Clay Mono Printing - Part 2

Sorry to all those who came here with most of the images missing~ I am not sure what happened but I do think the images are showing up now. How embarrassing. Thank you, CLC, for letting me know!

Here are individual images of the prints I pulled. You just get revved up when the class is over. We had one person who had taken a workshop last year and he said at the end of the weekend that he was finally starting to grasp the possibilities of what he could do with this medium. Mary Lynn said it took her at least 4 workshops before she developed her own style. I think I have a pretty good idea of the direction I want to go in the next class I take. It was a good break from oil painting and gave me a greater understanding of history and layering.

First Print

Here is the first print I did. I learned after this print to not jump right in and cover it up with kaolin. That there was a possibility I could pull either a second print or using scraps I could maybe pull sections from the plate into a new print. It is a learning process. In this one I used some plastic stars, netting, a foam bar with 3 holes to use as stencils. The blue swirl is called a transfer. You squirt the color onto newsprint; let it dry; then transfer it to your plate spritzing it with water to release the transfer. The dark yellow is also a transfer. The black is dried kaolin (ie chalk) grated through a strainer onto wherever you want it. It is such a fascinating way to work.

2nd print/plate painted on

2nd Print, three sections reprinted. Not as strong color

On these scraps I went back over the plate without adding anymore pigment. I wanted to see what would come up. I did not put but two coats of the solid color on top of my stencils. The more layers you lay down, the more you can get out of it. So notice on the third print over, the blue has come up from the first days print with the stars. It is crazy how the prior 'plate' comes through on successive prints.

On the second full day, I worked on two plates. Michael had prepared a second plate for all of us, but Mary Lynn was generous enough to share one of her 8x8 well used plates with me. With each use of a plate, history is being made. I will attempt to show you what that means. On my first try, I laid down ochre as the background. The plate came with that grayish mauve color. It doesn't look like I put down any layers of kaolin between that and the ochre. I then put that raspberry color over that and made the polka dots etc on top of the ochre. I printed without the plate being the correct dryness/wetness. This was way too wet. So it came out without any real crispness to edges and lots of the mauve coming through. along the edges you can also see different colors coming up.

8x8, printed while too wet

Here is the same 8x8 plate as I thought to recreate the first print I did, but I then went off on a tangent. You can see a few different patterns peaking through. I cut the circles out of newsprint as well as a frame and then went over it all with the white kaolin. Well, someone decided to help me and put a second coat of the white covering up my little newspaper circles. I had neglected to take a photo before adding the white overcoat so I would see where to look to pull up the circles! Hence the scrapes through the image as I tried to locate them. Yet, I think it needed those scrapes. The whited specs are from the clay coming up from these scrapes. I just added them back in to the mix.

8x8, second attempt, new background

8x8, second attempt; second print pulled

I can't decide which way I like this set of prints but you can see from this second pull from the plate how much is coming up from previous prints. Even in the scrapes I did, there is purple coming in! I did not use purple! And see the pink dots coming through from my first attempt on this plate that didn't come through on the print right above this one. It is so much fun to see what happens. It was a fascinating journey where you must leave your expectations at the door.

Now that I have had this little introduction I may just have to do it again. I now have some ideas on direction knowing a little more about the process. I am sure there is still so much to learn and experiment with.

Here is the link to sign up for the summer classes if you are so inclined. I am sure there will be more weekend workshops come fall.

Business of Art part 2

It has been awhile since I have had to put on an art opening - almost 4 years. The mind is amazing in how it will block certain memories. It feels like I have never done an opening before and I had definitely forgotten how much work it takes. This weekend I finalized the press release and got it sent to two publications that have a minimum of 3 weeks prior to the event to submit. Friday afternoon, in my rush to get my files uploaded for the postcard inviation, I blew it in so many ways. First, I forgot to compress the file and then I sent them the wrong image format, even though I had prepped a copy correctly. I tried to contact the company to "fix" my errors, but no reply. I expect I will try again this morning. I had put my mailing list in a database program after my last opening but have yet to try to print labels from it - this is an adventure I have been putting off, and luckily, since I won't have the postcards for awhile, can put off a little longer. Next I will need to create an email inviation. I was able to make progress on one of the paintings I want to have at the opening this weekend, so I am starting to feel a little better about it all. Friday, I was a basket case.

The opening will be in conjunction with Old South Pearl Street First Friday Art Walk on May 7. I will be highlighted at Bell Studio and Gallery, 1573 South Pearl Street, Denver CO 80210. The Art Walk hours are 4 -8 p.m. and I will also be at the gallery all day on Saturday, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. I have a one month contract with Bell Studio and Gallery to see if I can manage working there one day a week as well as my "day" job and still get some painting in while not neglecting my family. It will be a juggling act, to be sure. I have yet to talk to my supervisor about this arrangement, so the feasability is still very tenuous.

I do like the fact that Bell Studio and Gallery is so close to my home, and that it is a neighborhood business. I am planning on making the opening exhibit a "local" show, with paintings from the neighborhood and the metro area. Maybe one or two paintings from France. I have limited space so I must be judicious in my choices. Any volunteers to keep me on the right track? We all know how hard it is for an artist to know what works of their own to highlight.

The Not so fun part of Art

I am only writing today because I want to share with other Denver artists a lesson learned. Being new to the world of shipping paintings, the process is definitely an eye opener. And the paintings I have had to ship have been large paintings. Today I took the Alley Hollyhock painting to get it boxed and shipped to arrive in Scottsdale on Wednesday. Unfortunetly, it has a large thick frame on it, being 3" deep and 4.5" all the way around. It added a lot to the cost of shipping, I found out. I went to 4 shipping centers today, one refusing to even pack it, before I found Navis Pack and Ship. Navis is located on 2306 S. Colorado Blvd. The young man was helpful, pleasant, and was going to build the box for the painting to size, instead of fitting it in a too large of a standard size (UPS) for which I had to pay for the extra size and packing materials, of course. With insurance, Navis was about $100 less than what UPS quoted me. The other point was that I needed to include a return label in the event the painting doesn't sell. Navis will do that and charge me only if the label is used. UPS I have to pay up front and then submit paperwork to get reimbursed if the label is not used. In the defense of UPS, I did use them for my two prior art shipments and all arrived in good shape to the best of my knowledge. But if all goes well with this latest and largest painting, Navis will have my future business.

A Test for those of you are interested

One of my painting buddies told me recently that she was told that the best way to evaluate your work before sending it in to a juried show is to view the pieces you are thinking about in Thumbnail size; that the juror has to look at so many paintings that the strength of the painting in thumbnail can be a determinig factor of its selection or rejection. Here is a site to check out alot of paintings in thumbnail and you will see what I mean; here is a webpage of works sent in for a juried show that will take place the end of April. If you were the judge, and had to choose 10 out of all of these (with many more yet to come) what criteria would you settle on? I can see where I tend toward those that have the best composition with strong value relationships. Those that read all one value, no matter how colorful or well rendered, pale next to the strength of good light, middle and dark value shapes. The subject is secondary.

How to comment on a blog

I have had more than a few people write me via e-mail commenting on this blog. They all say they don't know how to publish a comment. It is a little intimidating the first time but it does get easier and even becomes fun! The way to publish a comment is to click on the little link that says "comment." This takes you to a page with a text box, and a list of comments already posted, if there are any. You type in the text box. You do not have to have a google account to post. You can be anonymous, or you can use existing accounts from a variety of IM accounts, etc. You must do the word verification text box or it will not go forward. You can preview your comment before posting. It is as easy as that.

The other comment I have had made is not feeling qualified to critique or judge art. I don't expect everyone to be comfortable with this, but if you have a reaction to a piece of art, say so. Art is very relative to the viewer. It will not appeal to all people. But something may jump out at you after you have passed over many. Posting photos of my plein aire work helps me to see what needs to be done, which is why I comment on it. A photo shows things that I do not see because I am too close to it. A photo strips that emotional tie away. Some need touching up, some don't. Some need a major overhaul!

It should be easy to comment on the before and after. Either you like one better than the other or you don't. I have been reworking quite a few old paintings so there will continue to be more of these posts.