto to plexiglass using a cotton swab and sprinkles of raw sugar around the edges.

The following works include a mix of oil based paints (mixed by hand), raw sugar and various found objects like netting and rope:

These works are a suite, using the same plate, colors and soft ground materials:

The Suite Life

Monotype prints are individual and signed 1/1 because each print is distinct. However, when one has a series of monotypes that are similar in style are referred to as a suite. The prints below were printed on Monday, July 18, 2011 and will be displayed and sold as a set or "suite".

The following 3 prints are single prints to be displayed & sold individually. All prints begin with mixing paint, rolling it onto plexiglass and running it through the printing press onto to heavy paper. This creates the background color. In some of these, the roller/brayer is streaked for flair. The second and third time that the paper was sent through the press, the found objects (painted & shaped) were added.

For this work, seasalt was added on top of the purple to create the white spots. Later 3 different layers were run with various colors and selected items safe enough to go through a print machine.

More to follow!

Monotype, 1 of 3 posts

 My first monotype experience was outstanding! The method that I used first was a water based technique using paint on plexiglass. I used the a familiar photo of mine of Dodge fountain in Detroit. I placed it under the plexi and traced my image using a sharpie pen. I then painted my image, prepared my paper-running it through the printing press using a technique called "calendaring". I placed the plexi and paper through the printing press and held my breath...

 Well the image bled like watercolors but I liked the colors. My next step is to add a map of Detroit on top of the same print using the gum transfer technique.
Each print is a single 1 of 1 in a series.  Also, I added raw sugar to the area where the water flows to create a splashing effect.

On the the next image...another familiar image from Florence that I have used in my work before. The plexiglass is thin enough that my hand shows up behind the plate. I painted the plexiglass and added sugar to the area where the bushes are on the left.

For each image the plexiglass must be re-painted but that means that every work is original and unique like a painting.

This is the place that I used before I sent it through the printing press.

I love this process! More to come!

Linoleum Prints, Spring 2011

 This print is titled Glimpse of Venice from a photograph that I printed using a gum transfer technique (posted previously). The lino plate was carved out (tools shown below) and inked using Renaissance Black then put through a printing press onto rice paper. The series consists of 4 prints.

These prints are from a series titled View of Thames. The print below consists of 2 inks, Renaissance Black & a teal that I mixed and put on one roller and slowly rolled the plate. The main image is the London Tower Bridge and the 2 (small cut-outs) are of Big Ben and the London Needle. The small cut-outs are printed onto the the teal & black print.

This is a single colored print using ink that I mixed to look like...water under the bridge (couldn't resist).

Tools of the trade: the plate that is carved with the image in reverse; the carving tool (one of many types) and the 2 small cut-outs that were added to the larger image of The Tower Bridge print. 

 The London Eye cut-out with a single color.

Keeping it clean with a single color and just The Tower Bridge.

Photo plate, done!

Print of Dodge Fountain, Detroit
Photo plate print, 3 colors
Series of 8 prints, May 2011

A new Print...coming soon

I am working on a new photo plate print using a photograph that I took when I was 14 years old...yes, I keep all photos.

The subject is a fountain designed by Isamu Noguchi commissioned by Anna Thomson Hart for $2 million dollars in honor of her husband & son-both Horace. It is located in Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit and the central focus of an area where festivals & other outdoor events are held.

The camera was a Canon AE-1, a manual camera, which is fitting for a printing process that some consider 'ancient'...in this very high tech world that we live in.

The process begins with the manipulation of the photo in Photoshop, then developing the (3) films onto the plate. The process is one that is fraught with mishap & should any of the steps go wrong-not good/begin again...below is the plate (image in reverse) which is treated with chemicals in preparation for the printing process.

The printing process is even tougher since 3 colors will be printed on the same paper-lining up/registration requires more praying and crossing fingers/toes. So, I have 12-20 hours ahead of me to print and I will post within a week...keep me in your prayers!

A New Print, A New Technique...

 This is a gum transfer print made from a photograph/ink/chemicals...on fancy paper.

 

Same print with 2 more layers of information...the birds (because it's Venice) were added first by running it through the printing press and then text-a quote from Leonardo da Vinci was added last. This process always calls for a prayer, fingers & toes crossed in hopes that their is not a glitch any of the many steps. It worked!

More on Printmaking…

So it’s official-I’ve been bitten by the printmaking bug. This is not to suggest that I am good at it or that I am always (or even often) happy with the finished product. It’s just the endless possibilities and the ability to work with photographs.
Photography was my first love at the ripe age of 14 when my father bought me a Canon AE-1 for my birthday. And now that we have “cellular devices” I snap pictures anytime I am walking and see something interesting and may want to paint later.

Just this morning, I took several photographs of bridges in Rock Creek Parkway as I commuted to work. I plan to make what is called “gum prints” with them after I merge them into one image using Photoshop…prints to follow.

In the meantime, these are the finished works from the Detroit bridges…

Three colors-cyan, magenta and black (the "key") were used for this work:

The following are single color prints:

Photo Plates=Hard Work

Back to printing again...my hands hurt and I have not even printed my image yet. But it was great fun choosing an image to manipulate and prepare for print. The subject matter: Detroit, of course.

This is The Ambassador Bridge merged with The Belle Isle Bridge.  Finished print to follow within a week.



"View of Drogheda", Ireland

I was invited to visit Ireland 2 years ago and had an opportunity to see lots of sites, inlcuding Dublin. The town depicted here is where I stayed for 8 lovely days. It was very special-great people and down right beautiful. This work, a commission, will be part of the collection of a school there. So, with a deep sigh I hand this work over to the patron with fond memories of a quaint place.

Acrylics on canvas, 16x20"

Etched in stone…

After choosing painting as a medium for over 20 years, I decided to try something new. As I wind down my studio classes in graduate school, I signed-up for a general printmaking course & a lithography course. Deep sigh/happy sigh…it, in short, has been the most difficult thing that I have EVER done as an artist. For those of you who know printmaking-you just know & feel my pain and for those who don’t…well, just imagine being pledged/hazed. It has definitely been a learning experience and when I tell people what I’m up to they have a new found respect (or sympathy) for me.  To start, there’s this really heavy stone that is about 100 years old & 50 pounds.

An image is drawn on this stone in reverse (it prints backwards) and different type of ‘crayons’-oil based pencils and then there are chemicals (acid!) involved in a detailed process called ‘etching’, then lots of ink and with each step there’s this Goldilocks element to it of not too much, not enough…try, try again. By the time the image is printed, my hands look as though I’ve just changed a tire and I want to cry…a lot! And I’m not one for tears. So, with that said I am making my way through this process and learning, with trial & error (lots) a new widely respected medium…now I understand why Michelangelo demanded that there be a publicly held mass before he worked in certain mediums.

  

And just to clarify, I am NOT giving up painting…I’m finishing up a commission this week of a scene from Ireland…will post by week's end.