Winter Print

This is one of my first pulls of a linoleum print I recently created. The composition was sketched last winter at the Quabbin Reservior. You can see the lines from the marker I used to go over the original drawing. This is done because each layer of ink needs to be washed off before the next color can go on and I don't want to lose my drawing. 

The process begins with cutting out the spaces I wanted white, for this piece, the snow will remain white. I then decided what the lightest color would be in the final print. Moving from lightest to darkest works best because the colors are being printed over one another (except for the spaces cut out. I then mixed that color with Akua inks; for this print, a light purple gray for the shadows on the snow. I rolled the ink onto the linoleum with a brayer, then printed it by hand.

My next step is to cut out all the spaces I want light purple gray - mostly the shadows on the snow. I will then choose the next darker color and mix that. You've got to think ahead a step or two for this process. This type of print is referred to as a suicide print because once all the linoleum has been cut there is no way to go back. Planning is key for a successful print.

I'll post the next color steps in a day or two. 

Here's a picture of how I keep the registration the same for each print. Here's the blog I found which outlines the process:

printmakersregistrationsystem-mfykes.blogspot.com

Each print is printed in exactly the same place each time! I'm so glad I found the above blog with excellent directions.

I will soon post each color as it is added to each print.

Plein Air - Drawing

I thought I would share my love of painting outside with you today. If you have never taken your painting gear outside, set everything up and worked from life, it is difficult to explain the experience and why I love it so much. Being out in the field for the last week or so working in an area I love and frequently visit has deepened not only my practice of working consistently and steadily, but it has also, surprisingly, deepened my appreciation and love for the woodlands. I didn't think I could love working in the woods more, but each time I go out I know I am where I am supposed to be. Everything around me is constantly growing, moving, living, dying. Paying attention to what you are observing is key. Quiet, focus and pencil/paint and paper are the tools. If you are there long enough, paying close attention, a deeper level of seeing can't help but rise to the surface.

I would love for someone to read this and decide to take a small notebook and pencil outside with them. Record something that catches your eye. Maybe just a tree or a small section of a car, a bush or a lampost.  It doesn't matter what you choose, it just has to have some interest to you even if you can't articulate what exactly your interest is. It doesn't have to be perfect. Be still and quiet and really look at what you are trying to record. Look at the relationships between shapes, which ones are bigger and which are smaller, how far is one shape from another? Look at the relationship between positive space and negative space. Sometimes your eye will try to fool you into thinking a line is straight when it is actually curved. Just such a situation is when relationships can help you see that curved line. Seeing is a lot more interesting and difficult than most people realize.

The photo above is a pencil drawing on 22" x 30" 300# Arches watercolor paper - a precursor for the painting - for my "Fallen" series. I've got three paintings going so far in various stages. I will also show you a quick sketch I did later in the day when I was packed up and looking for another subject nearby as the sun was going down. 

A quick sketch concentrating on the form of the tree in the foreground, and just beginning to flesh out the information behind the foreground tree. I am calling the series "Fallen" because the area I've been working in is rich with fallen trees, some down from recent storms, some fallen for decades. I am so drawn to these trees because of their beautiful forms and shapes, the broken limbs sticking up, the colors of moss and bark. The abstract qualities of the images I am drawn to are striking. Yes, I am seeing trees, leaves, branches, sky, but I am also (and more importantly) seeing shapes and colors next to one another on a flat surface - it's a fascinating idea. The large scale I choose to work in reflects the abstract quality of the images as does my choice to crop the image. Cropping the image down to just the part I find interesting, and right on the border of realistic and abstract, for me, is the most interesting aspect of painting. That line between realism and abstraction keeps the viewer fluctuating between reality which is limited to description, and abstraction which opens up a new world that cannot be described in just language - and what Kandinsky may have been referring to in "The Spiritual in Art".

I will post the 22" x 30" watercolor in progress soon. I plan to go back to this location and do a few more studies; it is a beautiful area.The woods have such rich character. I look forward to getting back out there tomorrow. Until next time!

Birch Trees Painting

Almost finished. Once I covered most of the canvas I can see where I want to make some changes. I think the blue is too light in most of the background - I like the dark blue in the upper left corner, so I will pull more of that color into the sky/cloud background. I also think the trees need more contrast, specifically, the lightest value on the right side of the trees should be lighter, the darkest value on the left side, darker, so I will try that as well. I'll post the finished piece soon!

silverpigment@yahoo.com

Birch Trees in Progress

I wanted to show one of my paintings in progress (36" x 18"). The orangish under-painting serves two purposes. First, it gives the background a more tonally neutral color (white can be too bright)against which I gage all the image colors I will be using and two, as orange is opposite of blue on the color wheel (a complimentary color relationship), this will add a bit of warmth and depth even though the viewer may not actually see the orange when the painting is finished. The sketches for this particular painting of winter birch trees were completed this past winter. Sometimes I prefer to mull over a scene in my mind for a few months before beginning a painting. I find this sometimes allows me to be somewhat more creative with color, though prefer to work outside directly from nature.

I will post the finished piece soon.

A Good Beginning - Beach Stones

For this large scale watercolor, I used two large full sheets of arches watercolor paper (22x30) and put them side by side for a total size of 30" x 44". I took a photo of the rocks and pebbles on a Cape Cod beach and thought this image would be wonderful for a large scale piece; it is simultaneously realistic and very abstract, which I love. That duality in painting is always exciting to me. I've posted the finished image later in this blog - showing the two side by side.

silverpigment@yahoo.com

Ocean Waves SOLD

The Worcester Art Museum in Worcester Massachusetts is hosting an online auction in June 2014. All types of local art will be available including paintings, prints and jewelry. I've donated this painting:

Please check out www.worcesterartmuseum.com in June to take a look at the items available for auction. If you see something that catches your eye, consider supporting the museum and local artists by purchasing something unique.