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!