COLLOGRAPH EFFORT

In my last post I talked about all of the techniques that can be found on other people's blogs. There is a wealth of information (and motivation) out there in cyberspace. Reading about their experiences, both positive and negative, is eye opening for me. I can remember studying many of the techniques in college, but that was a long time ago. Now they seem fresh and new to me. Belinda Del Pesco showed how she gets some beautiful results doing glue collographs. She draws her subject on old mat board, then applies glue to the drawing to raise the surface for the ink. Once the glue is dry, she seals the board so it can be used more than once. The actual printing is both relief and intaglio as she paints color onto the entire plate, then uses a brayer to add the darkest ink to the raised surface.

Above is a proof and the plate from my first attempt. Okay, I said it was my first attempt. To see how they should look, visit Belinda's site.

OTHER PRINTMAKERS

A few months ago I found Belinda Del Pesco's website and now visit it often. She creates beautiful art in a variety of styles. One of her posts talked about an artist named Barry Moser. He is a well known painter, printmaker, illustrator and teacher. The illustrations he has done for children's books have won numerous awards. All of his art is fantastic but it is his woodblock prints that I find so stunning. Beautiful detail and composition.

http://belindadelpesco.blogspot.com/

http://www.moser-pennyroyal.com/moser-pennyroyal/Blank.html

LIFE'S FIRSTS

I went to the beach with my grandson this last weekend to celebrate his second birthday. Watching him enjoy all the new experiences reminded me that I'm definitely getting older. Well, I guess I really didn't need reminding! I often think about the fact that certain things can never happen for me again. My first dog, my first car. The first house I lived in and my first love. It's pleasant remembering things from my past. I love to visit my yesterdays, think about people I miss, but not for too long. Things that are happening now could be precious memories in my future, like my grandson running without cares on the beach. I don't want to miss those.

ACRYLIC ANIMALS

Two paintings I did in acrylics that turned out as I saw them in my mind. Still cannot figure out why I can't use watercolors and end up with a result that I like. I think it is now just a mental thing!

One painting is a deer that I photographed at our local zoo. The other is of my son's dog. Baine left us over a year ago, but this is how I remember him. He owned everything around him and all of us.

MONOPRINT AGAIN

I had just a short amount of time to spend working on something downstairs last night. I am working on a new woodblock but didn't feel like cutting so...I did another monoprint. I really enjoy these as they are fast and always a surprise. Never really know what I'll end up with when I pull the print. This one was done with watercolors again on Rives printmaking paper.

NATURE AROUND ME

Living in Big Bear Lake provides an abundance of fantastic subjects for my art. Birds of every variety either live here or stop by for a visit. I just need to wander outside and pay attention! A few years ago I did an acrylic painting of this guy looking for his lunch. I liked the results and decided to make a print attempt using the same composition. It was one of my first woodcuts and taught me a lot through trial and error.

TECHNIQUES COMBINED

Fun experiment or just too much time on my hands. I made this print combining two different printmaking techniques. I first did reduction cuts on a linoleum block for all of the colors using Akua-Kolor inks. Then, for what would normally be the key block printing, I etched a copperplate for the black inking. I'm now thinking that all of the work was not really worth the final results, but I did have a lot of fun with the process.

PRETENDING LIKE I'M A WATERCOLORIST

I finished my first monoprint using watercolors with multiple rubbings. In this technique, the paper is taped (hinged) to a sheet of plastic so it stays in registration. The watercolor is then applied to the plastic then the paper lowered and rubbed with a baren. The result is a monoprint (additive) rather than a monotype (subtractive).

BIG BEAR LAKE

Cleaning and sorting down in my studio again. Always an adventure for me as I always seem to find old things from the past. This cleaning unearthed two paintings with my home of Big Bear Lake, California as the subject. Both are done in acrylics (watercolor eludes me still). The first is an old historic cabin located in the east end of our valley. The second is of my wife at a car show that is put on annually in the village area of our town.

MONOTYPES

I have mentioned my serious watercolor impairment. Try as I will, I flounder from start to finish with this medium. I found a person (her blog) that combines something I'm more comfortable with and watercolors. Printmaking....Wendy Willis uses watercolors to make some great monotypes. She does multiple rubbings by taping the print paper to a plastic sheet (hinged) which she paints with the watercolor. By taping the paper to the plastic she avoids any registration problems.

I started my own practice run yesterday and, with a little more work, I think I can get the hang of this technique. Excited to work on it more tonight.

http://wswillis.blogspot.com/2010/02/more-monotypes.html