Montpelier Three Ways

May 2016

Unmounted Linoleum Reduction Print

4"x6"

Pulled this run off of a small piece of lino at the end of the semester and just never got around to posting the series. I plan to frame the suite in a horizontal row with the blue one in the center. Not sure if it will post that way I want to frame it...

Marginal Way

April 2016
Charcoal on newsprint
6"x8"

Finished this sketch after starting it in the field in Ogunquit, Maine with my family. I walked down by myself and did not have enough time to finish it as we were headed out to dinner. Of course my son had my cell phone and I was unable to take a photo  to finish the sketch. I went out on a limb and asked a stranger to take a pic for me and email it to me. Turned out he was a lawyer from the Albany area and with his help I was able to finish as the rocks had just the right light on them.

Cabot Creamery Cartoon

April 2016
Sharpies on unmounted linoleum
12"x15"

The cartoon on my linoleum to be carved came out decent enough to document. Usually I just dig in once i get it to this point and often lament when I don't take a quick pic. There is no reason not and it is usually just me being impatient...

Barr Hill Sketch

April, 2016

Charcoal pencil on newsprint

6"x9"

I really enjoyed working with a charcoal pencil on the surface of the newsprint the other day and decided to continue with it. There is something nice about the way the charcoal goes down on the rough paper compared to a standard white paper sketchbook. I taped down several sheets of newsprint to little boards and plan to make a batch of sketches for some large scale (for me) reduction prints. This drawing has already been manipulated and is about to be transferred to a 12"x18 sheet of un-mounted linoleum. I am also kicking around this idea of returning to this spot on Barr Hill and making two sketches of either side of this view and perhaps turn into a triptych.

Cabot Drypoint Proof

April, 2016

Drypoint on paper

8"x10"

A little while back I made a sketch for this plate and it came out really well. This copper-plate drypoint proof could use some work and I may continue with it, but I decided to use the same drawing for a 12"x15 un-mounted linoleum reduction print. The large drypoint does not have the same impact as the smaller plates I have done in the past and I may continue with the drypoint, just might not be this one.

Little Machias

February 13, 2016
Pronto-plate Lithograph
3.5"x4.75"

Pulled this quick proof as a demo for Pronto-plate lithography. I really like the process as it is chemical free, simple and you don't need a 50 pound stone. I think if I refine the use of the crayon as I was using it in a blunt and direct fashion it might start to get interesting. The plate gave me fits at first as it scummed across the entire surface but I cleaned it and re drew some of the details that got lost.

The image is from an old drawing of Little Machias Bay in Northern Maine. Still one of my favorite places to sketch and be by the ocean.

Cabot Creamery

February 2016
Charcoal on Newsprint
9"x12"

Went out last weekend to make this sketch that I have been itching to capture for some time now. For years I have tried to find the right view of the creamery and about a month ago I drove by on a Sunday and noticed the visitor's parking was empty and I pulled in. It is the perfect view and I finally got back there to make the sketch. In a week or two I plan to print this as a drypoint on copper.

Camel's Hump Reduction Print

February 2016
Reduction Print (four versions)
6"x8"

This is a small sample of the 17 prints I pulled off of a piece of unmounted linoleum. I have had this sketch of Camel's Hump kicking around and I am pleased with the run. The last one is on Birch bark, which I found on the ground when hiking last weekend. Used it to demonstrate to my JSC printmaking students how you can peel pack the layers and get some very thin sheets of bark to print on.

Lino Mandala

January 2016
Easy-cut Reduction Print
4"x4"

I have not posted in awhile and have pulled some prints that I will post over the next couple of days. This is the start of a meditative mandala project that will be primarily abstract monotypes that I will post and continue to pull over the coming few months. This started as an idea a few years ago but my mom recently went into hospice after a long battle with Alzheimer's and it is useful on a few different levels.

This little easy cut was a reduction print demonstration I did with my niece Amelia at the and of last month. We had a great time printing together and my little demo came out pretty well. I had never used easy-cut before and I probably never will again, but it was perfect for her first experience.