CROP CIRCLES takes the RUST BELT technique a step further. In CROP CIRCLES, a hard plate is inked fairly heavily and while it is still wet thin pieces of layered and unsealed cardboard are applied as a resist. Additional ink is applied and the plate is allowed to dry. Because some of the ink is absorbed into the cardboard, the cardboard layers separate during printing creating a collage or chin colle effect. Matted and framed to 14” x 11”.
There is an ethereal quality to NIGHT VISION, a monotype which uses the same printing technique as RUST BELT and AT THE EDGE, but a very different palette in order to give the feel of looking at the world through a different lens. Matted and framed to 18” x 14”
APPALACHIA #2, a companion print to APPALACHIA #1, uses the same technique and palette to convey essentially the same impression but with a focus on the trees and landscape rather than the coal mines. Matted and framed to 18” x 14”.
Appalachia is a beautiful land – but a land despoiled; a land of coal mine waste, pollution and poverty – a land desolated; a land of opioids, Don Blankenship and Donald Trump – a land of desperation. APPALACHIA #1 is a hand inked, hand pulled monotype in the RUST BELT Series. Matted and framed to 18” x 14”.
RUST BELT is an entirely experimental piece which involved inking a hard plate, applying some resists, adding additional ink and then removing the resists before printing. It was intended to answer the question: “I wonder what would happen if…?” The title, RUST BELT, came after it was completed and I had watched part of a Donald Trump rant the night I completed it. Matted and framed to 24” x 18”.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
To me, elation is an emotion with a strong cognitive base – what you feel when a plan comes together, perhaps better than expected. ELATION combines a sense of fireworks going off – not as an isolated event but as a culmination. A hand inked and hand pulled dark field monotype, part of the “Cognitive Emotions” Series, ELATION is matted and framed to 24” x 18”.
I am very pleased to announce that juror Richard E. Gallego has included my monotype GROWING OLD TOGETHER in the ALA Gallery by the Lake Show “Through My Eyes”. The Show will run from July 22nd through September 22nd. The Gallery is located at 106 W Pryce Street, Lake Charles, LA 70601. Gallery hours are Tuesday – Friday: 12:00 – 5:00, and Saturday: 10:00 – 2:00, and there will be a reception on July 22nd from 2:00 until 4:30 so if you’re in the area drop in.
Anxiety is an emotion which can have a very significant cognitive element – or a very small one. Part of the “Cognitive Emotions” Series, ANXIETY is a hand inked and hand pulled dark field monotype which, with its sharp palette and internal lines is intended to put you on edge. It is not a comfortable or comforting piece. Matted and framed to 18” x 14”.
The intensity and juxtaposition of the colors are the dominant elements of PASSION with the cognitive elements playing a small role. A hand inked and hand pulled dark field monotype, and part of the “Cognitive Emotions” Series, PASSION is matted and framed to 18” x 14”.
RAGE, a hand inked and hand pulled dark field monotype, is a two dimensional piece in the “Cognitive Emotions” Series. The two dimensional pieces in the “Cognitive Emotions” Series use color to evoke the particular emotion and the internal lines to show the cognitive element of the emotion. Matted and framed to 20” x 16”.
John Fansmith