Cranefest 2013

Tags

Cranefest, Goyo, Sandhill Crane, Sandhill Crane and Art Festival

Cranefest 2013, a photo by Goyo P on Flickr.

I love this time of year when the evening sky is filled with Sandhill Cranes. I love their song. I love when they all congregate at their roosting site. The sound is unforgettable. Combine that with the cool crisp air of Fall and you have the makings of some beautiful memories.

It’s always a joy to come up with a Crane print for the Sandhill Crane and Art Festival near Marshall, MI. Last year’s Crane print sold out quickly. I think these will too, especially since there are only 4 of them. I have not come up with a title for this yet. Stay tuned for that. But I can tell you it is a 4×6″ linocut reduction on Japanese paper.

Pescado del Sol

Tags

art, fish, Lenawee County, Michigan, Sunfish

Pescado del Sol, 5×7 reduction linocut, a photo by Goyo P on Flickr.

5×7 Reduction Linocut.

The Cranium Element

Tags

art, Audubon, Baker Sanctuary, Birding, Birds, Cranefest, Sandhill Crane

The Cranium Element, a photo by Goyo P on Flickr.

Last year I participated in the Sandhill Crane and Art Festival near Marshal, MI. It was a last minute decision. They graciously accepted me and I had a great time. BUT…I did not have one piece of art that depicted a Sandhill Crane…..a lot of other birds but no Sandhills. So this year I made it a priority to have at least one block print depicting them. This reduction linocut will be for sale at this years event on October 13th and 14th. I hope to see you there.

For more information about the Sandhill Crane and Art Festival click here.

Night Heron 2nd run

Tags

art, Birds, Great Blue Heron, Lenawee County, Michigan, moon, Tecumseh

I’ve been meaning to make a few more “Night Heron” prints for a long time.  I’m happy to say they are finally printed, dried and sleeved.  Uploading to Etsy will take place this weekend.

Night Heron, linocut, 7×8

Tags

art, Artalicious, Blue Heron, Devils Lake, Lenawee County, printmaking

 “Night Heron”, Linocut, 7×8

This is the lino that I cut on the Friday of the Artalicious Festival.  

This design was originally tried as a glaze on a vase during a collaboration with James Freeman.  But the design melted during firing.  So here it is again in lino.  I really like this one.  I used Akua Color again and it is great.  I think I found a new ink.  The paper is Rives BFK.  I use a Richeson Baby Press for printing.  I’m not sure I will color this one.  I like it just the way it is…but who knows.  I change my mind a lot.  

The inspiration for this design comes from the AuSable River, the summer moon over Devils Lake, moonlight and crickets.

Smoky Mountain Linocut

Tags

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, GSMNP, printmaking

K and I visit the Smokies quite often since my parents live in Wears Valley, just outside of Townsend.  Smoky Mountain images are always floating around in my head so this wasnt too difficult to develop into a linocut design.  But, it didnt come out as well as I would have liked.  For one, my cuts were too deep in many places.  I had hoped they were high enough to show up in the sky but they were not.  Anyway, I’m supercritical of my work and could go on but I wont.  I thought about calling this linocut “Black Jack” because I ran out of ink on the 21st print.  I’ve been hand printing all my prints with a Speedball plastic baren.  I just ordered two new barens the other day to experiment with.  I ordered some larger sheets of linoleum.  I’ll need them for the Artalicious Art Festival in a few weeks.  I also ordered some heavier Rives paper than what I have been using.  I used up the last of my Speedball black ink.  The other day I used some of my friend’s Dick Blick ink and I think I like it a little better.  It was not as thick as the Speedball brand.  I use oil based ink mostly.  I’m a slow worker so I like the fact that it wont dry up on my glass before I even get going.  When I’m really organized and energetic the water based ink seems to work just fine.  I have yet to try and paint over dried water based ink.  I assume it would dissolve but I havent experimented with that yet.        

Four Pheasant Tail More

Tags

Artwork, Fly Fishing Artists, Pheasant Tail, printmaking

 This is just another linocut for the annual LCVA Box Show auction coming up in September.  I experimented with my ink on this one.  I started with brown, then slowly added, red, yellow, and orange.  I hand pressed 20 and only the first two are exactly the same.  The others are a mix of rusty colors and that’s exactly what I wanted to do….for once..ha!  I use the pheasant tail nymph a lot when I fly fish.  It’s on my top ten list of flies, especially when I fish at devils lake.  It works great under a dropper for crappie or bluegills.  Anyway, I’ll have this one on display at my booth at the Artalicious Festival in Adrian on September 14th and 15th.  Pi Benio of Adrian College asked if I would be a printmaking demonstrator.  So, I’ll be there with my tools, ink and paper making whatever.  I think I may have a printmaking partner.  I asked Carlos Tobar who is a long time printmaker and painter in Adrian to join me.  He said he would and he’s going to bring one of his portable print presses….YESSSS!   

Painted Prince Nymph

Tags

Artwork, Fly Fishing Artists, Prince Nymph, printmaking

The annual LCVA Gallery fundraiser is coming up in September.  For the past two years I’ve created art with a “fly box” theme.  I may do one more fly besides this one, but I’m not quite sure which fly to do.  This is the first time I’ve ever painted a linocut.  The heavyweight Rives paper took the paint well without warping too much.  I’ll probably do a series of flies and then move to a series of landscapes done in an Arts and Crafts style, similar to the work of Kathleen West. 

Prince Nymph

Tags

Fly Fishing Artists, Prince Nymph

“Prince Nymph”, 4×5 linocut

Heron Linocut, 5×7

Tags

Blue Heron, printmaking