Darth Vader Monotype/Photo Etching

Darth Vader 4x6 Photo Etching printed on Comic Book Panel
The first print in today's post is continuing the experimentation with printing on top of other images. This is printed onto an image from a vintage 30 year old Star Wars comic book (Click on it for a more detailed view of the underlying image). This print is a photo etching done from a monotype printed on a chine collé comic book panel. Below is the original monotype print.

Darth Vader 4x6 Monotype

Bandit 2.0

Greetings, gentle readers! I was burned out after my art show this summer, so I took an art break. Didn't expect it to be such a long break, but - ah well, good intentions, etc.

Anywho, I've started doing some new prints and experimenting with some new ideas. I'm printing on top of other images using a chine collé technique. Loyal readers may remember this Smokey and the Bandit collograph print from a previous post, but this time I've printed old Burt on top of a soft painterly image of the black Bandit TransAm.

The idea is for the background image to be a secondary image that supports and informs the foreground print image. By combining the two images, the finished print also has a slightly abstracted feel.

Sorry for the prolonged absence. I'll try to get back in the swing of posting semi-regularly. More to come...

Bringing It Back Home

Greetings from Birmingham,
The reception for the my art show was this past Saturday and was a rousing success. I saw lots of old friends, sold a number of pieces and the work was very well received. Thanks to everyone in California and Alabama who helped me pull off my first show in years.

Happy Father's Day! - of Dads and Dogs

To celebrate Father's Day today's post features Dad related art. This first print is Birmingham Back Seat 1961 and depicts my father in his early twenties (far left) and his buddies in the back seat of some gigantic 1950's car. This print is a monotype printed with black etching ink.

This print, Front Yard 1976, is a monotype printed with blue etching ink, watercolor and colored pencil. This is my father (right) in our front yard with our neighbor, Joe Bruno, and his dog, Lula Belle, in 1976. My father died unexpectedly back in 2003, and doing these pieces was a cathartic process. Sometimes it's still hard to believe he's gone. Miss you, Dad.

These two prints are commissions I did for my friend Colin to give to his father for Father's Day. This is Colin and his dog, Winnifred, who recently passed away. It was an honor to do these prints for my friend to honor the life of his dog that he misses very much. (Love you, Fred!) The print below is the 'ghost' print. It is pulled after the inital print and is much lighter because very little ink remains on the plate. The ghost print was then colored with watercolor.

New Post?! Believe It

Greetings, gentle readers
Seems I'm doing lots of apologizing for not keeping current. I have some friends whose blogs I frequent, and when there is no new post I'm dissappointed. I'm sorry if my lack of discipline is making any of you feel similarly.

Well, at least I've been working on art. So much art. As many of you know I have an art show up now in Birmingham, Alabama. It's been a long time, and I'd forgotten how much work it is to put up a show. I'm pretty happy with the work though and thought I'd blog a piece or two.

This print is a monotype of the old Lyric and Alabama Theatres in downtown Birmingham. When I was growing up these theatres were run down, largely forgotten relics from a time when people actually went downtown. When I was in college, the Alabama was in the process of being restored and was a venue for concerts and touring productions. Many people were happy to see this former Showplace of the South alive again.

This print depicts the Alabama and Lyric Theatres in all their neon glory, lighting up the night. It is printed with black etching ink and colored with watercolor and colored pencil.

Rome or Bust II : Collograph

Rome or Bust II - 8x10 Collograph Print with Watercolor
Another Museum Series print, this time it's a collograph. A detailed explanation of the collograph process is listed in the blog post prior (below) this one. The finished print was watercolored after printing. Below is a process pic of the very early design and layout of the collograph plate.

These two process pictures show close-ups of the construction paper layers laid out prior to being glued down. The edges of each layer hold ink when the plate is inked and wiped.



Below is the plate shiny and sticky with wet ink ready to print.


Below is the print being pulled from the plate after going through the press.


Have any questions about this process? Feel free to ask.

Roller Derby Queen: Collograph

Greetings gentle readers,
Sorry to have abandoned you for so long.

It has been requested that I post a collograph with a bit of 'how to' to the blog. These prints, Roller Derby Queen Series, are collographs printed with etching ink on Arches Cover paper. The image size is 4" x 12" on a 7 1/2" x 15" piece of paper. These prints and other collographs are available for sale here.

Collographs are a simple yet surprisingly sophisticated printmaking technique:

1) Select a substrate to use as the 'plate' (cardboard, masonite or my choice - matboard)


2) Create an image by cutting paper, string, etc. and glueing them down in layers with gloss medium and varnish to the substrate.


3) Once the image is laid out and glued down, coat the entire plate (front and back) with more medium/varnish to seal the plate.

4) The plate is then inked and wiped. The entire plate is covered in ink and then carefully wiped with a cheescloth like material to remove ink from the top flat surfaces and rub ink into all the edges, nooks and crannies. Any place the plate holds ink will create the defining lines of the image. The plate can also be 'top rolled' with another color ink before printing (the hot pink print was inked this way).

5) The plate is then placed on the press, covered with a sheet of paper and run through the press. Presto!


After letting the prints dry, they can be colored with watercolor, pastel, colored pencil,etc. to achieve unique finishes. The first image at the top of this post was watercolored after printing. If you have any questions about this technique, feel free to ask.