Facebook meets Blogger - aka 'Rhett wrote on Scarlett's wall'

Rhett & Scarlett -- 6"x 9" monotype print with watercolor

Greetings, gentle readers. All worlds merge on the internet it seems, as my blog is now on my facebook page. Thanks to all of you who confirmed my blog ownership (...what an odd thing to say). I finally gave in and joined the grand social network, and I'm glad I did. Its been wonderful to reconnect with so many old friends - if any of you have stumbled across this blog...welcome! This is the ongoing chronicle of my return to printmaking. Some of you have prints of mine that I gave to you years ago, and it's wonderful to hear that they still have a place in your heart and in your home. If it's your first time visiting, poke around, look at some older posts, I welcome comments and questions. If you like what you see, come back again (you can even subscribe if that strikes your fancy) and see what's new.

Today's print, from my recent Hollywood Icons show, is "Rhett & Scarlett" from Gone with theWind. This print is a monotype created by covering a metal plate in printing ink and then carefully removing ink with paper towels, blending stumps, q-tips, etc., to define the image. Paper is then placed over the plate, the plate is run through the press transferring the ink to the paper and...voila! I then watercolored the print after the ink had dried.

the inked plate ready for printing

Scarlett wrote on Rhett's wall: I only know that I love you.
Rhett wrote on Scarlett's wall: That's your misfortune.

Superman

Superman 6x8" six-color woodblock print

The year is 1978 and Christopher Reeve is the Man of Steel in ... Superman.

The tagline for the film was "The movie that makes a legend come to life" and that was pretty accurate. Superman was already one of the most recognizable icons in American culture, and this movie (and the fact that it was a good movie) served to make Superman even more indelible. I was seven years old when I saw this movie in the theater, and it certainly made an impression on me.


This is the most ambitious woodcut I've done to date with four blocks totaling a six-color print. The layout was tricky, having to make sure each block was going to line up with the next block and so on. The printing was tricky too, registering each block carefully to line up the colors on every print. Above are the first three blocks cut awaiting printing.


A print (with the yellow already printed) being pulled from the 2nd (red) block.


The third (blue) block on the inking table during printing.


The final (black) block in the process of being carved.


And with the printing of the fourth and final block, the print is complete.


The iconic (and patriotic) fruits of my labor