1000 Woodcuts: #woodlbockprint

Showing posts with label #woodlbockprint. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Puzzle#7: And so it begins...

Human.Nature.

Three days after I opened sign up and already a baker's dozen participants (that's 13). Confidently, I proceed to sketching. First, here is the info on the project:

Links

https://1000woodcuts.blogspot.com/p/humannature-sign-up.html

SECURE WEB LINKS FOR PARTICIPATION COSTS

(or wait after signup for invoice/link):

https://1000woodcuts.com/collections/human-nature-woodcut-puzzle-print?sort_by=created-ascending

INFO:

https://1000woodcuts.blogspot.com/p/humannature.html

and

https://www.facebook.com/groups/puzzlewoodcutprints

Sketching

I announced that the image would be based on one of my prints, eons ago produced in large format as Oculus and later a smaller version named Fragile.

Well as you may know from previous puzzles there are some requirements for the larger images that will host participants "puzzle pieces."

First the image has to be simple, much simpler. Second, it has to span the breadth of the panels. Third, it has to be divisible into tiny blocks (tiny as in 4-6 inches in diameter).

So the process of simplifying and all that proceeds and I now have a few versions to think about. I first eliminated extra "bodies" and kept the spirit of the print. Later I thicken the lines and then I darkened the background for a different look. Lastly I added some energy earth lines.

The overall size will be 40 inches x 52 inches so I have some resizing to do. But if I divide the resulting image into 4 panels (each 19x26, size of a sheet of paper) I can easily get 15 "puzzle pieces" in each. Total 60, mission accomplished!

Stay in touch!

1000woodcuts Website: https://1000woodcuts.com
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Maria's Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/maria.arango.diener
Maria's Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/1000woodcuts
1000woodcuts YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/1000woodcuts/videos

Friday, July 31, 2020

Lead Me Out and Lemonade

Conversation With a Canyon II: Lead Me Out

"So how do you like it?

Good, all good, it is very peaceful in here

Are you staying? Few wander in, you know

A little while, I brought lunch

I have water, here and there, clean and cold...

...........

What if I spend the night on that cool bed of sand

I will keep you safe, I will let in the moonlight and the moss scented winds

(to be continued)

Lead Me Out, already transferred to the color block and ready to be printed

Lemonade

When life gives you lemons...

Takes a bunch of daily exposure to keep up the online sales and I still miss the festival life and the face to face contact with customers. These days, it would be mask to mask I suppose but some of us in the "high risk" category are advised to stay away from crowds altogether so even if there WERE any festivals to go to, I would have to abstain. I tweet and post on Facebook and Instagram often, many artists do that now and it is good to see more art on those platforms. 2020 be over!!!!!!

SO! Online shops are the only thing. With the help of my friends at Google (!) I am working on improving my main website and actually I am pleased with the results both on visits and sales. One thing that I enjoy is the messaging system, I have Facebook Messenger linked to my site so many times visitors strike up a conversation and it has the "feel" of a visit to my booth.

EBay has some features that I enjoy such as the bargaining that goes along with the Best Offer feature and the back and forth of offers and counter-offers. Almost like being in the booth on a Sunday afternoon, almost!

I have had more time to finish some editions of little prints that never got done. And I am enjoying using up all the handmade paper in my flat files. My happy studio is a great place, I really like working daily on different things and there is always plenty to do. Working, for me, is bliss and I will leave you with that thought.

Stay in touch!

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

In the waterfall

There she is!

Before it all begins, block, wood stains,
oil paints for tinting, fine brushes
and a lot of courage

The easy part, a bit of walnut stain
on the pine tree and nearly
transparent satin finish with a tint
of ebony on the rocks

Same light tint of the rocks
add some green oil tint

Same light gray tint with
blue for the water

All the gory details

Finito! Added some shadows
and some pearl in the waterfall

Showing off texture
and my "chop"

Stay in touch!

1000woodcuts Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/1000woodcuts
Maria's Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/maria.arango.diener
Maria's Twitter Profile: https://twitter.com/1000woodcuts
1000woodcuts YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/1000woodcuts/videos

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

100 Acts of Kindness starts to build

Big Blocks carved, mounted

I named the big blocks: Fly Now Live Be Free

I had to name them something for organization's sake and 1-5 or A-E just not creative enough for this wild mind. So now we have a poem, each word in itself congruent with the theme, as well as the whole phrase.

Here some pics of the fixing up and mounting

All the blocks carved with one puzzle piece in place
Marlene Vidibor

After carving, the blocks are matched up
side to side and I make corrections to
the design

After the correction, perfect match!

More puzzle pieces arrive

It will be some time before the "whole" takes shape but some blocks are arriving and I dutifully place them in place. Now that I have backing boards glued to the big blocks, I can permanently level them and glue them in place.

Backing glued

I mark the back of the backing
(will be the bottom) with the shapes of
the empty pieces, this way if a particular
piece gives me printing troubles I can adjust
with easy location

Daryl DePry

August Mezzetta

Stay in touch!

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Beautiful cherrywood blocks

Why cherry?

Often I get asked why I insist on using cherry wood. My answer is usually that it is the traditional Japanese wood for producing woodblocks for centuries. But the "real" answer is, I like it!

Not the easiest wood to carve, most wood carvers invariably point out that basswood is softer and easier to work with. If I wanted "easy" I would have gone into selling women's shoes! No, cherry is the wood for me. Amazing grain, amazing variety, every piece in my stash already has a beautiful image in mind, just waiting for me to find it and carve it.

Cherry is hard, but the grain is tight and allows infinite detail. Tools have to be sharp for sure and wrists and hands will hurt. But it will yield 200, 300 prints if I wanted to, registers beautifully without expanding or contracting and makes beautiful prints.

Finishing the blocks

The greatest gift is after the print run is done. A cherry block begs to be carved again into a relief carving, which is precisely what I have been doing with my original blocks. Lately, I carve deeper in relief and stain to match the print that the block worked so hard to produce.

Once carved, I gather the original print if it was a color print and set by the block. Then I use standard stains and some non-standard stain and raw pigment mixes to approximate the color. I apply with brushes and keep rags handy to lighten some areas. Letting the stain into the recesses produces a darker finish, while wiping quickly after applying makes nice highlights and variations in color.

Soon after all the color stains are applied, I give it a coat of satin polyurethane finish. In some cases I have been using flat polyurethane finish (In the Shallows, below) which allows for the wood to be protected without too much shine. The poly layer also blends the not quite dry stains so that the whole image has the feel of a painting.

Latest

My block collection grows! Here are the latest, some stained some au naturel. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. For a peeksy at all my available original blocks, go here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/1000woodcuts?section_id=17653011

Angry Skies, still drying!

Angry Skies detail

In the Shallows, relief carving

Moonshadow

Hija del Sol

Hija del Sol detail