I should probably take my time on this drawing. I want to try to avoid having any wide open cut away areas. I also might like to try more small patterning in areas. Lately I’ve been noticing a lot of woodcuts that use intricate patterning instead of more generic ways of building values and defining shapes.
I was drawing from this old hand gunning book and thinking about some stuff I saw on Sean Star Wars‘ web site, and that Bob Wills song Roly Poly popped into my head. Hopefully something will come of it.
Lyrics by the Great Fred Rose:
Roly Poly, eatin’ corn and taters
Hungry every minute of the day
Roly Poly, gnawin’ on a biscuit
Long as he can chew it it’s ok
He can eat an apple pie
And never even bat an eye
He likes everything from soup to hay
Roly Poly, daddy’s little fatty
Bet he’s gonna be a man someday
Roly Poly, scrambled eggs for breakfast
Bread and jelly 20 times a day
Roly Poly eats a hearty dinner
It takes lots of strength to run and play
Pulls up weeds and does the chores
Runs both ways to all the stores
He works up an appetite that way
Roly Poly, daddy’s little fatty
Bet he’s gonna be a man someday
Well, there we have it. I finished this minutes ago. As usual, a mix of joy and disappointment. All frustration aside, it was worth the effort. Making this print answered several questions for me and offered a few surprises. Best for me to give it some drawer time, then come back and look at it.
This block contains most of the detail and will print dark blue. All the blocks are cut now and Ill start mixing ink and printing today.
NC’s own satirical woodcut man Bill Fick has a show at SECCA up in Winston-Salem. Here is info.
Also, one of the new residents at McColl Center is a woodcut guy originally from Bosnia, now from LA. Im looking forward to seeing his work and getting any advice or insight…Endi Poskovic.
I love Myrtle Beach. I usually visit a couple times a year. It is sort of garish and crass in an endearing way. I’m especially fascinated by the mix of old and new structures and cultural icons that you find there. A lot of the mini-amusement parks seem to be closing as the economic situation evolves. Condos seem to be taking the place of entertainment oriented businesses. But you can still find a couple big arcades and themed miniature gold courses modeled in concrete to resemble volcanos or tropical islands. My favorite thing about Myrtle Beach is the people watching. I have amassed a large collection of photos from various trips to Myrtle Beach over the years and the best ones are photos of unsuspecting vacationers walking or sitting on the beach.
I’ve started a piece I’ve been thinking about for a while. It will probably be a 2 color woodcut. I’m still working on the Saddam piece but that is going to take a while so I’d like to have some other stuff going concurrently.
I’m constantly trying to improve my ability to think in terms of positive and negative with 1-3 colors. In other words visualize things as a woodcut. While exploring some color ideas for this print, I found a really effective way to help develop this skill. I draw a thumbnail in pencil, then use marker to show where the ink will be as if this were a print. Then I erase the pencil and see if the forms still read well. Sounds elementary, but I think this little technique is already helping me move away from a reliance on outline.
One other small discovery: For my Saddam print, I was trying to transfer the image to the blocks with homemade carbon paper. I made it by covering a sheet of paper with a 6b graphite stick. It didn’t work well at all - too faint to read. Later, I made a new carbon paper sheet but with compressed charcoal. Worked like a charm! Again, elementary, but not obvious to me. I had to waste some valuable time to figure that one out.
I have been wanting to do some political art for a long time. The problem has always been how to create something that make a statement without being preachy or corny. A couple of really cool Christmas presents have prompted me to just take a crack at it. I got a nice set of Prismacolor markers and a book about the history of printmaking in Mexico. The markers make it quick, easy and fun to do lots of brainstorming thumbnails and the book provides a ton of political prints to get me fired up.
The hanging of Saddam really hit a nerve with me and inspired the current piece I’m working on. Not that I’m a big booster of Saddam, but his hanging seems like it will be a defining moment in this ongoing comedy of errors. I suspect his execution will be part of what we point to “victory” as we pack up and bow out of this one. I do appreciate the soldiers fighting over there, not so much the people that sent them.
Anyway, this is going to be a 3 color woodcut. Here are a couple attempts to sketch a likeness and a couple other “process” shots.
p.s. Concerning Yahoo!/Flickr and copyright issues: They told me to consult an attorney. Thanks for the tip, guys.
Here is the third fight print. I have a couple more in mind so maybe they will be forthcoming soon.
Since I was printing anyway, I tried relief printing an etching plate that I had done earlier this year. I wasn’t too excited about the way it had come out as an etching and I didn’t really know what to do with it. Printing it in relief seems to show promise though. I think this technique might be just the thing I need for this and future insect pieces. It sort of reminds me of the look of those Hyman Bloom drawings on black paper of dead fish. I will have to tinker with the ink to get it print those fine etched lines crisply. Plus I need to get a scanner so I can share these things more effectively.
One last thing: I recommend the double documentary Golub/Spero out on DVD about Leon Golub and Nancy Spero. The Leon Golub part has some incredible footage of his process that touches on a lot things I have been concerned with like using photos as source material and commenting on situations in the world as an outsider to those situations. Plus, both artists seem like really cool characters.
