Woodcut no. 2

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.

Chicago Boulevard, linocut, 11×17

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.

 

 

Yellow Rumped Warbler

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.

 

Musical Inspiration…Dance of the Birds.

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.

Circle of Art 2008

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

Bookstores and New Tools

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.   

Chicago Boulevard…digitally edited

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.  

Chicago Boulevard

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

 

Protected: Barbie

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Rainbow Falls

Kayleen, family, friends and I hiked up Mt. LeConte last week for the second time in two years.  But, this time we hiked the Rainbow Falls route.  I didnt pack my tripod so I used a tree to steady this shot with a 1/2 second exposure.  We spend a lot of time in the Great Smoky Mountains since my parents live nearby.  Although the weather was still a little too chilly for fly fishing we got some great hikes in.  LeConte is always my favorite.  It always amazes me how very few people ever leave the comfort of their cars.  As for me I am happiest on a trail and away from the masses.  We hiked up to the Lodge and “Cliff Top” last wednesday which was only one of the two sunny days last week.  I wasnt so sure our view would be that good when we started up the trail at 8 AM, but the clouds burned off and the views at the top were great.  We spent a little over two hours at the top which was enough to get sunburned.  I didnt mind considering I’ve spent the last 4 months frozen in Michigan.  Anyway, we’re already thinking about what route we’ll take to LeConte next year.  We would have taken the Trillium Gap trail but it was closed due to storm damage.