FOUND STUFF

Going through piles of things in my studio as kind of a fall cleaning and found a few older pieces that I had forgotten about. A koi monoprint and a reduction woodblock print of my wife Teri.

Koi
Monoprint

PALM SPRINGS

I spent a wonderful weekend in Palm Springs. My son was in a big softball tournament so we had a boys only weekend (grandson too). It has been turning cold here in Big Bear, so it was great spending time in the warm desert air.

Below is a monoprint I did recently.

SO MANY WAYS TO PRINT

Storm Brewing...Monoprint on Rives paper.

WOODBLOCK PROJECT AND MONOPRINT

I have the first block cut (needs some clean-up) for the floral woodcut and the second block is ready to be carved. Will probably be the last time I use this kind of wood. It does not hold detail like the shina.

Also did a quick monoprint just to rest my brain for a while.

TRY, TRY AGAIN

Starting a new monoprint was very tempting. I never have any preconceived idea of how they will look when pulled from the press. Though tempting, I'm going to try another pastel painting instead. Keeping this attempt small (4X14) on a piece of gray Canson paper. The gray will probably mute the painting, but it's from a photograph of a gray day in the Bay area, so should work.

DIDN'T MAKE THE FINAL CUT

This seems to be happening a lot lately. Started a pastel, worked on it a few nights, and then just grew tired of it. I had something pictured in my mind but the actual drawing wasn't even close! Need to do another monoprint to free up my brain. No expectations with monoprints!!

ALWAYS READY

There are times when I don't have the motivation or energy to start a painting or print project, but still feel like doing something in my studio. I try to have a scratch board on hand to work on but also find that doing a monoprint is quick and easy on the brain. Spread some ink or paint on a sheet of plastic, run it through the press and see what happens!!

NEW AND OLD

I tried a quick monoprint last year using the 'subtractive' technique, something I had not attempted before. My other prints were done by painting (with water soluble ink) onto a sheet of plastic and then printing onto damp paper. This print was done by entirely coating the plastic with etching ink and then bringing out the subject by wiping away parts of the ink.

The other picture post is an acrylic and color pencil painting of my wife's cat that I did a few years ago.

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.

AKUA INTAGLIO

I studied art in both high school and college, but I feel more like everything I do is self-taught. Books, DVDs plus lessons and demos on the internet are now my steady source of information and inspiration. I have used Akua Kolor inks quite a lot in my lino and woodblock prints. Now I've learned that they also have a water based intaglio ink. I ran across some great video demonstrations at this site...

http://www.waterbasedinks.com/watch-video-demos

The drypoint monoprint is something I really want to try. I've done drypoint on copper but this was on a sheet of plastic. I made this quick test print and found it fun and easy. Over the next week or so, I'll try something more ambitious.

STORM BREWING

I worked on this 'Monoprint' for about three hours. This type of print is created by painting and inking the design onto a sheet of plastic, then working the design with tools such as cut up credit cards, cotton swabs and painting knives. A sheet of Japanese print paper was then placed on the plastic and run through the print press. It is a challenging process as you never quite know what the result is going to be. The composition didn't work for me here, but I do like some of the effects that were obtained!

FOUR IN THE MORNING

I woke up early one morning and could not get back to sleep. Instead of laying in bed, staring up at the ceiling, I went downstairs and tried something new. This is a monoprint I finished in just over an hour. Monoprints are made by painting an image on a sheet of either metal or plastic (in this case, plastic) and then running it through a press with paper. You only get one print (sometimes a second 'ghost' print is possible) thus the name 'Monoprint'.