The Heron

I havent posted any photos of prints lately, but I have been working feverishly on a few.  They are for a friend who asked if I would make a few prints for her wedding.  I dont plan on posting the photos until after the wedding.  But, I will post this photo which I used as inspiration.  I finished an 8×10 linocut similar to this photo last night.  I made some compositional changes in the final design.  I’m also working on a small 3×5 woodcut, which I already posted.  Since it was my first woodcut I may or may not use it.  It depends on how the prints turns out.  Anyway, this weekend I hung a new wire frame shelf in my studio to use as a drying rack.  I made a new printing board to hold my block in place while printing.  And, I ordered some new water soluable oil based ink from Daniel Smith and some Rives BFK paper.  As soon as it all comes in I’ll start hand pressing the prints.   

Bird of the day…the White Crowned Sparrow.  I have been seeing them in numbers around the yard this week.  I believe these guys are just passing by as they head to Canada.  K spotted a Northern Oriole this morning but I couldnt get the camera out in time to get his pic.

As I pulled in the driveway coming home from work I noticed a box on my doorstep.  “Yes!”, I said.  My wood finally arrived from McClains Printmaking Supply Store.  I ordered a box full of shina plywood as recommended by printmaker Annette Haines.  I couldn’t wait.  I pulled out my new Flexcut carving tools and got started right away.  My first attempt at woodcutting I used some dried up pieces of bark from Dick Blick which didnt cut very well.  This wood is much nicer and much softer.  Don’t look at the block too closely.  In my hurry to get started I used a liner to outline the leaf image as I normally do with lino, but it didn’t work too well.  I know I have to learn how to use a knife to exact more detail…..I just couldn’t hold myself back.  I plan on using a knife for the next one.

I finally finished painting this today.  The ink took a few weeks to dry before I could hand paint this….probably because the furnace has not been running and it’s not as dry in the house as it is in the winter.  The ink is water soluble oil based ink by Daniel Smith.  I only printed three of these because I dont have the room to dry such large prints.

The image is of The Boulevard Market in Tecumseh, MI.  I plan on giving this print to the owners Erika and John Aylward for being so supportive of my work.

 

 

Taking a break from mowing the lawn I heard an unfamiliar bird song outside the kitchen window.  I took the field glasses outside to take a look and there were two birds I had never seen before high on our Maple tree.  It took me about 15 minutes to get a good look to be able to identify it as a Yellow Rumped Warbler.  I then grabbed the camera, set it on the highest resolution and snapped three pictures before it flew away.  You cant see the yellow crown on his head or the yellow patch on his rump….but they were there.

 

Last night K and I went to our second Adrian Symphony Orchestra concert at Dawson Auditorium on Adrian College’s campus.  We are lucky to have such an amazing Symphony  orchestra in our area.  Music director, John Dodson is fantastic.  He has really opened our ears to music with his informative introductions.  This concert was titled, “A Blaze of Glory” featuring “The Suite from The Snow Maiden” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, “Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in E Flat Major” by Franz Liszt and “Symphony No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 36” by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.  All of the performances were great but I especially enjoyed the second movement of The Snow Maiden, Dance of the Birds.  I plan on starting a new print series on trees and birds.  This music will definitely be playing in the background.

Today I stopped by the Saline Picture Frame Company and dropped off a few pieces for the Circle of Art auction fundraiser to support the Food Gatherers.

Click here to place an on-line bid.

http://www.salinepictureframe.com/showroom/index.php?act=viewCat&catId=368

On Friday I participated in the first ever Tecumseh Art Walk.  I was located in “That Used Book Store“.  It’s starting to become a trend because I also display work at the Book Abbey in Adrian.  The owners of the store are the nicest people you’ll ever meet.  They let me put nail holes where ever I wanted and were happy to see art on the walls.  Tomorrow I’m picking up half of the work I have on display and leaving the rest.  

Today K and I drove down to Toledo to the Woodcraft store near the corner of Reynolds and Airport Hwy.  My printmaking mentor, Carlos Tobar, told me about the place.  I had been wanting to begin woodcutting for a long time.  At the store, I asked the salesman about a hundred questions.  He was very informative and even showed me how to sharpen tools.  I walked out with a starter set of Flexcut carving tools. Anyway, I thought I would buy local since they were very knowledgeable and offer free classes on Thursday evenings.  They didnt sell any finished boards there so I’ll be purchasing some Shina wood from McClains some time this week.  My first project will be a series of Maple leaves for a friend of mine.  If I fail miserably with the wood I have a ton of lino to use just in case.   

I took a photo of my latest linocut and edited it in Photoshop.  I still plan on hand painting the original but I needed a working image for advertising purposes.  The Tecumseh Art Walk is this Friday, April 18, 7-9 PM.  

This Linocut is incomplete.  I am doing this for the Tecumseh “Art Walk” in Tecumseh, MI on April 18th.  This 11×17 print is bigger than anything I’ve ever done (in linocut).  When it dries I plan on painting this using watercolor.  I had to make a larger printing jig for this project.  I used all my regular supplies but found my ink roller to be a tad too small for such a large print.  This was a challenge to hand press.  It helped that I used water soluble oil based ink by Daniel Smith because it gave me more time to work.  The paper is Rives BFK.  The linoleum is battleship grey from Dick Blick mounted on particle board.  I used Speedball cutting tools.

“Chicago Boulevard”, 11×17, Linocut