"The Crowd I" Monotype

This is a monotype from my last solo show, The Disagreement. Like the last one, it's on 29" by 41" Arches paper and made with rubber based black ink, cut with varying degrees of flash oil.  For such a simple image, it took me ages to draw.  Keeping edges and the plate clean is a struggle with monotype, so I always had a bottle of isopropyl alcohol on hand to help tidy up fingerprints and to dip a Q-tip into to sharpen up the edges.

In printmaking, a print designates that something is reproducible in some way.  A monoprint is a print that is one of a kind, but incorporates something reproducible, like if I had used a woodcut or stencil in conjunction.  But, since this is entirely hand painted before printing, it is a monotype. My friend Tim Musso and I just started having a monthly crit group. We met for the first time last night, and discussed each other's recent work and then set goals or homework for ourselves to fulfill by the time we meet next month. I showed him this and two other monotypes. One of my issues is the need to have small sellable work that can compliment my sculpture without distracting from it or being too illustrative. I don't know yet if these fulfill those requirements for me.

"Didn't Know" Monoprint

This monoprint, entitled "Didn't Know," is on 29" by 41" Arches paper and made with rubber based black ink, cut with varying degrees of flash oil.  It took me about 8 hours to paint it onto the plexiglass plate using Q-tips, bits of rag, and a brush, and then printed it in a single pass. Layering a few more plates of ink onto it would probably look good, but I don't trust my single person registration skills on a piece this large.

The figure mimics the sculpture "But I didn't know" though the monoprint was made after the sculpture, not as a preparatory study.

Here's a girl having her picture taken in front of it like it's a tourist destination:

"The Disagreement" solo exhibit

I just had the second reception for my solo exhibit, "The Disagreement," last weekend.  It was packed with people.  I had no idea that the Santa Ana artwalk was so popular but it is.  I sold quite a few small items priced under a $100, which means I didn't lose any money on the show which is always a risk.  Galleries cover quite a bit of the costs of putting on a show, but by no means all of them.

People takes pictures with things far more now than I recall being popular in the past.  It's funny to see people use sculptures as backdrops for photographs, as though they had the same personal historic value as a landmark.  

 

I made three new monoprints for this show, to be blogged about shortly. 

A young artist asked for my autograph, and then another did the same a few minutes later.  It's strange because I'm by no means famous, but I suppose that a solo show looks pretty successful if it's something you've never done yourself.

The staff at GCAC were fantastic, helpful, and really kind.  There were three exhibits going on in the complex simultaneously, including mine, and they kept the crowd in check pretty effectively.  

"The Disagreement" is show at GCAC, Closed Mondays

Tuesdays - Sundays 11:00 am - 4:00 pm.
Extended hours: Friday & Saturday 11:00am – 7:00 pm.
(First Saturday of the month galleries are open until 10:00 pm

The show ends on June 24th.