I took a Collagraph/Carborundum Printing workshop at Pyramid Atlantic this past weekend, from Charles Cohan, and enjoyed it very much. I also learned a great deal about the processes that are involved. I made this print from a sketch of an old Jowly Gent that I made on the Metro. It was blown up, transfered to a screen and then the screen was used to print wood glue on a Masonite board. The wet glue was sprinkled with carborundum and left to set up a moment. The excess was tapped off and the plate dried overnight. Once sealed, it was inked, wiped and printed intaglio style on an etching press on dampened paper. It was great fun and I really like the fuzzy edges. (It reminded me of the line in Max's Monoprint.)Each print above is on 11" x 15" paper. The one on the left is the first pull. The one on the right is the ghost. The ghost is printed without re-inking. It uses just what ink is left on the plate from the first printing. I like them both!I also had a fine time rummaging around in the drawers full of handmade paper that is for sale at Pyramid Atlantic. They have a thriving papermaking program there and some of the paper was lovely. I plan on printing on it this weekend in my Lino Class at the Art League.
It can't all be this grim and dour, can it? Maybe they all start to look how I feel? No! It was a nice day today. (If you'd like, click on the image to see a larger version of it.) The blue stain on the right is where I am experimenting with ink colors in my Pentel Waterbrush. That was Dr. Ph. Martin's Hydrus Fine Art Watercolor in Ultramarine, diluted. I have now settled on a diluted version of Noodler's Walnut. Very warm and cozy. Which I like better.
I attended a weekend drawing workshop at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, and enjoyed the day spent in the historic Cast Hall most of all. It's a remarkable warren of lofty rooms in the back of the adjacent Museum. In it are dozens and dozens of dusty life-sized reproductions of sculpture from all eras in Western art. I especially loved the look of a massive David looming over the top of a what? Yes, a blackboard! Delightful! I felt the ghosts of students past, all intense and devoted and serious, bent double over their drawing boards. Scratching away with their slender sticks of "vine charcoal".The class itself was very much about how to do faithful and meticulous reproductions of whatever was in front of you. Valuable skill! Priceless ability! To be diligently sought after! Nonetheless, I liked the quick sketches that I did much better. Is this laziness on my part?
I just liked him best. Just for scale, this is an 18" x 24" sketchbook. Much beyond my regular sketchbook size. But fun!
I took a Collagraph/Carborundum Printing workshop at Pyramid Atlantic this past weekend, from Charles Cohan, and enjoyed it very much. I also learned a great deal about the processes that are involved. I made this print from a sketch of an old Jowly Gent that I made on the Metro. It was blown up, transfered to a screen and then the screen was used to print wood glue on a Masonite board. The wet glue was sprinkled with carborundum and left to set up a moment. The excess was tapped off and the plate dried overnight. Once sealed, it was inked, wiped and printed intaglio style on an etching press on dampened paper. It was great fun and I really like the fuzzy edges. (It reminded me of the line in Max's Monoprint.)
