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
[image_with_animation image_url=”10097″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] William Kentridge Today is National Typewriter Day! Draw a typewriter. Materials are artist’s choice. Thank you to Bo Frank for telling me about National Typewriter Day. Thank you for sharing your work! I love seeing these artworks online. People who post to Instagram or on Facebook will be eligible to win prizes (see details). No matter …
Today’s SEQUENCE challenge: Create an instructional that no one will ever need. #howtodoeverything Post it To be eligible for prizes (yes prizes!) at the end of the month, post your work to Instagram with #30sal and #howtodoeverything so we can find your post. To find more followers for your page, you can cut/paste these to your post: #30sal #howtodoeverything #mansplain …
A Frenchman, Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665) was the leading painter in Rome during the era of Baroque art from the early to mid 1600s, until he rejected the decorative and emotional style in Baroque so he could develop his own style that combined the values of the Renaissance with classical antiquity. If you’re looking at a …
One year ago in March, to protect our students and teachers from a new coronavirus, the Seattle Artist League moved our classes online. The virus was declared a national emergency, and we went into quarantine. We have now been in quarantine for thirteen months. Through this year, we have met each other online to draw, …
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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