Evolution of an Eruption (& two randy blue fauns)

IMG_3873 Eruption

2013

relief print on paper with pochoir color addition

One of my goals in printmaking has been to create companions to my paintings, I have tried this before and it was an unfortunate failure. My brushwork didn’t seem to translate to relief prints; intaglio might be a better technique for this purpose.

But this semester I am focusing upon relief printing.  A current obsession happens to be  two fauns from a nearly completed painting The Temptation of St. Anthony in the Desert. The fauns play a supporting role but they charm me for personal reasons, I can certainly relate to the older faun, confused but still obviously vital, he just needs a bit of guidance.

I was determined to translate these two fauns into a relief print, but the process has been complicated. I first tried conventional black ink, handsome enough but did not capture the tension I was after.

IMG_3869 Eruption

 artist’s proof, relief print

My instructor suggested what he calls a rainbow roll- a two/three color roll of ink. I was not at all happy with this, might very well have to do with my aversion of rainbow rolls in general.  Too Haight Ashbury in my snotty opinion.

IMG_3852 Eruption

artist’s proof, “rainbow roll” relief print

I was after spots of color, that attracted the eye to the characters and to the situation. I did not want a hand colored, water color feeling; I wanted opaque blocks of color.  Clive Hicks-Jenkins suggested the stenciling method pochoir.  Initially I hesitated, I explained to Clive how orthodox my instructor can be, stenciling would not suffice.

Clive assured me that pochoir was an established and well respected practice some of the  most revered artist have used the technique to great effect.  Risking my instructors disapproval I gave it a shot.

I am very happy I did, thank you Clive!

As I was working with two colors, I made two stencils, first orangish-yellow, applying opaque acrylic paint rather lavishly. I  like how I was able to manipulate the colors, something that isn’t very easy to do with a roller.  Not a “pure’ printmaking technique, but ultimately visually satisfying.

IMG_3870I tackled the second color with a second stencil cut from conventional stencil paper. I t handles so nicely and reminded me of my decorative painting days.  One never knows how old tricks can be applied in a new fashion.

IMG_3872The final step was to apply a black print over the treated paper; using a carefully aligned template made the process a breeze.

I am happy to say my instructor was delighted, he noted registration  had gone awry- something I sincerely enjoy in this print- but otherwise he was quite pleased. He can take comfort in the fact that our  class “Bible”, Fritz Eichenberg’s monumental The Art of the Print, Masterpieces, History, Techniques (Abrams), seems to fully embrace the technique, echoing Clive’s endorsement. So I now have another technique  quasi mastered, aside from multiple color blocks ( and the odious technique of reduction relief).

Happy Clive spoke up. The final print though visibly its own statement is indeed in dialogue with its source, the randy little blue fauns from my St. Anthony.

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 detail of blue fauns, The Temptation of St.Anthony in the Desert,unfinished

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Semester ends soon and I will at last be able to return to painting. but for now I have several unfinished printing projects which seem promising.  I will post my progress in class as I finish up the projects.

Until that time, take care and much gratitude to Clive, our modern master,

LG

Ray Harryhausen, an undeniable influence

This morning I was sadly made aware of Ray Harryhausen’s death by Clive Hicks-Jenkin’s marvelous tribute to the great artist. Later over breakfast I read the details in this morning’s New York Times. A great man has died but his work will continue to inspire.

hary hausen and medusa:clash of the titans copyRay Harryhausen

b. June 29th 1920

d. May 7th 2013

Requiescat in Pace

It is blatantly obvious that Harryhausen has been a tremendous  personal influence ; a boyhood crush on his Jason and the Argonauts (1963) introduced me to a world previously unexplored.  Edith Hamilton with all of her literary skill was unable to tickle this little boy with sheer visual delight the way Harryhausen did. I was a snotty child and I distinctly remember chastising the film for its inaccuracies; it was not in accordance to Bullfinchian orthodoxy. Yet I sat entranced, I suppose it was the loincloths.

His work continues to influence me, so much so that the wonderful portrait of Harryhausen with his gorgeous Medusa was found in my resource file for the making of my  painting Andromedus.

img_3261Andromedus

2010

oil on canvas

30 by 40 inches

His greatest influence upon my work was his  keen sense of unworldliness that I so admire; recognizable  in time and place yet clearly rooted in the terrain of dreams. I try to capture that otherness and now with his passing I am more determined than ever to explore it. My work , like Harryhausen’s has a  certain “cheesiness”, I’m not unaware of that.  My avoidance of banal realism has in part  been due to a lack of interest  (and skill level) in examining the everyday.  Harryhausen’s delight in the mythical, the wondrous, encouraged me to continue on the  fanciful, Symbolist path.  

In closing the NYT obituary, Harryhausen was quoted  :

“If you make things too real, sometimes you bring it down to the mundane.”

Harryhausen avoided the mundane and left behind a glorious legacy, I thank him for that.

Until next time, take care,

LG

Hell Hath No Fury…

Just finished Fury, a character from my painting Temptation of Saint Anthony in the Desert.

She is part of a cast of  tempting characters and notably the most feminine ; although the Spouseman swears it is a portrait of him. I think his daffy.

 Anyway dashing off to meet him for our date night, but wanted to post today’s progress first.

IMG_3854detail from Temptation of Saint Anthony in the Desert

She has really developed from this little doodle-print I made ages ago.

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 Well I must get ready, until next time, take care,

LG

Revisiting the Dead Mother

Awhile back I posted a quick sketch of the Dead Mother and discussion about the subject ,link to post ; the following is a continuation upon the theme.

I’ve just finished it, I believe it is as far as I can or want to take it…for now.

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The Dead Mother

oil on canvas

20 by 30 inches

Symbolically it is a self portrait, the middle aged man finally realizing the breast is dry; analysis thanks to my psychologist. Or it is just a really creepy painting, best forgotten.

Until next time,

which I promise will have cheerier fare,

take care,

LG

Perversion Therapy, a new relief print

I mentioned earlier that I attended a two day conference last weekend in LA, devoted to Mesoamerican art and culture. Many prominent scholars were at hand, some personal heroes, I was enthralled.

One of the topics that many of the scholars returned to time and again was the issue of culture clash. Dr. Manuel Aguilar-Moreno, Professor of Art History, California State University, Los Angeles, summed up this clash as Culture A crashing into Culture B creating Culture C, a distinct and legitimate aesthetic.

This is a very appealing notion as the colonial period has for some time been dismissed as inferior to the indigenous  creative efforts and I assume to its Spanish roots. I have never felt this prejudice personally, Indian Christian art (Dr. Aguilar-Moreo’s phrase) always seemed terribly vital to me and brought  me great pleasure.

This quick little relief print, dashed off this afternoon is an attempt to capture that clash, the Christian God bringing the Maize God to his knees. It is the first state, done awkwardly with my trusted wooden spoon, I will clean it up a bit and make a proper series of prints when I return to class on Tuesday. But in the spirit of keeping up momentum I decided to post it.

IMG_3846Perversion Therapy

relief print on paper

That’s it for tonight, until next time, take care,

LG

Dispatch from the Wilderness

Several months ago I posted my intention to begin a new painting  The Temptation of St. Anthony of the Desert ; these few months later the painting is progressing well enough that I feel able to post an update. I have been working on it in between class assignments and several other smaller paintings.

It is a rather large painting, 36 by 48 inches. The image is a bit fuzzy as I’m having difficulty photographing the painting ; but as the painting is still unfinished a bit of fuzziness allows for progress. The sheet of paper, which I use to wipe off excess paint, hides the Abbot, he is of yet  just a sketch.

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Temptation of St. Anthony of the Desert

unfinished

oil on canvas 36 by 48 inches

As I have been noodling with the painting,  I am  as usual kept company by the pugs Rose and Viola. This image below explains my slow progress, Viola just demands a certain amount of attention, she is my greatest Temptation.

562180_10200625206982204_1520932710_nViola, the vigilant studio assistant

I’m taking a break, my eyes grow weary with  the tight work, I have a Dead Mother  I am working on,  a far looser painting; I  will switch off after my dinner break.  Viola is at this moment in the study with me, snoring away, delightful company as always.

Until next time, take care, LG

Strange Fruit,II

Just a short post, this is the revised print that I posted on Easter, link, this time with the second color.  I’m hooked, if reduction relief did not  work for me, individual color plates do. A certain obsessive compulsive inclination is satisfied by working each plate meticulously so that the image aligns. This is by no means a perfect print, the alignment is most noticeably askew when looking at the Princess’ upward reaching hand. But now I have a better grasp on the process and feel confident enough to work with more color, quite a relief -lame printmaking pun intended.

strange fruit

Strange Fruit, II

relief print on paper

I am attending a Mesoamerican conference this week in LA, I’m very excited, two days of Meso fun. Starting off with a workshop deciphering  Mayan glyphs, I haven’t great expectations, but if I can recognize just a few glyphs I will be pleased.  The spouse has arranged a vacation in Mexico City for the Day of the Day festival ; I’m eager to check out the museums and the ruins, planning a trip to Teotihuacan as well.

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Until next time, take care,

LG

St. Kevin and the Blackbird

Fresh off the Press: St. Kevin and the Blackbird

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St. Kevin and the Blackbird

relief print on paper

12 by 12 inches

I have been intrigued with St. Kevin since having seen Clive Hicks-Jenkins  wonderful depictions of the long suffering saint.

Falling in love with Seamus Heaney’s poem St. Kevin and the Blackbird closed the deal.

I have been doodling this wonderful fellow ever since, what isn’t there to love?,  a pious man yet all too human,  stuck in his cramped hermitage, in conflict (or perhaps not) as to how to proceed in life, which path to take. Happily charity and compassion triumphs over self-interest.

 I was unfamiliar with this saint, perhaps he is an Anglican saint ; I do not  know, but I do know I am smitten.  I imagine a few more images of the fellow will pop now and then.

Until that time, take care and may St. Kevin bless you with patience and grace,

LG

Spring Arising

In the spirit of Easter I cobbled together this relief print .

IMG_3832

Regeneration

relief print, ink on paper

After my last post on Good Friday I went back to the studio with the specific desire to just paint. not to fuss, not to sketch, employing a limited palette, not to overthink; just play with paint and linseed oil.  I also only allowed a specific amount of time, the few hours before I needed to prepare dinner for David. The result is far from stellar, in fact I hesitate to post it at all, but in the spirit of honest exploration I will anyway.

Let’s just call it an experimental daub, awkward, tentative, but an effort to change- that is what spring signifies anyway.

IMG_3833

 Good Friday Daub I

oil on board

Happy Easter,

LG

Post Script: I noodled with this daub a bit more, resisted fussing but I felt it needed more definition. My intention was to accentuate the projectiles coming toward the Son of God.

I’m happier with the painting, I can now let it be. I appreciate the kind words of encouragement I have received concerning this experiment.

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Strange Fruit: a Mayan Alternative to the Passion

I am in my second semester of printmaking and frankly it has been disheartening. The exhilaration of the first few prints, successful or not, has been eclipsed by technical problems, some seemingly insurmountable . I recently finished a labor intensive, time sucking reduction relief print, a technique in which one linoleum plate is used, and each color is ultimately scraped away for the next. Engineering the color seqquence was daunting enough, but I think I was able to resolve that issue; but  by my final press, down to final color, a sepia, the finished result was disastrous .

I was taken aback by my visceral disappointment to the final image, I frankly had to walk away. I still have not have had the will to face the sad pile of wasted paper, ink, time, effort and optimism; spring break ends Sunday, perhaps I will face my demons on Tuesday.

In the mean time I am determined to avoid that sad route, eliminating reduction reliefs with individual plates for each color. This was my initial instinct but the assignment demanded the one plate approach.

The following, the first printing thus far, is the line work. The second plate, most likely red, is still being carved out. I post this unfinished print as it is appropriate to Good Friday, a day of sacrifice and reflection, frankly my favorite holiday of the christian calendar . This image which is one I have explored several times is that moment in which the Maize God,  the savior character from the Popol huh,is discovered by the princess of the Underworld Xquic. This fateful encounter results in a miraculous virgin birth, the severed head of the Miaze god spits into the open hand of the virgin princess (subtle Freudian imagery). Clearly I am fascinated by this twist of our familiar Christian sacrifice & rebirth theme . 

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Strange Fruit

relief print, ink on paper

Some sketches prior to cutting:

IMG_3831Wishing all a happy Easter if so inclined, certainly happy spring Sunday.

Take care,

LG