The Lonely Robot

"16 Towers" - My New Linocut Print

This is the first pull of my new print, which I am calling "16 Towers" because I can count 16 watertowers in it.  I went ahead and painted them in with some watercolors just to make sure.  

Here it is without the color:

This is my largest linocut print to date - 20" x 10", and I am really pleased with it.  It represents a tipping point for me, because this piece combines two of the things that I love to do: taking photographs and making relief prints.  I have dozens of my photos that I can use as source material going forward.  The complexity of the image makes the process interesting for me, and my techniques have evolved over this last year to be able to make intuitive decisions on how to tackle a piece like this.

All told, this piece took about 3 hours to prep, and about 15 hours to carve.  It is for sale on the 3 Fish Studios shop for $60.00, and is limited to an edition of 100.

Watertower Linocut - Work in Progress

Watertower Linocut - A Work in Progress.

This is the photo I started from.  I took it in New York City, near Union Square, a couple of years ago.  I have always been drawn to urban landscapes, and the watertowers in this shot were irresistable.

I begin by printing the photo to size.  In this case, the image will be 20" wide by 10" high.  I had to tape together three sheets of letter size paper.  I then place tracing paper over the printed photo, and trace.

When I am finished tracing, I turn the traced image over.  At this point I have also cut my linoleum block to size, and have covered it with a white transfer paper.  I tape the drawing into position, then with a different color pen go back and redraw what I just traced.

Here is the redrawn image.  This step transfers the image onto the linoleum block:

Here is the transfer.  Cool, huh?

Now the fun begins.  I plan to have this finished by Saturday, August 29th, for a linocut show at Smokey's Tangle Gallery and Rock and Roll Appreciation Center in Oakland.  Stay tuned!  

Dwell on This

I wanted to preserve this moment.  Dwell magazine, which I absolutely adore, is featuring my new Better Together linocut print series as their Product of the Day.  I could not be more excited!

Oaktown Painting in Progress w/ Color

Oaktown Painting in Progress

It makes you think.