Bo Derek

Bo Derek 6x8" collograph print w/ a la poupée and watercolor


Bo Derek 6x8" collograph print w/ transparent top roll and watercolor




Construction of collograph plate - this is the layout stage, cutting out all the pieces of construction paper, making sure it all fits, before adhering and sealing to the substrate. Modeling paste was later added to create the texture of the water and waves.



a big inky mess - the palette for the prints mixed up and laid out.


the inked collograph plate



fresh print being pulled from the plate

Belated Anniversary

Happy Anniversary, Printing Press! *

Happy Anniversary, first print! *

I'm sorry to say the occasion slipped my mind. As we grow older I suppose more things do.

March 12th was the one year anniversary of this printmaking blog, and therefore also the one year anniversary of purchasing my beautiful printing press.

Getting the press was the impetus to start this blog.

I wish I could state that in the last year I had harnessed the power of the internet to market my work like I should. But I have thoroughly enjoyed the convenience of having a home studio. I had a very successful print show last year and have another print show this June, both of which would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to do without my press. (If you're a printmaker and you're thinking about getting a press, I highly recommend it - and CraigsList is a wonderful thing.)

I also wish I could say I've posted to this blog as often as I'd hoped, but in fact I've been pretty lax about it. I have enjoyed sharing my work, my process and my thoughts with the world via the magic of the internet; but what I've enjoyed most is the feedback and support I've received from you, gentle readers. Thank you.

* apologies for cheesy cupcake photoshop hack job

Yoda: "Do or do not. There is no try."

Yoda 3 x 4" woodblock print with watercolor

The Hollywood icons series continues with the coolest puppet since Kermit... Yoda. Yoda first appeared in the 1980 blockbuster film The Empire Strikes Back (the best of all the Star Wars films, if you're keeping score).

just printed from the block

This woodblock print is printed in a couple of two-color combinations and also just in black relief ink and then watercolored.

two-color print in light and dark green


two-color print in green and black

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

The Bionic Woman

The Bionic Woman 3" x 4" woodblock print with chine collé

The Hollywood icons series returns today with Lindsay Wagner as Jamie Somers, the Bionic Woman. It didn't seem right to do the Six Million Dollar Man (two posts down) without giving the Bionic Woman equal time.
This is a woodblock print which I've printed a couple of different ways. The first print is a chine collé print with the woodblock printed on top of a vintage merchandising image (you can either view it as a statement about commercialism, or just a retro-cool print). The second print is a two color woodblock print. The transparent green color was printed first as a solid block of color, then the image was printed on top of the background in black relief ink.

two color woodblock print



two color woodblock print fresh from the press

Modigliani's Studio

Modigliani's Studio 6" x 7" linoleum print with watercolor

Taking a little blogging break from the Hollywood icons series (more in the works, but nothing ready to post) to find a little inspiration from one of my favorite artists. This print is from a series of prints I did of the artists Modigliani, Matisse and Picasso. This print depicts the bohemian Modigliani seated in his studio between his painting, Madame Pompadour, and one of his many elongated head sculptures. This is a linoleum print printed in black relief ink and colored with watercolor.

fresh off the press

The Six Million Dollar Man

The Six Million Dollar Man - 4.5" x 6" collograph print with pastel

Lee Majors is Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man.
This is a collograph print like the Redd Foxx print. Lines of glue are laid out onto a piece of mat board, then sealed with acrylic medium. The plate is then inked with brushes, q-tips and brayers and then printed. This is a very simple technique that yields some very interesting and unique results. This print was very dark, so after it dried, I punched up the color with pastels.

"We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better...stronger...faster."


The inked plate prior to printing (click the pic for a more detailed view of the plate).