In the Club

Early last year, after years of promising myself I would, I participated in the Baren Forum's print exchange. You can view the participating prints in this exchange, and other exchanges by clicking http://www.barenforum.org/exchange/exchange_64/intro.html. Mine is center, second from the bottom. There was so much great work, and I feel both thrilled and unworthy to be among this group.

Pretty As A Picture

With the addition of black, this print is complete. I would say that I have enjoyed this print more than about any since my very first prints 14 years ago.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the intention was to set this print in New Mexico. I have been through several times, and love it. However, don't go looking for this place out west - the model I used for the gas station is actually an old service station onbBuffalo's East Side. The tree is also an invention, a small homage to Gustave Baumann, the great printmaker. The blue Chevy is a tribute to my dad. The camper color is a nod to my wife.

I have done two other little camper prints, and I plan many more.

As per usual, I can only see the things I would change, little mistakes here and there. That's how I learn. But overall, it's exactly what I had pictured, and I am thrilled with the result.

Going to take some time to plan the next print, so please stay tuned!

Tone Depth

 While it may look identical to the last color, this lighter green helps establish depth and texture on the trees and grass. One last color!

Life On Mars

Like my woodcut hero Gustave Baumann, I am drawn the beauty of New Mexico. This print is the first in what I hope will be a series of works featuring vintage campers in all 50 states.

As alluring as the weather worn buildings, craggy rocks and red soil can be, there needs to be a little life in the picture. This dark green sets the base for the brighter green to come.

The ink layers (now at ten) are finally giving me resistance, which I expected, though at this stage the rough coverage is working in favor of the image.

Rusty

Here are two of the last five colors. The colors are very important to the finished print.

 This color, a dark rust red, was designed to be the rust on the camper, car and tire wheel, as well as the roof tiles, camper tail lights and part of the tree. If you look back at past prints, you know that I dread printing bold colors in the middle of the process. But these new inks allow me to overprint with ease, even with lighter colors.

Though the soil is red, this red was a little ftoo bold. The scene, which I will get into deeper when I'm done, suggests New Mexico. The soil color there changes with the light throughout the day, so I wanted to keep the suggestion of the read, but to tone it down.

I would have preferred to go a tad lighter, but I needed good contrast with the beige in the camper, wall and fence; I also wanted something more tree-bark-like.

Now, on to some leaves and grass to pick up the color a bit, with a finish of black.

A note about the sign. As reported earlier, this was an improvised add, just a hint of an old painted sign, weathered away. With no significance, I chose the letter "k" because it was structurally interesting, and not necessarily difficult to carve. Although I'm still working on it, the letter got a little bit away from me. I realised today that it is reminiscent of the Sanskrit "om" symbol. This was unintended; yet, this print has surely been meditation for me. Maybe it's a sign!😂

The Long way 'Round

Reduction printing is so simple, yet it is one of the hardest things to explain (second to Pokémon Go!). One thing that is hard to explain to people is the "why." You roll out a full block of color only to have a small area show. What a waste, right?

I disagree. Each layer is a foundation. Each layer can move you to improvisation. See the lettering? I was inspired by seeing the flat expanse of beige I had printed. The tire in the trunk was also a last minute add.

This is color #7, with 5 to go.

Out of Control

The original design for this print called for about seven colors, and in my last attempt, I only made it to five before I had to stop due to the ink issues. This time, because the ink is laying down so well, I keep changing the plan, adding more colors. There's only supposed to be one blue green, and the blue here was actually supposed to be part of the rainbow roll; now it's the first of two blues.

The risk, of course, is going too far, either building up the ink layers to the point that the picture loses detail; worse yet is the deterioration of the plywood, which can crumble and cause pieces that need to stay to the end, start to disappear. But the failure to explore is where art stops and factories begin, and I already spend too much of my life in a factory. So, I will play!

Emerging From The Shadows

With the addition of the darker blue-green, you can now not only see the full form of the little camper, but you also start to see the entire picture start to gel This is when things get exciting for me, as I can now start to see where the picture is going to end up (I also see all of the little mistakes that may have been made along the way, and this is when I try to figure ways to change things around so that the mistakes look deliberate!). On the walls of the building, you also start to see something -- are those letters? This was an improvised decision, not part of the original cartoon, or the first attempted printing. The building had originally been just flat, and I wanted a little more life. It's a gamble, but we'll see how it pays off. At this point I estimate 6 more colors.

Everything On the Line

Still untitled, the print is starting to take form now, with the addition of a pretty retro blue-green, my wife's favorite color. This is my second attempt at this print. The first attempt, which I believe was some time last summer, ended in disaster, due mostly to the ink issues I've documented. No sign of any of those problems this time. The coverage with the Renaissance and Graphic Chemical inks has been outstanding.

I usually like to show previous attempts, but I have had no luck finding an old print or even a photograph. As I recall, I made it to the last or second-to-last color before it went all to hell. You may notice that the rainbow roll looks less prominent, but as the darker colors go down, the sky will regain its vibrancy.

On a (rainbow) Roll

In commercial printing, the blending of two colors in gradation is usually called a "split" or a "split fountain." In block printing it is generally referred to as a "rainbow roll." For landscapes and such, it helps add depth to the picture. It can also be used to give the illusion of dimension. In "Ohio Street," I used a rainbow roll (RR) for the sky. It really works well for sky, and I'm using it again in the current subtitle piece seen here. I used to use RR a lot more when I worked with smaller sized prints. I've been reluctant to employ RR because I have been so occupied with the other printing issues I've had. Now that those appear to be resolved, I'm looking to perfect RR techniques to bring my prints the vibrancy I want.

This print is a redo of a print I attempted a while back, which fell apart due to ink issues.

Out of the Blue

As you know, I was just glad to have finished "Ohio Street" in time to show at the Erie County Fair. I was just happy to have solved the problems that had plagued my printmaking for years. I was so shocked and humbled by the ribbon. So much talent on display, I am certain that a mistake was made. Barring that, I am grateful to the judges and volunteers, and applaud all of my fellow participants. Every year, the arts and crafts competition elevates the fair from your average deep-fried carnival, from sewing arts to photography, fine arts to antiques. Aaaaaaaaand, it'the coldest building on the fairgrounds!

Ask Amy

Me: I think I might be done with the print.
Amy: Really? I thought you had one more color.
Me: Yeah, I was going to. But I don't know how much it will add to it. Why don't you take a look at it and temm me what you think.....Besides, so much of the block is missing now, it would just be a pain to print.
(too long pause)
Amy: Well, you know I'm going to say it needs the last color.
Me (sigh) I know.

That night, I reluctantly went to the studio. Just as I said, it was a long painful experience inking the block.

As she said, it needed it.

Her advice, even when I ask for it, is usually ill-timed, inconvenient, and ill-informed. But it's always right. I mean always. Thank you Sweet Pea!

The River's End

I'm not sure if I'm done yet. I was considering one last color, a very dark purple/black, which would mostly be the trees and the river wall. But I don't know if it will really add much to the print.

I'm very happy with this print, so happy that I've worked out the ink that has plagued my work for so long. Had I known how well this would print, I would have taken a few more risks with detail. But, that's how it goes.

I confess that it's a bit safe for a competitive piece. It doesn't have the color of "Sunflower Farm" (2014) or the light-play of "Sweet Breeze" (2015). But it conveys a mood I often feel around Buffalo's big old industrial buildings.

I'm proud of the piece, mostly because of the registration. For a decade I've used a jig that often caused me problems while printing, and sometimes moved the register n mid print. I've gotten rid of all that in favor of a kento system, which has been a pleasure to work with.  To illustrate how dead-on the register is, look at the doorway of the silo on the bottom left. Inside the doorway is a little lite -- this little spot has held through 7 colors. I usually lose at least a quarter of my prints due to register. This time, I only lost one.

I will post it when it's all dressed up in a frame and ready for the Fair.

A River Runs Through It

This is state #4 of the second try for the "Ohio St Bridge" print. I am happy to report that the new ink has performed excellently. The inks are Graphic Chemical and Renaissance Graphic inks. I have abandoned burnt plate oil for hydrolyzed linseed oil, known as Sets well. This gives inks a creamy, buttery texture that allowed the ink to stand up and flow out, making coverage easier and facilitating overprinting. I only use a small amount, and even with white ink, it works great. I have also switched from Grumbacher cobalt drier to Hancock, which I used for ten years without issue. One single drop per ounce of ink and The print is dry the next day. There are 3 more colors. This print will be my entry in the 2016 Erie County Fair.

Ink Detective

While there hasn't been much to report from the studio, a lot has been going on behind the scenes. The fact is that I haven't completed a print in almost two years, but it hasn't been for a lack of trying. The problem stems from a lack of confidence caused by a grand series of disappointments.

There have been several prints started, many of which are detailed in past posts. They would often go for five or six colors, and the something curious would happen, destroying the print. The colors would go down on the previous layer. I would hang it up to dry. Later, I would check on it and find that the ink had virtually disappeared! It was crazy. At first I thought it was that the ink wasn't printing at all, that I had thought the color was better than it really was. It was only after many, many episodes of this that I realized that it looked fantastic when it came off the block. Somehow, over time, it was disappearing before my eyes.

What was happening, actually, is that the ink was beading up, like painting a balloon with watercolors.

Now, what to do about that? First, I needed to go back and see what I'm doing differently than what

I was doing years ago. The chief suspect has been revealed to be Gamblin inks, specifically the white. Now, Gamblin's products are fine, and I love their colors -- and I'm not saying it's not something that I'm doing. Certainly, I may be adding too much oil to my mix; I use their lithography inks, which are very stiff, so I often use a lot of oil. It could be the drier I use; in fact, I know that I have been using too much and have recently corrected that. In fact, I thought that had been my issue, until I realized that it was only when I was printing over inks that were made up mostly of white that the ink would bead up.

I used to use inks from Renaissance Graphics in Pennsylvania, and I was always happy with them. In fact, I'm not sure why I stopped. Well, I've ordered a small bunch from there and from Graphic Chemical in Chicago, so my detective work will continue.

Aside from that, I have also made peace with my cast-iron book press (I now realize that it will never give me the crisp looks that printmakers with etching presses get) and have added spoon burnishing to the process to help smooth out areas the book press misses. I have dumped linoleum, poplar and birch plywood in favor of the costlier but dream-like shina plywood, which cuts like butter and holds lines well, even after eight or nine colors. I have discarded my jig, which used to hold my block when printing, which required a block to be perfectly square and also left a lot of embossed marks on the paper; now I use a kento system cut right into the printing block. I have finally mastered the art of sharpening my tools. I have been steadily working on drawing and designing.

Now, if I can just get the ink to work, we might have something!!!

Firmly Planted

Just a small teaser snapshot. The new print with just two more colors to go. I'm excited to show off the whole thing. The shading effects on the front of the terra cotta pot were a happy accident. The hard part will be to make sure they don't print with any of the remaining colors. The final approach will take a steady hand and neatness, two things I am not known for!

Opening The Blinds

Ever since I purchased my antique cast-iron book press in the fall of 2006, I've been struggling to master my process. Every step forward seemed to herald a step back. Through it all, I kep working on my artistic abilities, falling in deep mad love with cartooning and graphic novels. Occasionally, I would dive back into printmaking to test out some new theories  that I'd hope would open the doors to finally cracking the code to better prints.

Late last year I finally discovered the root of my issues: it's the antique book press itself. I know of only one other woodcut printmaker who uses one, and for good reason: the torque is not enough to allow a good smooth laydown of in. This, in addition to troubles with the wood I was using and even some ink problems, had me on the verge of leaving printmaking altogether.

Over the last year, I have studied other printmakers very closely. When you are self-taught and working alone, you need to be a good detective. You also need to be resilient. It's okay to give up, just as long as you start again as soon as possible. That's my MO: quit...for a minute.

So this week, I cracked the code. I'll get into it more in-depth later, but I have found the missing piece of the puzzle that allows me to use my press and still make prints with excellent coverage and true color saturation I demand. Here's a terrible photo of the print in mid-work. There are three colors left, and I'll be back then to give you more details, and I'll tell you how you can get a print for free!

The Future Is Now

...well, at least it was, yesterday. Well, I'll just aoid the year in review. Yes, the big win at the Erie County Fair was a special treat, but 2015 has the distinction of being the only year in which I didn't finish a single print since I began printmaking in 2002. That's about to change.

If you've been following this blog (and I know you've been rapt) you know that it's been more or less a soap opera of every misstep a self-taught printmaker could make.

...in our last episode, it was finally discovered that the cheaf problem I'm having stems from the fact that I can't achieve enough pressure using my antique book press, no matter the paper, the ink or the block.

So, as the New Year 2016 begins, questions are raised:

• Will Jeff press on (har har) using the same old equipment
• Will he break down and buy a new press?
• Will he change his style to accomodate the old press?
• Will he give up printmaking all together?
• Will he update his blog more than once every three months?
• will anyone care?
• Has the ship sailed?
• Can he believe it's NOT butter?

Tune in regularly friends to find the answer to these and, inevitably, more ridiculous questions as we visit: As The Press Wheel Turns!

Wind At My Back

Every year my wife and I enter various competitions in the creative arts building at the Erie County Fair (Hamburg, NY). We've been doing it for close to 15 years now, and love it every year. It's a pleasure to see such great art and craft work by our neighbors, and I'd be lying if it isn't a thrill to see a ribbon on your work. This year our craft work didn't collect any ribbons, but I was pretty surprised to find that not only did "Sweet Breeze" breeze into port flying a bright blue flag, but a green one as well. The green denotes a special prize, usually from one of the sponsors of the competition ("Autumn Camper" from a few years ago received a green from Hyatt's art supplies). And a first for me was a ribbon -- blue no less -- (AND a green) for a photograph taken at the Fair last year.

If you get a chance to attend the Fair this year, please stop by and see all of the great work from your friends and neighbors, and if you have a creative bent, PLEASE pledge to participate next year. You'll be glad you did!!!

Toon In, Turn On

I wonder what you, Dear Reader, must think of my frequent and lengthy absences from this blog. Mayhaps you think I'm fishing by some flower-wreathed waterfall in Maui; maybe you picture me gnawing pencils at my desk, feverishly trying to come up with the next woodcut. Maybe you've glanced at the obituaries (jeesh! But thanks for checking!). While it's closer to choice two (and as far away as can be from one (sigh), I'm actually very busy in these breaks.

During this particular break, I had an operation to repair a hernia, my second. I'd hoped to use my time off to work on artwork; however, the discomfort and medication saw an end to that fantasy. At to that a raging strep throat infection immediately following surgery kept me from even thinking of art.

But through it all, and over the course of these last few years, I have been immersed in self-education, focusing squarely on cartooning. I first became interested in cartooning in 1990, but other than constant doodling, I never took it seriously. Throughout my printmaking career, I often found myself drawing out cartoony images, but I usually never made them into prints (well, once: 2005 I did a Che Guevara wearing a McDonald's visor). Over the last few years I've really become an avid student of the form, but I've been doing more bookwork and theory than actual drawing, save at work, where management looks down on my doodle-covered files. The studying hasn't been part of some grand career plan; rather, I've just been interested.

Then a few months ago I participated in print exchange through Baren Forum. You may recall that I commented that it was my second design choice, and that my first choice was a cartoon I thought might be a little risque (I'm an idiot). Anyway, that cartoon led me to looking through a pile of papers I keep with little creative bits scrawled on them, and they were mostly ideas for cartoons. So, I decided to finally start drawing, which is where I am now.

So, this "Snowfight" cartoon is my very first finished cartoon. I'm happy to share it with you, and all of Erie County, as it's my entry into the drawing class in the creative arts competition at the Erie County Fair. I also have a woodcut print, "Sweet Breeze," in the show as well. Hope to see you there!

All Newt Review

Sometimes printmaking just breaks your heart. Bless the ones who find their niche and master it. I, on the other hand, just keep pushing the envelope. I guess that'll lead me somewhere awesome, but the road....well, friends, the road can be tough.

So, about four colors into the newt print, I knew it wasn't going to work. But I finished it. I made myself finish it, and finish the whole lot. Not just to finish it, but to make notes along the way so that I could at least salvage the education. There are things I do love about it, but other things that have me tearing my hair out.

But the one thing that calms me down is knowing that if I was just playing it safe, I wouldn't be here. So, while the nut goes uncracked, I'm certain that when I do figure this all out, there's going to be magic.

Tea Time

I was killing some time at lunch and found this deep in the blog archives. Call it throwback Thursday, Friday edition. It was actually an attempt at a valentines day card, and it came out pretty good, I think. Then I took a four year hiatus. The hiatuses kill me.

Newty Picture

Here's the second to last color. I'm going through with finishing it, now just as an exercise because I want to see how the colors and the other aspects of the print look. Except for the main subject, I really like the print. I'm happy with the colors, and how they look. Accepting the limitations of the book press has helped me with proper inking, and also with anticipating areas where the coverage might be an issue, which has allowed me to plan out my colors. For example, you'll notice that I have chosen in many cases to put light colors on top of dark colors, which as we've seen in past prints is not always a good idea. But here, it's to the benefit, especially on the mushrooms. The last color is black.

Creepy

A busy weekend in the studio. The next color down was a dark green, which defined our subject. The following color is a nice earthy brown. I tried to get a third color last night, but was only able to cut the block. It was a great deal of precision cutting, and I was pretty tired after that.

Clarity

My very favorite thing about reduction printmaking, even ahead of near-perfect register, is the slow reveal. Yes, of course, I know what the final image is supposed to look out -- I work from a completed drawing. And even if I make changes as I go along, I still have a good idea about what it should look like.

But there's something about watching something happen. Maybe it's like watching a favorite movie you've watched before -- you know what's going to happen, but watching it develop is the joy. Maybe it's also like we used to stand around and watch our mom's shake a Polaroid until the image appeared (betcha some of you got a fine earworm now -- Hey, Ya!

So, with the third color down, I think it's pretty clear what we're going for, although there's going to be a lot more going on over the course of the next five colors.

The mystery animal will be much clearer after the next color goes down. I was very happy with my color choices on this one. Unfortunately, because of how I have my jig set, I'm getting crimping in the corners. However, I have designed jig modifications that should eliminate the issue.

Pink-A-Boo

This new print, which I first attempted last fall, is coming along nicely thanks to the education I got over the weekend regarding the limitations of my press. Here are the first two states, a pink and an orange.

The first color is the pink, and it illustrates very well the amount of work that goes into a reduction print. In reduction printing, you print a color and then carve away areas that you want to show as that color in the final print.


 For example, the pink is in four very small spots (in the picture at right, you can see them at the bottom center, under the white cut lines), but I needed to print the entire page pink. Then, after cutting the areas I want to stay pink, I printed the orange. These photos may not be strong enough to show where the pink does show. I could have printed the orange first, then printed the small pink areas somewhere down the road. However, I needed the pink to be as vibrant as I could make it, so I chose to print that first. Even so, the orange itself is only a small are of the print. However, the bulk of the print will be browns and tans, maybe a dark green if I'm feeling frisky. I couldn't print those first and expect the orange to be bright.

Friday Night's All Right For Artin'

This Friday night, you may want to jaunt into the city to attend the opening of Dorothy Markert's show at the Western New York Artist's Group gallery at One Linwood Avenue in Buffalo Friday, June 5, 2015 at 7:30 pm.

I wrote about Dorothy on this blog last summer as part of my salute to artistic heroes and mentors (http://www.nappingcat.blogspot.com/2014/03/hall-of-heroes-dorothy-markert.html). She is highly regarded in the Western New York printmaking community and, as a Roycroft Master Artisan (emeritus), she commands quite a level of respect in the Arts & Crafts community nationally, if not globally.

See you there!

Press-ure Pointers

I have been printmaking for over 13 years now, and one of the things I love about it is that I always learn something. Every time I hit the studio, it's education.

Being self taught is freeing, but you are also hampered by your own unknowns. If you go down Path A, you will go directly to the wellspring of all knowledge. But if you don't know Path A is there, you can get lost in the woods pretty easily.

Of course, if you take Path A, you also miss all of the crazy stuff in the woods. So there it is.

Anyway, I belong to an online group of amazing artists known as Baren Forum. They've been to the font of knowledge and are kind enough to run cups back to us morons still crawling around in the weeds. As part of this group, I am encouraged to participate in the print exchanges, where up to 30 members exchange prints. I did participate, as you saw a few posts back. And it was such a great experience. But as I was going through the work of others, I was struck by how nice an opaque some of the prints looked. Some looked like screen prints, the ink was so dense and even, regardless of the paper used.

And that led me to some serious trouble shooting in the studio last night, and some serious internet investigation. And it all came down to one thing, the thing that makes everything in the universe work: pressure.

I use an antique cast iron book press, which I have just discovered offers a raction of the pressure that an etching press does. In fact, though I turn and crank that wheel as hard as I can, it gives less pressure than using a wooden spoon, which is how I used to make my prints back in the beginning.

Here is an example of spoon vs. press.

On the right is the coverage I get from a lightly-inked block. On the left is what the ink transfer is like using a wooden spoon to burnish the back.

Well, issues with my hands prevent me from going back to the spoon, and I'm not giving up printmaking. So, I have found that by inking the block a little more, and just making peace with the effect of less pressure on the block, I can get back to some solid work. We'll see, won't we?!

Almost every revolutionary building or artwork was shunned, derided and hated before it was loved and revered. I grew up despising Brutalism and the likes of the Shoreline Apartments. But as I've been studying the art and architecture of the mid-20th century, I have come to understand that we must protect the truly revolutionary until their importance can fully be understood. Anyone who's parked in the lot that was once the Frank Lloyd Wright Larkin Administration building understands that. Take a minute to fill out the petition. Thanks.

https://www.change.org/p/mid-century-modern-buffalo-preserve-paul-rudolph-s-shoreline-apartments-in-buffalo-ny?recruiter=166688124&utm_source=share_sponsor_thank_you&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=facebook_link&fb_action_ids=10205793561091968&fb_action_types=og.shares

The origin of Brutalism is fascinating, and I recommend doing a little research, particularly if you are NOT a fan. Buffalo has a high concentration of buildings in the style, including the convention center, the bus station and the small boat harbor. They are cold, monolithic and devoid of humanity. They were also inexpensive to construct and maintain. The roots of the style goes back to before World War II, but the aftermath of war made the style necessary.

No Telling the Times, the Number of Times

Here we have the completed 4-color reduction linocut "Loon in Maroon" (2015). A remake of an original woodcut made in 2013.

Clearly I've made some strides forward. I learned a lot on this print, and I'm ready to get working on some original stuff after solving a few issues that arose in the printing.

I'm tempted to go back through my entire catalog and redo prints that failed as woodcuts. But what fun is that? Gotta move ahead.

So, of Maroon. I have a link on an earlier post that will take you to a video made for Ken Nordine's "Maroon" on Youtube. You may think you don't know Mr. Nordine, now in his 90s, but you do. He's a well-known voiceover artist, and you've heard him on plenty of commercials. He inspired Tom Waits to begin adding spoken word tracks to his albums, and they have worked together. 

His album "Colors" is mindblowing; it actually began as a series of radio spots for a paint company. Here is the poem in its entirety:


'Think of the times, the number of times, that you can make rhymes with that friend - maroon

There's the month of June - maroon

There's a singers croon - maroon

As she sings a tune - maroon

To an orange moon - maroon

Like a crazy loon - maroon

Please say prune - maroon

With a silver spoon - maroon

How high is noon? - maroon

Tell me soon, tell me soon, tell me soon, tell me soon

No telling the times, the number of rhymes, that we can make with our friend maroon

Platoon, cartoon, monsoon, lampoon, spitoon, baboon, octoroon, macaroon, baffoon, afternoon, opportune, pantaloon, immune.

Yeah, there's so many rhymes for good old maroon

I'm sure if you try you can think of a few that have slipped me by

See what you can rhyme with maroon

Do it soon, do it soon, do it soon'

------Ken Nordine, "Maroon."

Maroon Loon

The second color, the eponymous maroon, went down nicely.The foundation colors are important, but you can't really see much going on until the dark colors go down. Usually, the darker colors go on way down the line, but since this is a night picture, the dark comes on quickly.

I'm still getting used to the linoleum. It cuts wonderfully, but it's easy to dent the block around the lines, so I have to keep the tools sharp. I also don't need to cut as deep as with the wood. I also need to refine the jig I use to print, as it's causing crimping of the paper in the corners. These are pretty easy issues to resolve, I think. Right now, I am just having fun doing the work, something I've been missing for a while. It's good to be back.

Dance By The Might of the Loon

Loon puns are hard. Luckily, the first color was not. I photographed this drying on the clothesline, backlit to show detail. The color is a very pale yellorange. Yes, yellorange. It will comprise the moon and the moon reflection.

Don't strain. The details will be clearer as the darker colors go down.

Loon-ar Landing

In December 2012, after settling back in Hamburg, I unpacked my studio and set to work on a new woodcut print. The print was inspired by "Maroon," a track off of the sublime Ken Nordine album, "Colors."

So much went wrong with this print, I won't detail it. But I was very unhappy with it when it was done. As you look at it here, you can see that one of my biggest problems was the most common problem -- coverage.

There were three problems affecting coverage here: the grain of the wood (which is such an awesome thing in woodcuts, but has been a nightmare in reduction printing), the grain of the paper, which had way too much texture for this type of printing, and the fact that the paper was like card-stock. Woodcuts fare better when the paper has some give. But it's what I had. And at this point, having just found refuge back in my hometown after a horrible exile in the city, we were scrounging pennies (we're scrounging nickels now, so everything's much better).

But now, 2.5 years later, I want to give it another go using the linoleum I recently purchased. Come walk with me as I redo "Maroon." In the meantime, go check out Ken Nordine's "Maroon" on Youtube!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pwyjqq2ju4

Passion Play

Last week, I received my box of linoleum blocks. I went with the 4x6 blocks. I've been working in 9x7 for the last few years, but I figured I would go back to how I originally started with woodcuts and work my way back up.

This is just goofing around on a block. I used rubber cement to adhere the linoleum to a large block so it would fit in the "chase" I have built for the press. It works like a charm.

What you're looking at here is just some playing around with cuts and colors, to see how the blades work on the linoleum, and especially to see how the ink lays down, layer upon layer.

I'm very happy with how the linoleum responds. The letter "A," which in wood may have taken a half hour of eye-straining, finger-mangling work, took just minutes. The ink lays down so evenly (I purposely put lights over darks to see how the ink would behave).

I still love wood, but for reduction printing, my new passion is linoleum. I'll be starting my first "real" print this week. Keep posted!

Floored

I have to know. I've fought the good fight; pulled out all the stops, and all other manner of cliches in my quest to perfect the reduction woodcut. But I think I need to get serious about the tools I use.

In the last print, which I call "Untitled" (up all night thinking of that one), I found the same old issues that have been plaguing me for almost fourteen years. I'm just not getting a smooth laydown of ink. I've sanded the wood, and sealed the wood, swore at the wood, oiled the wood, thrown the wood. Hell, maybe it's not the wood at all. Maybe the ink's too stiff. Or too runny, or it's just stupid. The time has come to get serious and rule out the block.

I simply know three things:
1.) I've spent too long trying to figure this out.
2.) Every reduction artist I admire uses linoleum
3.) The next print I post will be my first linoleum block print

I also know that if this doesn't at least help my issues, I'm going to take up performance art. My first piece is "Deranged Former Printer Shotputs His Cas
t Iron Press Through The Wall". Should be fun.

Hit the Bars

Here is the finished product, 4 colors.

Erase The Past

Well, it's been a long winter in Western New York. I have a nice basement in which to work, but from December through April it barely gets above 60 degrees, which makes it pretty uncomfortable (though in July, that's exactly the temp I'd like it to be).

And, as the weather breaks and the heat rises, I get the pull to be down in the studio again. It's always a difficult start. Things run a little rough. I have to rearrange everything that got knocked out of the way during the mad rush to find Christmas decorations.

This year I have a little help. Back in January, when I was dreaming of the end of the most recent Ice Age (we've been 10 days snow free!), I signed up for a print exchange through an online printmakers group I've belonged to for the last dozen years. The deadline is today.

The print above is the third color of an as-yet-untitled print, one of the smallest I've done (not counting the Christmas ornaments from last November) (2.5x3" on a 5x7" piece of paper). The theme for the exchange was "Freedom of Expression." I batted around a few ideas, one which was pretty funny, but risque, and I have an odd sense of humor, so I went safe.

Hmmm. In creating a piece to celebrate freedom of expression, I chose to censor myself. That's very interesting.

Well, don't think too much on it, as I will be tackling that one at some point down the road. Still, the print I have is a pretty important departure for me in many ways. One, it's a pretty full concept piece, something I've attempted only a few times before (The print at right, conceived as a powerful anti-war print, remains unfinished; a planned 16-color beast  from around 2005 that I really wish I'd stuck with, though the little girl in the corner gives me the willies!).

The print above -- my very own left hand, by the way, immortalized in ink! -- demonstrates an artist removing the bars of injustice with an eraser. Pretty simple, gets the point across, I suppose. But wait til you see the naughty one!