I completed a new edition today. Northern Pacific is an image of a railroad drawbridge, in the raised position, near the Port of Seattle. It is a three plate color woodcut. All three plates are 1/2" MDF, sealed with shellac, a thin coat of acrylic gesso and then a second coat of shellac applied after cutting. It is printed on [...]
I think I can honestly say that I have never created a work that I am completely satisfied with. Or at least that I stay completely satisfied with. Why is that? Sometimes the discontent is technical. The registration isn't perfect. There is a hint of a lap mark in that one color field. Or the paper is a little stretched [...]
I had one of those days today. The kind of day where nothing goes right. I was pulling a trial proof of a new intaglio print. Four plates, etched in a variety of ways. My color choices stunk, the ink layers were not trapping properly, I may have to do a major rework on one or more of the plates... [...]
A recent comment on Amie Roman's blog makes the claim that printmaking, as an art form 'is dead'. This was in response to an entry where she discussed reproductions vs. original prints. I have written on this topic myself. This got me thinking. Why am I a printmaker? Other than the investment in presses I mean. What was it about [...]
A while back I wrote about color and pigment in inks and paints (Copper Plate Daily - October 10 2009). I have been thinking lately about the differences between mixing colored inks and using process color. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the term, process color is the mechanism of creating color on a substrate by printing dots [...]
I had one of those little 'well of course' moments today. I have been working on an intaglio plate with some very deeply etched areas. I decided that I would add some acrylic gel / carborundum grit to these in place of an aquatint to provide some texture as well as tone. I proofed the plate this morning and noticed [...]
I have been busy in the studio recently and am finally getting caught up on photographing my work. The processes used in these prints vary, but they all are 'Unseen Landscapes' of the modern world. West to Memphis - 2009 Color Woodcut on Rives BFK 14.75" x 34" (22" x 30" paper) Edition of 6 Copyright 2009, Dean Russell Thompson [...]
I have been trying to concentrate on improving my productivity in the studio of late. Part of the problem is that there are so many other things that demand my attention. Work on the studio itself, business related issues, submissions, Jack the studio dog... It is hard not to succumb to the 'tyranny of the urgent'. Jack the studio dog [...]
I spent the morning printing the second color on a lithograph. As I was working, I was struck by how much you have to be paying attention to the subtle details to get things to print consistently and well.The first thing that I noticed was that I was rolling too fast. Color ink is always all over the place in [...]
