Woodcuts

For my final woodcut project I created a block using a dremel tool of a slide of cells from my microbiology textbook. Using different bits for the tool, I was able to achieve either lines or the stipple effect. It's a small woodcut (carved area is about 9"x12") which was nice because my previous one was so large. Once all the prints dried I gave them each a unique hand-coloring with watercolor. This is an "edition" of six unique hand-colored prints.

Two-Plate Three-Color Print

This is the final print for the image I posted a sketch of awhile ago (here). I printed it using yellow and purple like in the sketch but didn't like the way it looked, so I switched the yellow ink to magenta because the purple ink is mixed with magenta so I thought they would flow better together. The print didn't come out exactly as I was hoping, to get them to look the way I wanted they had to be exact copies of each other and I wasn't as precise with my aquatint as I had hoped. I still like the way it came out and learned a lot from it--there's a pink plate with black a la poupee (selective wiping with multiple colors on the same plate) in the purple and a purple plate with a la poupee in the pink--I wish I had a chance to take a photo of my color separation but had to turn it in for my critique. The colors are a little brighter in the actual print than the photo as well. I'm looking forward to doing more multi-plate prints in the future.

We did quick small charcoal drawings for my last two figure drawing classes, here are a few of them.

Two-Stage Woodcut

I had a hard time photographing this print because it's so big (about 16"x30") printed with silver ink so this is from an odd angle--it's a little distorted. It's a woodcut printed in two stages. For the first stage, I printed the back of the block with black. After it dried I printed the next layer, which was the cutout face in silver on top of the black background. I didn't like the way the block looked but after printing I am really happy with how it came out. The printing process was inspired by Picasso, who would print the back of the block in black and then the carved block in white so it would look like a line drawing--I just chose not to use white ink.

I never posted the final print of my first woodcut--so here it is!

It was handprinted using a wooden knob as a burnisher and carved out of pine. It's pretty small, 12x12 inches.

This is a digital sketch--which I never do, but being able to play with the opacity of different layers in Photoshop is really useful for figuring out plate overlay. I don't usually work in color either but I've had a lot of fun playing with different inks and how they look when they overlap each other when printed.

On a side note I've made my schedule for next semester and I'll be taking Abstract Drawing, Color Relief Printmaking, Monotype, Advanced Printmaking, Lithography, Artist's Books and African-American Art History. I'll also be a monitor in my school's printshop. It will be a busy semester with lots of printmaking!!

My portfolio was due in anatomy class today. These are a few of my skeletal studies I turned in. You can see a detail photo of the last drawing (the fullbody skeleton) by clicking here.

Here are some lifedrawings from the last couple weeks of class I never got the chance to post--they are all about 30 minute drawings.

Two 30-minute studies from Anatomy class this week.

Sketches

Two quick drawings of Ryan that I did for class.

Prints and Sketches

Here's 2 of my 20-minute drawings from my Anatomy and Figure Drawing class this week. The model didn't show up one day, so we drew from the skeleton and each other's hands.

Here is the final print of my plate after adding dremeling to the "smoke". I used hand-wiping to pull off some of the plate tone and make some of the white areas even brighter. You can compare it to one of the in-progress prints I posted a week ago. I'm finishing up editioning it now, and then it will be done.

Here's an "a la poupee" print of the plate. A la Poupee is a selective wiping technique where multiple ink colors are used on the same plate. For me and this plate, it was a very long process--it took about an hour and a half for me mix the ink and wipe the plate.

Since my friend asked me to teach a bookmaking demo at Northeastern in two weeks, I went back and looked at all the books I have made in the last year. I figured it would be a good opportunity to post a photo of a book I made for class last year. I used ink, watercolor, vellum and thread.

It's based off the city of Ersilia from Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities book.

Continued Prints

Only a few more days until this print is due! I added some spitbite today and hope to add some dremeling tomorrow or on Monday.

Anatomy Drawings

One of my major classes this semester is an Anatomy and Figure Drawing class. Here's a little bit of my recent work for that class.

Skull analysis and torso analysis, both drawn from a model skeleton.

Self-portrait and muscle analysis which was figured out from a textbook. The muscle analysis is drawn on vellum and overlays the face.

These are two 20-minute drawings we did in class to practice cross-contour shading.

Hopefully tomorrow night I'll have another state of my print done! I did a small amount of etching on it tonight and hope to add more aquatint tomorrow. If it doesn't get printed tomorrow, it will on Friday!

Prints Progress

I continued working on 2 of my prints today and yesterday: one intaglio print and one woodcut.

The intaglio print so far only contains etching. This is the second state of the print. At this point, I've added some spit bite on the white parts to give it a more of a gradient instead of just plain white and I did a little more etching to try and bring out some parts that looked a little flat, but it hasn't been printed yet!

Here's my first woodcut! It's a self portrait with a goose--and I just realized that I cut the goose's head off, which wasn't intentional! This was just a progress print anyway--I'm doing some more cutting on the goose's wings and using a stencil so the print comes out a little cleaner next time. I'll post a full photo once I've editioned it.

Tonight I'm working on drawings for my anatomy midterm--tomorrow I'll post some work that I've done throughout the semester in anatomy.

I've been thinking for a long time about how I want my websites to work, and I think I've finally figured it out.

My finished work will be available on my website (which is currently not finished) and will also be displayed on a tumblr that I am making for my art (which is currently non-existant). On this blogspot, I will show my sketches and process work (as well as the final pieces that those lead to).

I'll post some things I worked on today, and from the beginning of the semester, in a minute.