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"