As a painter, trying my hand at printmaking was a little frustrating. Ink on paper is gorgeous even when I make mistakes, but there was something about every print that drove me nuts. So what is it that’s so frustrating about printmaking? I was talking to Nikki about this. She had a good idea: traditional printing has a finite process. You go through the steps in the proper order, then once it goes through the press, you’re done. It’s complete. Painting isn’t like that. With paint just because you go through steps 1-5 doesn’t mean you’re done. If something’s not working you go back to step 2. With paint you can fix and change and fix and change and fix some more. Nikki says she doesn’t like painting because you do all the steps but then you still have to go back to step 2 if something isn’t working. She likes knowing that or better or worse, she follows the steps and she’s done.
Richard Diebenkorn, Irregular Grid, Drypoint and hard-ground etching
Then I realized I could paint on my prints. I know, I know, no one in the history of art has ever thought of this before (that’s sarcasm) but I really did forget that this was a respectable possibility. Once I pulled out the gouache, things got better.
Nope.
Yes! I like this. The line work, the open space, and the dark leaf is counter balanced by the thickly textured yellow acryla gouache flower.
So I get to have my ink and eat it too. I mean, I can print and paint, and print again. I can do whatever I please dammit, because I’m an artist. I forget that sometimes.
Ever think about printmaking? You could give it a try next week. I highly recommend it. …And if there’s something that isn’t working quite right, there’s probably a way you can change it to suit you better, because you’re an artist, and that’s what you do, dammit.
Printmaking classes start next week!
MONDAY: beginning January 14
BEGINNING PRINTMAKING / Nikki Barber
$ 395. 8 Weeks. 10:00am – 2:00pm
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TUESDAY: beginning January 15 DRYPOINT WITH MONOTYPE / Nikki Barber
$ 395. 8 Weeks. 10:00am – 2:00pm
High Flight Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there, I’ve chased …
[image_with_animation image_url=”7035″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] I prefer a perfect sheet of Rives BFK, baptized in a bath of holy water and dabbed by angels wings, printed with hesitant optimism and an aneurysm when an imperfection emerges, but William Kentridge, he throws it down. That man can work the paper. Torn pieces, inked, and carefully …
7 Landscapes A selection from Keith Pfeiffer’s 4 week Landscape class Five months ago, as we headed into a very dreary holiday season in quarantine, seven League artists found some joy painting landscapes with Keith Pfieffer. Here are a few of their artworks. This is one in a series of posts showcasing a selection of …
What I hate about printmaking
As a painter, trying my hand at printmaking was a little frustrating. Ink on paper is gorgeous even when I make mistakes, but there was something about every print that drove me nuts. So what is it that’s so frustrating about printmaking? I was talking to Nikki about this. She had a good idea: traditional printing has a finite process. You go through the steps in the proper order, then once it goes through the press, you’re done. It’s complete. Painting isn’t like that. With paint just because you go through steps 1-5 doesn’t mean you’re done. If something’s not working you go back to step 2. With paint you can fix and change and fix and change and fix some more. Nikki says she doesn’t like painting because you do all the steps but then you still have to go back to step 2 if something isn’t working. She likes knowing that or better or worse, she follows the steps and she’s done.
Richard Diebenkorn, Irregular Grid, Drypoint and hard-ground etching
Then I realized I could paint on my prints. I know, I know, no one in the history of art has ever thought of this before (that’s sarcasm) but I really did forget that this was a respectable possibility. Once I pulled out the gouache, things got better.
Nope.
Yes! I like this. The line work, the open space, and the dark leaf is counter balanced by the thickly textured yellow acryla gouache flower.
So I get to have my ink and eat it too. I mean, I can print and paint, and print again. I can do whatever I please dammit, because I’m an artist. I forget that sometimes.
Ever think about printmaking? You could give it a try next week. I highly recommend it. …And if there’s something that isn’t working quite right, there’s probably a way you can change it to suit you better, because you’re an artist, and that’s what you do, dammit.
Printmaking classes start next week!
DRYPOINT WITH MONOTYPE / Nikki Barber
$ 395. 8 Weeks. 10:00am – 2:00pm
$ 215. 4 Weeks. 6:00 – 10:00pm
$ 215. 4 Weeks. 6:00 – 10:00pm
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High Flight Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth Of sun-split clouds, — and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov’ring there, I’ve chased …
William Kentridge Prints
[image_with_animation image_url=”7035″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] I prefer a perfect sheet of Rives BFK, baptized in a bath of holy water and dabbed by angels wings, printed with hesitant optimism and an aneurysm when an imperfection emerges, but William Kentridge, he throws it down. That man can work the paper. Torn pieces, inked, and carefully …
Drawing A Day, Day 25
7 Landscapes; Online Anniversary Show Continues
7 Landscapes A selection from Keith Pfeiffer’s 4 week Landscape class Five months ago, as we headed into a very dreary holiday season in quarantine, seven League artists found some joy painting landscapes with Keith Pfieffer. Here are a few of their artworks. This is one in a series of posts showcasing a selection of …