Prints

GOOD MORNING

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As I continue to sort through the detritus and debris of my studio I keep finding bits and pieces of unfinished projects. GOOD MORNING is one of those. Originally planned as part of a four or six part series of collographic prints with slightly different facial expressions and palettes reflecting different periods of the day all of which would be matted and framed as a single item GOOD MORNING is the only one completed. My notes don’t indicate why I didn’t finish the project – I still like the concept, but given everything else going on this is one project that may not get done for a while, if ever. So, I’m posting this to remind myself that the sun will rise tomorrow and it might even herald a good morning. (12” x 12”) (2020) (NFS)

Forsythia & Juniper

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2020

FORSYTHIA & JUNIPER is a monotype I did in the spring of 2019 but which pretty much lay dormant until I came across it while cleaning and reorganizing my studio. I would probably call it an abstract representational or perhaps a representational abstract. Either way, it shows a scene from a portion of our property line at a time when almost nothing else was showing color and there was bleakness to the landscape. Like FIRST FLIGHT it is a way of reminding myself that even though currently much about life appears bleak there is also much to be hopeful about. (2020) (18” X 14”) ($150)

 

Loss

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2020

LOSS is a monotype in the “Cognitive Emotions” Series that attempts to express what you feel in that moment when you get sudden, unexpected and devastating news. It tries to capture the brief instant before your emotional and intellectual coping mechanisms kick in and you start going through however many steps it takes to deal with it and move on. (2020) (22” x 12”) ($215)

First Flight

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2020

FIRST FLIGHT, reading from left to right, expresses my impression of watching the first flight of a young cardinal, which while initially in doubt (at least to me and I think to the cardinal as well) was ultimately a success becoming a symbol of courage and hope. FIRST FLIGHT is a hand inked and hand pulled hard plate monotype. (2020) (12” x 22”) ($125)

FRONTIER’S EDGE

 

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2020

FRONTIER’S EDGE is an experimental “process” piece, a monotype created by using different colored inks applied at different degrees of dryness and with different brayers. No brushes were used. At a distance there is little to see, but at about 10 feet away a log cabin emerges on the right and then a smaller partially obscured building on the left. If your eyesight and imagination are particularly good you will see a very large reddish bear carrying the cabin off. While the cabin was an intended part of the image, the bear was not, but then I guess that is life on the edge of the frontier. Matted and Framed to 11” x 14”. (2020) (11” x 14”)

ORANGE ROSE WITH SOCIAL CLIMBERS

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2020

 

In most of my prints the ink is applied in layers using only a brayer. ORANGE ROSE WITH SOCIAL CLIMBERS is an experimental small step outside my comfort zone with the ink being applied using a brayer for the background and a palette knife for the detail. While I had a vague idea of doing something “floral”, I have no idea where the title came from, or why I chose an orange/black/purple palette, so I’m just going  to say that they speak for themselves and leave it at that. ($474) (2020) (20 “ x 8 “)

Staying Home

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2020

STAYING HOME is a collage made out of hand inked, hand pulled collographic prints that were originally intended to be part of my LINEAR THOUGHTS OF AN ARTIST and NAVIGATING THE ROUNDABOUTS series. I came across them as I was simultaneously getting ready to move to Ann’s Choice and diligently observing the covid-19 “stay at home” order.  STAYING HOME is thus both a commentary on existing conditions (including the chaos in my studio) and the result of one of the many “keep/discard/utilize” decisions that I’m having to make every day. Creating it was also one of my self-reward for making a couple of them. (2020) (18“ x 20“)

Kirkland

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2020

It is sometimes surprising how you and your work can be overtaken by events. When I was printing the background and assembling the collage pieces for KIRKLAND the corona virus problem was just starting to be a story and I had no idea that Kirkland, WA would be one of the epicenters. The title for KIRKLAND actually comes from the fact that “Kirkland” is the house brand name used by Costco and the collage pieces are repurposed from a Costco tissue box. What was initially an exercise in combining a hand inked, hand pulled print and found object/recycled materials ended up with more relevance than I could have imagined. (622) (2020) (16” x 20”)

STAGE FOUR/ METASTATIC

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I am pleased to announce that my monotype  STAGE FOUR/ METASTATIC will be on view from February 28, 2020 until April 11, 2020 at the Abington Art Center as part of the American Color Print Society’s Members Spring Exhibition. There will be an opening reception from 2 until 4 on Saturday, February 29th at the Abington Art Center, 515 Meetinghouse Road, Jenkintown, PA 19046

About 3 ½ years ago I was diagnosed with Stage Four, or metastatic prostate cancer. While there is no cure or any prospect of one, there are medications (side effects included) which may slow the progression of the cancer for a while. I would like to believe that, on a personal level, I have done, and am doing, everything possible to deal with it in a thoughtful, rational manner: a will has been drawn, powers of attorney executed and a place in a continuing care retirement home secured, and that I am making the best use of my time. Until STAGE FOUR/ METASTATIC, however, I had not addressed it as an artist. STAGE FOUR/ METASTATIC is a hard plate monotype which, with its red-orange/black palette is probably a more accurate emotional representation than a medical or scientific one. Since I have no idea what a lesion actually looks like, nor any particular desire to learn, I am going to rely on emotion, abstraction, and artistic license. Matted and Framed to 14” x 24”.

GROWING OLD TOGETHER in Passage Show

(C) JOHN FANSMITH 2018

I am pleased to announce that juror Gwen Chanzit has chosen my monotype print GROWING OLD TOGETHER to be part of the “Passage” show sponsored by the Colorado Chapter of the Women’s Caucus for Art. Out of 550 entries submitted nationwide to this broadly themed and open media call for entries, only 54 pieces were chosen. The show will be held at the Niza Knoll Gallery on Santa Fe Street in the Historic Art District of Denver, Colorado from Wednesday, November 13, 2019 until Saturday, December 21, 2019. There will be an opening reception on Friday, December 15, 2019.