Print-happy...

The blotters hadn't been changed, so I didn't bring home the grapes yet. I took one more print of it though. I'll have plenty to work with on next class.

But for now, I'll post some work from the spring semester of Printmaking.
We started with simple collages of found stuff, like cardboard, stickers, fabric, etc. I did a few, but it was so hard to get a feel for what was happening before printing.

I fished out a Mayan tablet from the internets. Interesting character glyphs. This one reminded me of the Simpsons. Ha. Blew it up, drew it on Bristol, exacto-knifed out a stencil and used it on this one. It's the only collage I did that looked semi-decent.

The first etching was a four and a half by six inch zinc plate. I took a cell-phone picture on the bus and used it for reference. I had been thinking of doing that big bus painting, but did this little etching first. Figuring this out was a mind-eff for me. I rely on what my eyes can see right in front of me when I'm drawing. The etching process kills that opportunity. The image will print reverse of what you're doing. The lights and darks are inverted. Wiping ink into and off the plate is a totally finesse/experience-based thing. And the acid is just... scary.

All things considered... I did okay. XD



Straight onto an 8x10 zinc. The assignment was to show texture, which I didn't really do.
Fail.
Took some pictures near Spring Lake. Went with this one. The whole plate was a learning process. A lot of, "okay, that didn't work"... and moving on. So, it has problems, but that's the way it goes.

Peace!

Getting fruity...

The tree drypoint was going well until the burr died. I took five prints, but they looked really weak. I'll scan one in and play with it some time.

Moving on.

We're back to a zinc etching for the 2nd plate. 8x10.
Our prof had us aim for something with a strong color theme. A field of color. A blue ocean scape, a red drape of fabric, a yellow honeycomb with bees... along those lines.

We had a large platter sitting in the kitchen filled with bunches of grapes picked from our little vine in the backyard. Grapes look kind of awesome when light shines through them. I took a bunch of photos, tweaked them in various ways in photoshop, found a crop I liked, and started sketching.

Last week, I pressed flattened grape leaves into a wax soft ground to get some texture. Next, I blocked out the highlights/tones with spraypaint through a stencil. Dropped it in the aquatint bath for a couple minutes. Re-ground the plate and started the drawing. Etched for 12 minutes. Took some proofs. The result was better than expected. Woo.
I reground it and over the weekend filled out the drawing crosshatching/stipling.
In lab today, etched it for 10 minutes, cleaned it, burnished more highlights and printed three. A deep burnt sienna on BFK, toned the ink a bit more for one on Fabriano, and finally whipped up some toned green on BFK for fun. They all looked pretty decent. I'll bring one home Wednesday to scan.

In the meantime, I brought the bare plate home to see what it would look like in the scanner.
Pretty odd. Ha.



The brighter stuff is etched more. When printed, it's dark. So, I inverted the whole thing.
Below is a little closer to what the prints looks like... but not. ^^


The real things will be... そろそろ COMING SOON!!!

Head-first...

A little late, but as promised. First etching of the semester. First on copper. First drypoint. Weeeeeee!
Our teacher had us try to 'trace' our own reflection in the copper, which is a totally disorienting experience if you've never tried it.

2nd state proof...
I swear, the first state looked like my mom. I started laughing as soon as I pulled it from the plate. Tweaked it a bit, hoping for something closer to me. It still looks too cartoony. *shrug*


Moving right along. I did about 12 total prints, from proof to edition. It took me forever to get a knack for the hand-wiping. This one is maybe a little under-wiped still, but I got the hang of it eventually.
The next is already in the works. He had us scrape out our portraits and go outside to get a plein-air drypoint of a tree on campus. I happened to be at this point in the process when it was about 96° last week. That was... rough. Ha!

I'm working on the 3rd state of that one. I invested in a diamond-tipped needle via Blick. I'm hoping it'll arrive before next class.

がんばります！

Returning...

Two weeks at the JC down.
The group in Etching is so exciting. The vibe is lovely. Diversity in art and experience, but everyone is enthusiastic and engaged. Loving it.

We started with a drypoint on copper. Totally new to me. A self-portrait. Oh heavens.
Challenging, but fantastic.
My first proof looked like my mom. Freaky. Haha.
I'll try to get one home to scan next week.

We'll be scraping it out and doing a plein-air on campus... trees.
Gotta love those oaks.

At home, we're overhauling the 'office' so that it will actually be functional. Novel idea.