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Poser Skates and Woodblock Prints

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Real skate

Poser skate

You can tell how good anyone is at skating by looking at his skate(board).

If the bottom of the skate is all torn up, like the skate on the left, then they know what they’re doing. Skate’s get all torn up when they are used to grind and slide all over public curbs, handrails, stairs, etc. The bottom of the skate gets all torn up.

If the bottom of the skate is in nice, new condition, like the skate on the right, then they probably can’t skate worth a damn. If the bottom of the skate isn’t torn up, then they aren’t really skating.

So anyway, I can’t actually skate worth a damn. A dude I knew back in college working at the coffee shop gave me the deck on the left, after he had ridden it to death, and got a new one. The skate on the right is mine. Nice and shiny!

Back in Santa Cruz, I lived by a little skate park. It was little more than a bowl with a little box knocked out of one side. My roommate Luke and I would skate over to the park, and goof around. I could roll into the bowl and skate around it a bit, that’s about it.

Meanwhile, all the 10 and 11 year old kids would be tearing it up. These kids are as tall as their skateboards, and they could skate circles around me. It was always a little dis-heartening.

Oh, well. Big, 6′-2″ dudes have a whole lot further to fall before their head hits the ground.

Consolation prize

I may not be an awesome skater, but I can make decent woodblock prints. Just finished the latest one of these little things, the one I started the other day.

It came out kinda interesting:

Woodblock Print, 4x4 inches, third in the series

Not sure what I’ll do with all of these yet, we’ll see.

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Tags: Skate, Woodblock Print
Posted in Art | 6 Comments »

Striving for Simplicity, and Skater Sketches

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Preliminary skater sketches

I’m one of those people that has a lot of stuff. My apartment always seems to be cluttered, I think that entropy is a little stronger than usual in my life.

Last night I reached a tilting point. I have been working late hours and not sleeping quite enough, and one of the results is that I have ignored a lot of the nuts and bolts of life. I spent last night tightening the nuts and picking up the bolts, taking care of laundry, dishes, and most of all de-cluttering my desk.

This morning I woke up to a clean desk with my computers, drawing supplies, carving tools, and the most basic of office tools. The simplicity and cleanliness breathed new life into my morning work.

A nice clean work space makes everything nicer.

New (No) Work

My emphasis on cleanliness kept me away from this series of skater prints I have been working on. I have one in progress though, so I thought I would show you how I make these things.

I start out with a few quick sketches, like you see on the right. These are little more than scribbles, to get the basic gist of the shapes, movement, and energy I am trying to get.

I think about the overall movement in the sketch first of all, then later I fill it in with the structural details of the body. It is very easy to draw figures that look stiff and sorta awkward, it takes a bit more work to make the figures look like they are moving. I don’t always completely succeed, but that is where my mind is.

Pencil Sketch for the 3rd Skater Woodblock

Once I’m done with the quick sketches, I do a more fleshed out sketch, where I really work out how I want the print to look. Check it out on the left

I build up these sketches with darker and darker pencil lines. I start with a very hard pencil, usually a 4H, sometimes a 6H.

Quick note about pencils: Pencils are designated by how hard or soft the graphite is. Harder graphite makes a finer, lighter line, softer graphite makes a darker, “smooshier” line. The range is from 9H (the hardest), to 9B (the softest). HB is right in the middle, #2 pencils are typically HB.

Altogether, the scale is: 9B, 8B, …, 2B, B, F, HB, B, 2B, …, 8B, 9B.

So back to the sketch, I use a 4H to sketch the basic shapes. After I have gotten this fairly well determined, I use a 2H to continue to flesh out the drawing. I use the 2H until the drawing starts to take shape.

last I switch to a soft pencil, a 6B, to really nail the linework. These woodblock prints will be printed in black and white, with no grayscale. The soft pencil puts a very dark line on the paper, and it duplicates the effect that a carved block will have fairly well.

The other advantage of using a soft pencil is that they do not hold a sharp point for longer than a few lines. It is difficult to get a very fine line with the woodblocks that I am using, so using the softer pencil gives me a better idea of what I will realistically be able to carve.

Put it on Wood

Third skater block, carving in progress

When I’m happy with the sketch, I draw the image again in pencil on the block. I usually again start with the 4H, but have to be careful, because the pencil will scratch the block surface if I press too hard. I follow the same pattern as with the paper sketch, I switch to a 2H, then eventually a 6B. When the 6B drawing is done, I start carving.

As I carve, I continually remark the block with my 6B pencil, because the graphite smears away as I work. I also tip the pencil on the side, and rub it over the carved areas, to get an idea of how the block will look when I roll it with ink.

The carving takes a while, especially delicate areas like the hands and face. The block you see on the right is my progress after about 2 hours of carving.

The head and the left arm are carved, but that is it. This block probably has another 2 or 3 hours of carving to do.

And of course, what was I listening to when I worked on this?

Crucifix – Dehumanization
Operation Ivy – Energy
Final Conflict – Ashes to Ashes
Bad Religion – ’80 – ‘85

It’s just punk rock.

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Tags: Punk Rock, Skate, Sketch Book, Woodblock Print
Posted in Art | 8 Comments »

More Punk, More Woodblock Prints

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Punk rock does it again.

I had fun the night before making a silly little print, so instead of catching up on sleep (I was only up till midnight last night though), I made another print. Another skater dude print. Good times!

Rise Above, 4x4 inches, Woodblock Print

It’s pretty much the same thing as I did before, a dude with a skateboard who looks kinda excited about the fact that he has a skateboard. Who wouldn’t be excited about riding a skateboard?

Actually, all this talk makes me want to grab my skate out of the closet and start bombing down these hills I live on. Anyway, I know I can’t skate worth a darn anymore, and 6′-2″ is a long way for my head to fall before it hits the ground.

This idea is just a repeat from the night before. I don’t know why I did the same thing over again, this isn’t on my schedule or anything, I just enjoy making these things. I may make a few more of these, we’ll see. I have to deliberate with myself. It’s not like these goofy little prints require a ton of practice, they are just fun.

I only printed 4 of these last night, because I was tired by the time I got around to printing. I may carve a little more on this, I think I want to see how it will look if I carve a white line around the figure, to separate him from the lines in the background.

We’ll see. Maybe I won’t carve any more. It’s just punk rock, right? Rise above.

Important stuff

This print was brought to you by some great early 80’s hardcore:

T.S.O.L. – T.S.O.L.
Agent Orange – Living in Darkness
SNFU – And No One Else Wanted To Play
Black Flag – The First Four Years
Black Flag – Damaged
Minutemen – Paranoid Time
Minutemen – The Punch Line
Redd Kross – Born Innocent

I can guarantee I won’t toil away my hours tonight, I got something to do. I won’t be home. If you were hoping that I would somehow have yet another of these little prints done tomorrow, I won’t.

It’s also punk rock to skip days.

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Tags: Punk Rock, Skate, Woodblock Print
Posted in Art | 7 Comments »

All Work and No Play makes Deacon Listen to Skate Punk all Night and Make Woodblock Prints

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

Horse Bites, Dog Cries by D.I. One of the better punk rock records ever.

I didn’t intend to stay up till 3am last night.

I’ve been in the Spice Mines (DayJob) all weekend, trying to get caught up for a deadline. This put a huge damper on my weekend, when I usually put in a lot of time working on art. I got home around 8pm last night, after a 10 hour day in the office. I packed up a few orders, and relaxed for a bit.

My mistake was to listen to “Horse Bites, Dog Cries”, quite possibly the most perfect punk rock record ever. I got fired up, and grabbed my sketch book. Then I remembered I have a bunch of small 4″x4″ woodblocks.

Before I knew it, I was sketching out an idea for a quick little woodblock print. 10 to 15 minutes later, I had a decent enough sketch on paper, so I re-drew the image on the block, and carved for a good 3 hours or so.

I rolled out some black ink, and printed up 8 copies of this silly little image. It’s not meant to be anything groundbreaking, just a funny little image of a dude on a skateboard.

Static On The Brain, 4x4 inches, Woodblock Print

I am gonna be wiped out all day because I stayed up till 3am, and my alarm went off at 6:30.

…though it took me till 7:15 to roll out of bed.

I have been a bit frustrated lately that DayJob has required all my time, and has put printmaking on hold for a few weeks. It felt good to make a little something. Even a silly little something.

What really fired me up was listening to some awesome music. This print is brought to you by the following albums (I listened to D.I. and Suicidal twice):

D.I. – Horse Bites, Dog Cries
Circle Jerks – Group Sex
Dead Kennedys – In God We Trust, Inc.
D.I. – Team Goon
Adolescents – Adolescents
Wasted Youth – Reagan’s In
Suicidal Tendencies – Suicidal Tendencies
7 Seconds – Walk Together, Rock Together

All albums I recommend if you want to get your early 80’s punk rock fix.

A Few Things Learned

1 – Washi paper accepts the ink on the block far better than cotton rag paper. The paper I have been using for my last project is Rives BFK, a heavy, thick paper. It is meant for lithography or intaglio, not block printing.

A few weeks ago I placed an order for a selection of Washi papers. Tonight was the first time I used these papers, and the more delicate washi takes the ink far easier than the cotton rag paper.

2 – When an ink maker calls their ink “Intense Black”, they might mean it. This stuff is a mess, and is gonna be stuck under my fingernails for a good week or so.

Oh well.

The Real Lesson

The real lesson of this whole thing is not to listen to awesome music, because it will make you do awesome stuff, and you won’t sleep. This is the danger of Punk Rock music.

I will probably end up giving these away as promotions, or selling them for a few bucks. In this case, the doing was far more important than the product.

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Tags: Punk Rock, Skate, Woodblock Print
Posted in Art | 2 Comments »

Woodblock Prints Are Always v1.0

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

A woodblock print, when done right, requires planning.

When I carve a chunk of wood from a woodblock, it is gone. No ink prints there. There is no ctrl+z. No undo. I can’t paint over it. There is no eraser.

Cutting wood is final, and a woodblock print requires planning.

When I print the woodblocks, it is an event, like a party I have been planning for weeks. A party is just the result of all the planning that goes into it.

When my subject matter is an array of leaves, I do not have to be exacting with my x-acto knife, I can let my hand influence the result as I carve. I don’t have to plan quite so thoroughly. In fact, I can sorta “wing it”. The art process is done as I carve the block (more on this “art process” soon).

This is the party where you run to the store, get 2 cases of beer, a handle of smirnov, O.J., cran, and some chips and salsa to throw on the table. Invite your friends and let whatever happens happen.

When making a woodblock print of a person, however, each line, each shape, and each cut is planned. Aftar all, a leaf that is a little off still looks like a leaf. A hand that is a little off looks funny, and amatuer.

I am thoroughly planning this party. I’m assembling the right guest list, arranging the seating, picking the music, and choosing the menu.

After all, this print has to be right. “Good enough” is good enough for some things, but not this print.

This planning is the artistic process. The creative and emotional decisions happen now, before I touch a block of wood. By the time I carve the blocks, the only decisions left will be aesthetics and design.

So, I’ve been drawing. The 4th version of this image is sitting next to me on my desk. The first was a small sketch, an outline of my concept (those that watch my flickr feed have seen this one). The next was a quick sketch on a larger size paper. I broke out the ruler for the third drawing to work out the space of the image (perspective, vanishing points, that sort of thing).

The current drawing puts it all together — I’m working on the breakdown of colors and on perfecting the details of the image, mostly the hands and face.

I’ve got another 2 revisions ahead of me before I put knife to wood. Since this next print will include an image of a person, I have to work and re-work the figure to get the drama and the pathos into it. Without that, the art is little more than decorative illustration.

If I were selling an ebook, or a video series, I could release version 0.5, then update everyone with versions 0.6 through 1.0 as I complete them (a good idea, with digital products).

…but I sell art. There can be only one version of every woodblock print, version 1.0. No updates are possible, no revisions are allowed once I sell you the print.

This means I have to work the image, and continue to work it, until it is ready for final release.

It’s keeping me busy.

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Tags: Progress, Woodblock Print
Posted in Art | 2 Comments »

I Finished One Hundred and One Woodblock Prints. What’s Next?

Monday, February 8th, 2010

I genuinely thought this would be easy.

Making one-hundred and one unique, all-different woodblock prints turned out to be tremendous work.

The background

In case you don’t know..

Last May (or so), I made a simple wager with Dave. I would make 101 Woodblock prints before he wrote 101 articles about Wordpress.

I started printing the day before my birthday, the last day of my 30th year. I started with a couple woodblocks and a couple linoleum blocks, and along with my buddy Patrick, spent the day mashing ink against paper.

I thought I would be finished in a month or two, but I seemed to underestimate the amount of work this would take. A little over 8 months after I started, on Superbowl Sunday, I printed the last run on the last print, right around midnight.

This project was about 10 times larger than I thought it would be.

Dave won the bet many months ago, and got a thriving website as a prize.

I’ve got ink-stained hands and a stack of artwork.

What’s happening to these 101 prints?

They are for sale.

Print Number 80. This and many more like it are part of the 101 Woodblock Series. At this low price, they don't come framed though..

And dirt cheap, for the time being.

As I started to finish these prints, I decided to sell them to my email newsletter subscribers (and ONLY to my email subscribers) for the amount that my materials cost me. That’s $3.55 each, plus $5 for shipping.

Like I said, dirt cheap.

I decided to sell them for this price until I finished all one-hundred and one. Which of course, happened last night. I still need to sign, title and number these, and I need to scan each one, so the price isn’t going up yet.

On February 22, the price increases to something reasonable, $20 or $30 per print. Still cheap, but not dirt cheap.

Sign up for my newsletter, and you will be sent a link to the gallery page where you can see every print, and buy at the current “pre-release” price. Click the word “newsletter” to sign up.

Ok, sales pitch over. You know if $8.50 is a deal for a work of hand-printed art.

What’s next?

Dave was up late last night, and called when he saw my twitter post hit. He gave good advice – don’t stop, don’t take a break.

The temptation is to “take a break” and take some time away from making prints to “recharge” or some such nonsense.

As usual, however, Dave and I were on the same page. What he didn’t know is that I had already started the early work for my next woodblock print. I spent half an hour or so Saturday morning taking reference photos, I’ll do some sketches tonight, and I should be carving the first blocks by next weekend.

Time for a Change

A sketch of my nephew, from a visit last December

If you’ve taken a liking to the sort of images I’ve created so far, you’re out of luck.

I’m shifting gears.

The 101 Woodblock Prints were influenced by design sensibilities. I focused as much on color, balance, shape, and other design considerations as I did on imagery.

I’ll be making a shift towards figurative woodblock prints (pictures of people). I want to convey drama, emotion, and pathos. I’m not exactly sure what shape this will take, I’ll find out.

(If I ever use the word “emo” to describe my work, however, you are free to punch me)

My plan is to produce one edition of prints each month for the rest of the year. I’m done making each print unique for the time being, I want to return to traditional printmaking, reproducing the same image a number of times.

What’s next? Lots more work.

No breaks, and no brakes.

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Tags: 101, figurative, irrational drive, Woodblock Print
Posted in Art | 12 Comments »

Sales Pitch for Men: Give Her Hand Made Art for Valentine’s

Friday, February 5th, 2010

You need a gift for your woman.

Art makes a wonderful gift. It can be so difficult to buy, and I want to make that easier.

Coincidentally, I happen to have some hand made original art for sale…

Maybe we can scratch each others back (so to speak). Now, let me hock my wares.

Cheaper than Chocolates

101 Woodblock Series - Number 76

I am selling the prints from my current project, the 101 Woodblock Series, for dirt cheap. Like, a-latte-at-Starbucks cheap.

These aren’t sissy print reproductions. Each color is printed with a hand carved block. The block is inked by hand with a roller, the paper is pressed against the block, by hand, to transfer the ink.

Each one made by hand. Each one is different, and unique.

Why so cheap?

Nobody knows who I am. Yet. I’m selling my art cheap so it is irresistible, and you learn who I am. Maybe you will like some of the art I make in the future too (it won’t be so cheap though).

101 Woodblock Series - Number 77

Anyway…

You need to get something lovely for your woman. I have something lovely to sell to you. You then give it to your woman, and she will be happy.

I’ll even tell you how to frame it. Easy Peazy.

Here’s the hoop: you have to be on my email list to get the art. I’m only selling these woodblock prints to email subscribers, and it is gonna stay that way until I finish the project.

When it’s all done, anyone will be able to buy these, no email subscription required. The price is gonna go up though, and you’re gonna have to give me bills with lesser known presidents on them to purchase (I know Jackson “retrieved” land from indians and drove bankers nuts, but what did Hamilton do?).

Right now, for email subscribers, these cost you a few pictures of Washington (with a Lincoln to cover shipping).

To entice you more, I put away the manly brown, red, green, and gray colors I usually use and printed some of them with blue, pink, purple — nice Valentines colors.

(I am sweet and considerate)

Thinkin’ about it?

101 Woodblock Series - Number 63

Want to take a look?

As of this writing, I have about 35 unique prints completed and available. The images on this page are just a sample of what I’ve got waiting to show you in the “back room”.

You just gotta sign up for my newsletter (you will get an “opt-in” email first to make sure you really want to be on my list), and the first regular email I send will have a link to check all of the woodblock prints out.

You can even unsubscribe after you check out the art (it’s you, not me, I get it). No big deal. I use one of the good email list services that make it easy to unsubscribe, not one of those shisty ones that make it impossible.

Any orders I receive by Sunday night (Feb 7) will be shipped to you by priority mail Monday morning (Feb 8). It will arrive mid to late week next week. These are shipped in big envelopes with rigid cardboard to make sure they stay flat while in transit.

If you think your significant one might like some original art, go ahead and sign up by clicking here.

If you decide you really just want one for yourself, and don’t buy one as a gift, that’s O.K.

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Tags: 101, Valentine's Day
Posted in Art | 12 Comments »

New Work Table = Productivity and Quality of Life Increase

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

Out with the old, in with the new!

I replaced the dinky folding table I was using as a printmaking work station with a new, improved, modular station of might:

3-part printmaking and painting work area

This work area gives me plenty of room to work, and a lot of storage for my materials. Check out the in progress painting! It's a portrait of a small child.

My new station is made up of three tall work surfaces (ie. kitchen carts) that sit side by side. The tricky thing about finding good furniture was height. Desks are made for sitting at, not standing at, and shelves tend to not be deep enough to give a good work area. Kitchen is made to be used standing up, and addressed both these problems.

This work surface is actually 3 separate carts that can be individually be easily moved. When I was shopping, I thought I was making a concession by buying 3 of these and setting them next to each other, rather than buy one large work table, but I was wrong to think that.

The modular nature of this work area is a benefit. I can move one of them around as needed to use as a stand to paint on (or do anything else, I guess). I am not confined to working along a particular wall.

Instant Upgrade

The effect on my workspace was immediate, and two-fold: I have a nicer work area, and this is a far better tool than my previous work surface (a small folding table).

The new work station fits well into my small apartment.

I do all of my work in my small studio apartment, so I have to live with my work area. This looks nicer, and already is keeping me more organized, both of which make my living space more enjoyable.

The real advantage of this work area is it will be easier to work at. It is taller than my previous work table, so I won’t be bending over for hours at a time when I am printing. I can move the painting section around my apartment as needed, I have been freed up to work where I would like.

As soon as I got this station set up, I knew I made the right decision to upgrade. This work area feels more professional, and I will be able to make more professional work here.

Invest in Yourself

The quality of our work areas effects our performance, I am a firm believer of this. When I have a messy desk, it is harder for me to get to work at my computer. Any impedance to our ability to work will make it harder to get stuff done.

It is always worth the time and expense to upgrade a work area. My upgrade has already made me more productive (and I haven’t even used it yet), since I was able to move all of my painting supplies off of my desk (my other work area) and onto a cart.

If you have been thinking about upgrading to a better work area, or getting better work furniture, do it. You will be happy you did.

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Tags: painting, Printmaking, Productivity
Posted in Art | 2 Comments »

A Free Monoprint Available (a mono-what?)

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

Yes, I have a free print to give away to somebody, just read to the end [update, 11:38am, Jason claimed the print, thanks for giving it a good home!].

It’s a weird abstract thing. Hope you like it.

But first, a short journey into the studio…

Take one big mess…

After a weekend of printing, my ink palette looks like this:

After a weekend of printing, I have bits of various colors, all partially used.

I have dabs of ink everywhere, and I keep a dollop of every color mixed, in case I use it again. The ink is left out overnight from Saturday to Sunday, 1 day isn’t enough for the ink to dry. It usually takes at least 2 days for the ink to develop a skin.

When I finish printing on Sunday, I scrape off all the unused ink and throw it away, because it will have started to harden by Wednesday, the next day I have any time to print.

Usually, quite a bit of ink gets thrown in the can.

Nothing wasted. Kinda..

I found 1 last use for this ink however.

I masked off the edges of a sheet of paper with painters tape, like so:

The tape protects the margins of the paper from the ink

Lesson learned: painters tape isn’t the best choice when working with this paper (Rives BFK). The tape sticks a bit to the cotton rag, and roughs up the paper when the tape is removed.

Next, roll out all of the ink left on my palette to one big flat mess, and plop the masked paper down on it.

Rub the back of the paper to transfer the ink, then removed the paper from the palette:

Left: the paper is pressed against the ink palette; Right: the paper, after it is removed from the ink surface

The ink left on my palette is a huge mess! This ended up taking more time to clean up than usual.

Moving on, I remove the tape masking the edges of the paper, and end up with an interesting monoprint:

Palette-17 Jan, monoprint, paper size: 11x15, image size approximately 9x12

A Monowhat?

A monoprint is made by painting ink on a plate of some sort. Glass and metal plates are commonly used, but a flat plate of any material will work.

The plate, with the hand applied ink, is pressed against paper to transfer the image. Usually, only one print is made from each design painted on a plate. Most of the ink transfers to the paper, and needs to be re-applied by hand.

Each monoprint is unique. They are usually labeled as 1/1 in the bottom left corner, meaning it is the first print out of a total of 1 made, an edition of 1.

Monoprinting is a method “in between” painting and printing. All printmaking processes have two characteristics in common:

Ink is applied to an element of some sort (metal plate, woodblock, limestone, silkscreen, etc), then transferred to the paper
The process is repeatable, allowing identical images to be made

Monoprinting has one of these characteristics, the ink is applied to a plate, and transferred to the paper, but not the other. Since the ink is applied by hand, without mechanical control of where the ink is applied, each iteration cannot be duplicated.

It borrows from both painting and printmaking to form a new, unique medium.

Free Monoprint (only 1 available)

This print was an experiment, and a way to have some fun after a long weekend of printing. The resulting abstract print speaks for itself — however it is up to you to interpret what it says.

Only 1 available

I played with the ink, and asked myself what will happen when I mix all my leftover colors, and is more a product of chance than of forethought.

This print documents a weekend of work on the 101 Woodblock Print Project, and is a companion piece (of sorts) to the larger project. For me, the “meaning” in this print is the history and documentation of the work I am doing on the larger overall project.

Do you like the image? I’ll put this in an envelope and send it to the first person that sends me an email requesting it and includes their address. I’ll pay for shipping. All you have to do is make the request. To make this easier, I’ve got a contact page.

I’ve only got one of these, so it is first come, first serve.

[Update: Jason beat you to the punch! The print has been claimed]

My Artist’s Cerebral Struggles

This isn’t the kind of artwork I usually make, which is why I am giving it away. This monoprint is the result of following a process largely relying on chance, not on forethought into the design and composition of the image.

The art I usually make is well-planned and thought out. I don’t rely on chance and randomness. Even when I take chances and take risks, they are calculated risks.

Many artists create art closer to the method I followed with this print, allowing chance and the nuances of a process to influence the artwork. The art is more of a document of a process than a composed image.

Both methods are valid, and of those methods, I feel compelled to make composed, planned art. It is difficult for me to allow chance to have a large roll in the final product.

What do you think? Do you mind art that relies more on chance than on composition? What do you think of the method I used to make this monoprint, randomly rolling out my unused ink?

New Year’s Painting Goal Has Visible Results

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

What are you doing in 2010?

2010 is the year for doing stuff. If you are not doing or making something, you are wasting your time.

My plans for 2010 are rather ambitious. To follow through on them, I am going to have to do ridiculous amounts of work.

I’m Ok with that.

One of these plans is to do 50 paintings this year. One a week.

How to get ‘er done

Self Portrait, Oil on Canvas, 12x12. First painting of 2010.

The structure I have set up for myself is pretty simple. I paint on Monday night and Tuesday night, starting around 7pm. I work till 10 or 11 pm. The painting is finished when I go to sleep Tuesday night, even if it isn’t complete.

The results of my first week’s work are sitting up here on my left. (I paint myself a lot because I am always a willing model)

This painting is not complete, but it is finished. This is as much as I got done on Monday and Tuesday night. I may work on it again a little bit this weekend when I have some free time, but then again, maybe not.

I imagine that this painting requires about 6 more hours of work to complete — it is about half done right now. The major shapes and areas are defined, but everything needs more work to flesh it out and make it complete.

Why half finish a painting?

When I was getting my art degree, I made a decision to pursue printmaking as my emphasis rather than painting. This had more to do with the school than my interests.

UC Santa Cruz had a marvelous printmaking facilites and equipment, and a marvelous lithography instructor. I had the oppurtunity to get a deep understanding of printmaking.

I also knew that if I studied painting, all that I would get was a lot of time to paint. This had to do with the school and the instructors. There was very little actual instruction beyond the introductory courses. Most of the advanced courses that I would have been in were little more than a lot of time to spend painting.

I put off painting, because I realized that I could get a lot of time to paint on my own, and learn nearly as much on my own as I would have in school.

I set this “painting a week” plan to get that year of painting that I put off in school. This is mostly about regaining my painting chops than producing finished work.

I’ll make paintings that you can buy for thousands of dollars next year.

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Tags: goals, New Year, painting, plan
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Original Fine Art, Woodblock Prints, and Printmaking

Archive for the ‘Art’ Category

Poser Skates and Woodblock Prints

Consolation prize

Striving for Simplicity, and Skater Sketches

New (No) Work

Put it on Wood

More Punk, More Woodblock Prints

Important stuff

All Work and No Play makes Deacon Listen to Skate Punk all Night and Make Woodblock Prints

A Few Things Learned

The Real Lesson

Woodblock Prints Are Always v1.0

I Finished One Hundred and One Woodblock Prints. What’s Next?

The background

What’s happening to these 101 prints?

What’s next?

Time for a Change

Sales Pitch for Men: Give Her Hand Made Art for Valentine’s

Cheaper than Chocolates

Why so cheap?

Anyway…

Thinkin’ about it?

New Work Table = Productivity and Quality of Life Increase

Instant Upgrade

Invest in Yourself

A Free Monoprint Available (a mono-what?)

Take one big mess…

Nothing wasted. Kinda..

A Monowhat?

Free Monoprint (only 1 available)

My Artist’s Cerebral Struggles

New Year’s Painting Goal Has Visible Results

How to get ‘er done

Why half finish a painting?

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