I haven't been blogging. I was in prison.
My first print. A two color linoprint. I dig it.
Ok, I wasn't really in prison. I haven't been around much these past 2 weeks because I've been spending my afternoons in Luxembourg taking a printmaking class, which thankfully is now over. During the great European heatwave of 2006 I have been keeping myself busy by spending 3 hours a day in a non-ventilated printshop playing with toxic chemicals.......which only served to reminded me of why I am a painter and not a printmaker.
Our little clothesline gallery in the Printshop.
The class consisted of myself, a 60 year old German guy, an 18 year old Luxembourgish girl, and four 12 year olds from God knows where. Yeah---weird bunch. But we all managed to make some damn nice looking prints and we tried to learn some solid techniques from our scatter-brained professor who was from one of those Eastern European countries that just joined the EU last week. Apparently wherever our professor is from, it's totally acceptable to drink 20 oz cans of beer while teaching adolescents to burn copper plates with acid. Seriously I think the poor guy was drunk during each of our 10 class sessions. Either that or he has the memory & attention span of a goldfish. On one occasion he actually started the sentence: "No matter what you do, make sure you don't......" -----and then he just walked away. Did I mention he did this right before I was about to drop my aquatint plate into the acid bath? Anyway, I successfully burned the plate. No one got hurt. Just a big cloud of smoke and some coughing and gagging. One of the before mentioned 12 year olds almost passed out. French kids are such pussies.
Combination Linocut & Monotype.
My messy work-desk and a bottle of poison varnish.
First of all----I hate all the gross lethal chemicals you have to use for some of the techniques. I'm just gonna be real with you-I do not want to die for my art. Secondly, I don't have the patience for all that crap! All the coating and waiting and rinsing and drying and....oh just screw it! It takes too long! It took me 6 hours to make the print below which basically looks like 3 levitating labias. Whatever.
Itaglio & aquatint with a bit of point-seche added. Whatever, I call it floating vaginas.
Back to the canvas I go.
6 comments:
That's really cool! So, if the class was in Luxembourg and consisted of French kids, a German man and you, and was taught by an Eastern European, what language was it in??
That first print is beautiful.
Oh the class was taught in French, but their was alot of German thrown in. By the end of the clas even I was yelling "Scheisse!" (scheißen ) every ten minutes.
I signed up for this particular class because the teacher actually did speak English. (but I never actually had to speak to him in English even once. I'm pretty proud of that fact.)
I love the first one!!! Actually, they are all great! YUR gonna B famous and i can say that I know you....
Your prints turned out fabulously, they are just gorgeous. *walks off to skulk in front of drafting desk where no art is being produced* sigh.
I heart printmaking and I especially heart your prints. Give yourself more credit, the first one is both moving and technically fantastic.
I really love the prints. I discovered your blog this morning over my morning cup of ice coffee. You've got a very unique voice and humorous outlook on life. I found myself laughing out loud as I was reading your entries. As someone who longs to try life abroad, you have shown me that dreams do come true.
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