Prints

"Rock, Paper, Scissors"

"Burden"

"Dry Bones Dance"

"Ages I Have Been"

"K.'s Quest"

"Stoning Of Stephen, after Rembrandt"

I love printmaking. I did not get the opportunity to experiment with printmaking during my undergraduate days since I was so busy working on my painting projects. But after I graduated I returned to my alma mater to pursue the delights of making prints. My first attempts were in lithography, a wonderful technique which allows for many modes of drawing: delicate or bold line, painterly washes, stippling, etc.. In this technique you draw upon limestone (or a treated metal plate) with a greasy substance, then "etch" the surface with nitric acid and gum arabic. The drawing material is removed completely, the stone inked, paper placed on the stone, and then cranked through the press.

Working on the limestone is such a sensuous experience. Feeling the grain of the stone beneath the crayon and watching subtle tones build before my eyes is extremely satisfying. The technique involves more technical details than I had originally bargained for, but the results are worth the effort. My first print was Rock, Paper, Scissors. In spite of some difficulties with etching the stone, I was pleased with how this one ultimately turned out. I plan to do more lithography; it is considered a natural printmaking medium for painters since it is possible to work in fluid washes and many layers.

I also tried some more experimental collagraph techniques whereby collage-type plates are inked and run through an etching press. The results with these prints were very uneven, but a few of the prints came out nicely. The way I was working was not really suitable for an edition of many prints, but I am more interested in printmaking for the inherent qualities of images made by printing---not necessarily as a way of reproducing many identical images.