Delicious Cyan

My new inks have waxed paper skins that are placed over the ink to prevent the top of the ink from drying. This is a skin covered in copious amount of luscious cyan. Just right for spreading on toast!

Working with process colors (magenta, cyan and yellow) along with black and white has been even better than I anticipated. I can make the exact color that I have in my head. It's such a small thing, but colors are so important to me. My visually impaired friend lost his color vision when he lost his sight, and it is obviously a huge loss for him as an artist. I recently saw a video of a blind painter who determines color by the texture and consistency of the paint. Remarkable.

#20 - Between Meal Snack

I working on this little (4"x6") reduction print just for fun. Mostly to try my new supplies, and also as a gift. It will be four colors.

#19 - Redrawn Scoprion

I pitched the Day of the Dead motif. Too busy, and without the skull element, lacking. So, I came up with this drawing. I like it, and so do all my peeps. I'm not sure what motif this is. Maybe it's the "Karen likes it" motif.

I will do a final redraw just to get all the details worked out, and then start carving the black plate. The piece will be 6"x8" and will have 5 colors. I've switched to unmounted linoleum, so I won't have to use a whole piece for every color. The red and yellow-gold can be on smaller pieces.

I will be using my new Registration Board from McClain's Printmaking Supplies. It's similar to what I'm already using, but will work better (I hope!) Stay tuned.

Chick and Hen

My daughter drew these chickens for a graphic design job I got. We split the money because I did all the clean-up work and layout, but she certainly earned her portion. I could not have done anything like this. It's so whimsical.

#19 - The Scorpion Begins

Here's my first sketch for the scorpion I want to make. I think this needs lots more detail - encrusted with details in black. It looks too feminine right now, and I really am going for a masculine look. Also, the subject matter reminded me of the Day of the Dead style of art. I want to tip my hat a bit more intensely towards that. So, I probably have a few more sketches to go, but I'm off to a solid start.

I will make the scorpion stand out with heavier lines. I really like the bright colors - electric blue, yellow-gold and screaming red. I want it to jump of the page and sting you!

#16 - FINALLY Done!

This print was a registration nightmare, but... I learned a lot. I don't think my registration was lousy, but the artwork required perfect registration. Even an eighth of an inch was enough to ruin a print. I will do things differently next time.

The best part about this print was the element of danger of having only the most sketchy of plans. Working without a net forced me to be content with whatever I ended up with. Working towards perfection has it's good points, but I also want to be able to improvise. I learn more, certainly.

I ended up with nine good prints (out of 20). I've already sold one (thanks, Mom!).

#16 - The Dancer - Third Color is On: One More to Go

This is a marginal photo of the piece with the third color down. I do like it, and am looking forward to carving out the final color. I'm going to go with a deep copper color for the last highlights. I like all the little swirls in the this print, and the colors are pleasant.

It has been challenging to have no plan, but I think I did alright in spite of that. I suppose I'm just a very intentional artist, and I prefer things to be "known" before I dive in. I doubt I will do this seat-of-the-pants method again. I'm just going to be content with how this came out, knowing that I gave it my best shot.

#17 - Bitsy Little Four Color Leaf

I cranked out this little guy in three hours. It's four colors. The square is 1.5 inches wide, to give you an idea of size (what you see on the screen it about acutal size). It's really small! But, it was fun to make, and a nice way to end the day.

#16 - Dancer - Oh, The Humanity!

Here's a good start to the day: waste seven prints trying to register the colors. Fortunately, I flubbed most of the green prints, and the second color looks pretty bad over the green. Looks nice on the blue. The next color is going to be coppery.

In spite of all my hard work, most the prints are still off register slightly. There are a few that are good enough, though. I guess I just need one!

The ink is luxurious and long-lasting. I used far less ink than I would have had I used Speedball Inks. So, these are thrifty inks, in spite of their astonishing price tag.

Here are a few photos of the second color. The color in the photos is not accurate. It has more of a copper cast to it.

#16 - Fun and Frustration

Played with my new colors. I made a color wheel and goofed off. Then I mushed all the colors together on the glass and made a monoprint:

Then I tried to print the ballet dancer. For some reason the colors are not registering with each other. I wasn't feeling up to problem solving at that point. I don't want to waste prints, so I need to solve the problem methodically. So, I took one of the prints that was in a horrible green color and slapped some delicious blue over it, just to get the need to print something out of my system.

#16 - Dancer - Ready to Print Second Color

Here's a proof of the carving for the second color. My ballet position consultant will notice that there is a wonky line on her lower foot. Have no fear: it will get carved off momentarily. Can't wait to dig into my cans of Caligo ink and slop the stuff around with a palette knife. Delish! Tomorrow...

Semi-Accessible Art Project for the Visually Impaired - Using Wikisticks

We have a friend who is visually impaired. He has some sight, and can make out things that are very high contrast and bold. Before he became blind, he was a fashion designer, but has not done any artwork since then. I thought up this little project for him, and he really enjoyed doing it. His piece came out great, and I can see that he has talent to work with. He just needs a proper medium that he can feel comfortable using.

Here's what I thought up: I got some Wikisticks at the craft store. Those are strings coated with a thick wax that is sticky enough to adhere to things. They are marketed to children, and come in bright, fun colors. Interestingly, they are also marketed to the blind on websites that sell accessibility aids.

I painted the back of a linoblock with black paint to create a high-contrast platform to stick the Wikisticks to. Our friend was able to make out the shapes of the sticks against the black background, and he also had the tactile feedback to help him along. He used scissors to cut the sticks to size. Here's what the block looked like before printing:

I printed it for him, but I really believe, with some practice, he could do this part himself. Relief printing inks tell you when they are the correct consistency by letting out a little hissing sound when you roll it, and burnishing the back of the paper was a piece of cake with this project. Also, our friend is completely colorblind, and only wants to work in black, so that part is also simple. I was amazed to see that the new OIL ink is indeed completely washable - with only WATER. This feature is just right for him because, naturally, he's cautious about having ink on his hands. It's perfect to have an ink that will print beautifully, but still rinse right off.

Here's the final product along with the block and some Wikisticks.

I matted some of his prints, and also framed one. They look fabulous, and he wants to try it again.