Oil on paper

These sketches are oil on Arches oil paper, something I've recently discovered and love. The paper is treated so that it does not need priming for oils. Yay! It's the best qualities of watercolor and oil combined.

Trace monotype

Today was the conclusion of the trace monotype workshop with printmaker Jenny Robinson. It was a wonderful class full of experimentation and beautiful work. It's always so fun to see the ways other artists tackle a new medium, and the results were amazing!

This process involves rolling ink onto a plate, covering that plate with Japanese printmaking paper, and covering that with a piece of trace paper onto which a drawing is made. The Japanese paper picks up ink from the plate when marks are made on the trace. The resulting print looks like a hazy, fuzzy drawing, onto which you can add layer of color or more drawing (see the top two images). The plate can also be printed to make a negative of the trace (the bottom five images). The process depends quite a bit on the original drawing, and results are fairly immediate. In fact, you don't even need a press to make the first image.  But I love how the negatives look and am excited to play some more with them.

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Sometimes I win. Sometimes the painting wins. The most interesting things happen, though, when we're evenly matched.

Preview

Today I took a Trace Monotype workshop with the talented and generous Jenny Robinson.  It was fun, exciting, and inspiring, and I can't wait for part two next week!  Here is a little preview of one small part of the process.  I'll post the final results next week.

More new work

This is what happens when I procrastinate on posting...the work piles up. Many of these are still in process, and sizes vary from 16"x20" to 42"x60". Apologies for the glare in some of the shots.

At long last a new post!

Here's some of what I've been up to lately. Pthalo blue takes over everything in the studio! This painting is approximately 42"x60".  Anyone who's spent time in San Francisco will recognize the ominous bank of fog rolling in.