Ink, Wipe, Print ....

Ink, wipe, print ... ink, wipe, print ... ink, wipe, print, it's amazing what can be accomplished when you have a block of uninterrupted studio time! I had a great printing rhythm going and was able to complete a sizable edition in a few hours.

Score/2012, selected to mark a twentieth anniversary, is the latest group project of the Printmakers Network of Southern New England. In addition to denoting a group of 20, “score” has many definitions and portfolio participants are challenged to interpret the theme in a 20" X 12" format using any print process.

This is my contribution. A two plate photopolymer intaglio with chine colle' and some hand-coloring with watercolor.

From Here to God

I opted to interpret the theme in terms of time. Having reached three score and one in years, time to me is beginning to feel like a brisk wind that is continuously increasing in velocity. Since I often use bird imagery metaphorically, finding a dead bird triggered the initial inspiration for this print. My print depicts our fleeting existence, ever moving toward the unknown. Time is difficult to define; contradictory in nature since the past is behind us, the future is unknown and our present is fleeting; becoming the past even as we attempt to define it. Like a gust of wind, gone in a second.

As I created this particular image, implied meaning and layering came into play to depict the passage of time and is a result of digital manipulation of personal photographs and transformation of the film negatives by hand.

The image is printed on Hahnemhule Copperplate using Akua inks. I use matte board scraps to spread the ink, begin wiping with a ball of tarlatan and finish up using phone book pages wrapped around a felt covered block.

To provide focal points, color was added using the technique of chine colle’ on the larger plate and hand coloring, with watercolor, on the smaller.
The chine colle' paper is carefully positioned before placing the main printing paper over the plates.

I'm pleased with the outcome and happy to have the edition completed well in advance of the deadline. All that's left to do now is sign and number the prints.