The Six Million Dollar Man: Reboot

The Six Million Dollar Man 3"x 4" linoleum block print with watercolor

For those of you following any of this, you may have noticed this is my second $6,000,000 man piece. I was having trouble getting a good print off of the collograph plate, so I decided to take another crack at it. Printmaking can sometimes have a high percentage of things that don't work out. Also since doing the first piece, I printed a bionic woman print (below) that is also 3"x 4", and I thought a pairing might be nice.

The first print above is printed with black relief ink and watercolored after the ink has dried.


The Six Million Dollar Man 3"x 4" linoleum block print with chine collé

This print is printed in transparent black relief ink on top of a vintage merchandising image from the Six Million Dollar Man toy line (which I had many toys from... Bigfoot, anyone?). The vintage image is on a thin piece of paper with glue on the back of it. The pressure of the printing press simultaneously transfers the image from the block to the chine collé paper and adheres the chine collé paper to the thicker printmaking paper.


The Six Million Dollar Man 3"x 4" two- color linoleum block print

This is a two-color relief print. First an uncut linoleum block is inked with transparent red ink and printed. Then the image block is inked in black and carefully lined up and printed on top of the red.

All three prints are available for purchase in my etsy shop ... here.

hot off the press

Carnac the Magnificent

Carnac the Magnificent - 3" x 3" two-color reduction woodblock print

I thought I'd revisit Johnny Carson since he was recently named the number one television icon. Here for your consideration is Johnny as Carnac the Magnificent.

(Carnac holds the sealed envelope up to his turban)

CARNAC: Sis boom bah.

ED McMAHON: Sis boom bah?

(Carnac rips the envelope open and removes the card)

CARNAC (reading): Describe the sound made when a sheep explodes.

This print is a two-color reduction (or suicide) print. It is so named because in this process multiple colors are printed from a single block (usually there is a separate block for each color). The block is carved, one color is printed, then more of the block is carved away, then another color is printed, and so on. Once you carve away more of the block and begin printing the next color, there is no going back. So you have to be careful in the layout and planning stage.


A few prints with only the first color printed.


Inking the block with the second color after more carving.


The second stage of the block.



A finished print pulled from the block.

Redd Foxx

Redd Foxx - 5" x 6" collograph print with à la poupée

The latest entry in the Hollywood icons series is actor/comedian Redd Foxx of Sanford and Son fame. A little research turned up Foxx was also an artist. To view some of his artwork click here to visit the official Redd Foxx website.
The plate for this print (below) was simply made of mat board and glue. This was a test to see if the detail required for a portrait could be captured in lines of glue. All the lines on the plate are glue applied with a fine applicator tip. When inking the plate, inks are applied with brushes and q-tips for most of the color. Then the "lines" are inked by top-rolling a dark color onto the raised lines of glue. Click on the image of the plate for more detail.

"Elizabeth, I'm coming to join you, honey!"

The plate after printing

Hot off the press