Watercolour on Wood (2)

These are some photos  of my tests on wood with various mediums to have as a base under the water colour.  Then there's a shot of some water colours on plain birch wood (thats without a transparent medium underneath).  To this I also added some isopropyl alcohol to see if it would reticulate as per when I used it while doing some monoprints using water based inks.

I was trying out imagery............... although I then stayed with my original idea - that happened fairly quickly which was good.  Then I started thinking about colour and tone somewhat.

Click on images to see accompanying text /notes.

Watercolour on Wood (1)

Recently I decided to do something I had an idea to do ages ago - but never got round to , you know how it is !!.............. Anyway  I thought I would get on with creating a piece of work using watercolour on to bare wood.  I think the wood I ended up  using was birch plywood.

Researching the technical application:

 One of the first things i did (thank goodness for the web) was to see if there were others working in this way.  Well I didn't find much which was a good thing in a way and at the same time not a good thing .

It would mean finding out the pros and cons for myself.  I found some mention of it on Wet Canvas which if you dont know of it has lots of discussion forums on different materials/ techniques  and  a Swedish artist Susanne Gottberg, was mentioned so I looked her up.  Here's one of her pieces:

Susanne Gottberg

Very accomplished technically and of course you CAN see that it is painted on wood - she had'nt done a lot of other works of this nature though.

Then I remembered a person on Flickr who used watercolor on to shaped wooden pieces - which I kind of liked although they were a bit too dreamy for my liking Stella Im Hultberg  

She lives in NY - very accomplished technically :

Stella Im Hultberg

They made me think of art nouveau and the work of people like  Aubrey Beardsley - although of course his work was much darker - well his personal pieces were.   It would seem he also did a lot of decorative portraits and book illustrations too (these no doubt paid the bills).   He was one of my early artist loves.  I have a book on him somewhere.   Here's one of his images - not too risque though ( I mean some of his stuff is outrageous).  

Its lovely seeing these again and admiring his amazing range of marks in his use of black ink on white paper.  Such elegance although sometimes its a bit O.T.T...........

I also found someone on Etsy who makes art works on wood which I particularly admired.
I very much liked her technique  although they make me think more of artwork that would be in a childrens book.  

What I like about them is the way the artist uses the paint on the wood. Being as I was so taken with her technical application I regret to say that I didnt make a note of her name.    I looked again on Etsy last night............. but could not find her shop which I want to put a link to. 

Here they are:

Note the very soft bleeding watercolour contrasted with the opaque cream colored paint and the very thin black line.

I love the general look of this one and how she has the edge of the bedspread indicated by directional line.  Note the variegated feint wash of the turquoise/green contrasted with the opaque bright white paint - which is a bit 'dry brush' in the pillow and nearby.   I like how the blobs of white  appear as blossom along  the branches , indicated in opaque black.

I shall continue to seek her work out on Etsy and put her name here as soon as I find it.  I hate to not attribute an image - it's so important.  

NOTE to artist who made these works:  

 I am sorry to not have attribution in order and am on the case.

I did see a lot of folk / craft art which people had for sale on the web but often it was very cutesy and twee and to me it didn’t have much merit so ultimately I didn’t find artists like myself,  exploring the possibilities of water color on wood so I got myself a piece of 60 x 60 cm wood and then started working on the imagery although I already had a few contenders.

UPDATE   I have had feedback as to the identity of the artist  on Etsy, whose artwork on wood I admired..............her name is    Kristiana Parn
her website  http://www.etsy.com/shop/krisblues

(thanks to the lovely.......... Wanda Hemmings) 

The Cats out of the Bag

If you are interested in making a print-on-demand,  book then check out a great competition on PHOTO BOOK GIRLs blog where she has extensive information and reviews about which 'print on demand' service to use.
Of course I would be delighted to be able to win the prize and would have no problem with making lots of books.

Wood Circle - from Relief to Intaglio

This print / drawing - I am not too sure what you call it, not that it really matters that much - well it was originally produced ages ago when I was at Wimbledon doing post graduate printmaking.  It was done as a relief print.  I just couldn't get to grips  very well with the Albion press there and because there was practically no one,  to offer us technical support much -  I didn't do that much on the relief side.  Having said that I guess I am more into intaglio as a printmaking process.  There was something wrong with that Albion press though - I wonder if its still there in the studio ?  or whether "el Alan" has chucked it out.

Getting the height correct with the various boards so that the pressure exerted when one pulled the lever over didn't seem to work very well. The other printmakers also had difficulty using it.  I used to get stressed up by it.  I don't think I would now as I would approach it with more patience.  I have one more version of this somewhere which is just the single print but also worked with coloring pencils just subtly though.  Blast I can't find it - just had a look upstairs ......... which is now bugging me - wondering where the heck I have put it.

Anyway you get a little bit of an idea of the print proofed as a relief print.

This dreadful mess is a relief print which I tried to print intaglio - although I knew that it most likely wouldn't work because the lines were too wide.  They were originally cut away with a lino cutter - well actually those particular tools can be used on wood or lino.

I had this image for ages and I have always liked it so I suppose I hoped it might work at least to the extent whereby I could make some further interventions .........but no it wasn't really going to be happening.  I was still thinking about which image to work with for the DCA print studio exchange.

In the end I thought that I would try to draw the image again on the reverse of the 'plate'.  So I drew a slightly different version on the reverse. The diameter of the circle by the way is about 18 cm.

This is a proof of that  image - it's a state proof which I made not long before it was b.a.t.  I loved working with this wood - I used a scalpel to initially go into the drawn lines and then a 'scraper'.  I purchased it a while back at intaglio printmakers - possibly to use for burnishing - though to be honest its something I could do with some instruction in,  as when I have done it - its been a bit of a disaster.
Here's a photo of a scraper - taken from the catalogue of Intaglio Printmakers (London).

I used it to go into the wood over the lines made using the scalpel and it seems to make a line that the ink goes into well for the intaglio proofing.  I actually have the small and the large one.  The other item which came in very useful was the roulette wheel I bought ( this was inspired by seeing Sandra Baxter using them working on one of her largish copper plates.

Sorpresa Scatola di Venezia

which means 'surprise' 'box' and 'Venice'......you get a little box (container) and don't know what's going to be in it.  So it's a surprise...............

In April/ May of last year (2011) I decided that I would like to make some pieces for a project that was being put together by Marina Moreno ( based in the UK)  for an installation  to be exhibited at the Serra dei Giardini, Venice.  Initially one had to send them jpegs/info for a preview of  your work to see whether they wished to include you in the project.

I wondered whether I would be able to make such teeny  tiny  works ...but as I got more and more into it I found that I was able to do so.  Perhaps the fact that it was 3d helped.  I 'erred' on the smaller side as it had to fit into about 8 cm cubic space , i.e., inside a transparent acrylic  globe.  I already had one of these ( I purchased it at The London Graphic Centre years ago in case it came in handy for a project in the future) .................. so I was able to try it out to see what it looked like - which was a great help.


The blurb about the project said there was going to be a catalogue produced too so I thought that would be a nice souvenir of the project as although I have visited the Venice Biennial in the past (1999) vs a vs the delegation,   + in relation to a project called "Agendas X3 "  it was'nt likely that I would be in a position to attend.

Under a broad interpretation of the given  theme "ILLUMINATION"
 - here are the pieces I created for the exhibition:

1.

" Inimois II "

 Size: 55 x 85 x 15 mm  /   2.25 x 3.75 x 0.50  inches

  
 Techniques/ processes:

trace monotype, drawing, collage, drypoint pastel drawing. C.A.D. printed out on on 'Fabriano 5',  160 gsm paper, using archival inkjet pigment. Additionally incorporated is 'Fabriano Rosaspina' 220 gsm and Hahnemuhle   paper 220 gsm,silk thread, transparent tinted gauze ribbon with bookbinders pva.

 All materials archival

 The subject matter of this piece, is linked to the acquisition of knowledge –

  i.e. to become illuminated.  There are darker aspects involved in this process   

  but also lighter dimensions which the book explores.  Now that the internet is 

  more a part, of most peoples lives -  knowledge is no longer the exclusive

  domain of the elite.

 The word “Inimois” comes from the ‘Lingua Ignota’ of Hildegard of Bingens writings , this was a  secret language, that she developed in the 12^th century.  It means human being or being human………..

2.

" Beata Orbis "

Size:  60 x 60 x 20 mm  /  2.5 x 2.5 x 0.75 inches

Techniques/ processes:

C.A.D., intaglio collagraph, inkjet printed, onto Mingeishi Japanese paper, papier mache onto eggshell, bookbinders PVA and brown craft paper.  Shredded 60 gsm paper tinted with acrylic ink.
all materials archival

Generations have come before us and will follow – this piece concerns  people of the future, who will walk this earth and be the guardians of our planet.  The shredded text representative of how they are ‘nested’ within history,  knowledge and learning – with the hope that they will add further discoveries to this sanctuary and be wise and benevolent to our ‘blessed earth’.

3.

" Tiger House "

Size:  65 x 70 x 42 mm  /  2.5 x 3 x 2 inches

Techniques/ processes:
trace monotype, drawing, drypoint pastel drawing. C.A.D. printed out on archival pigment on Bockingford watercolour paper 190 gsm also incorporating bookbinders pva.
all materials archival

This piece has visual icons from cultures of the East, West as well as from the Southern hemisphere and is ‘sited’ on handwriting that refers to the visionary 17th century artist William Blake. In doing so the artist makes an allusion to the difficulties he faced because of his “otherness”. Gradually the people of our planet (represented within the construct of a tiny house form) are moving more across and between borders – and so there is a need for us to show  more tolerance towards  people of difference within our social environment.

http://www.venicevendingmachine.com/

See the top navigation bars on the home page one of which takes you to the catalogue.

This link takes you directly to the catalogue on Issu.dot.com