Framed

Spent yesterday morning in the basement with strips of molding and the miter saw. I'm not a big fan of metal frames and prefer to construct my own. Even though it always takes more time than I think it will, wood frames feel more substantial than metal. I finished them with a couple of coats of black gesso, then a coat of butcher's wax. After cutting mattes, I dropped Plexiglass into the frames followed by the prints, Foamcore board for backing and then finished with paper tape to seal the back. Screw eyes and wire completed the job. Anyway, I'm pleased with the results and next weekend these newest works will be heading to the Akus Gallery in Willimantic, Ct.

Sentinel

I've been working on a second piece in my Springer series. I'm trying to decide if I should keep the image as is; dark and mysterious, or add more details. Right now, I like the bold black and white silhouette but I'm going to leave the artist's proof hanging in the studio, to live with it for awhile, before making changes I may regret. The image was worked up on drafting Mylar, exposed to a Solarplate and printed on Arches 88 with Akua ink. My goal is to create a series of prints based on Ruby and Oscar (two extremely cute Springer Spaniels) without making overly sentimental prints. So far so good ... I think.

Nice Surprise.

I like to keep a calendar of local exhibition opportunities so I can plan ahead and have something ready to submit. This year, time got away from me and I almost missed a deadline for an annual juried show. Part of me wanted to skip this year's call for submissions but at the last minute I decided to submit a print. I'm happy I didn't pass up this opportunity; not only was the piece accepted but it received first prize! Nice surprise and confirmation that last minute is better than never.