METHOD
PRINTMAKING
My relief blockprints are made from linoleum and are generally referred to as
linocuts. They are in the tradition of the woodcut and wood engraving, but I prefer them for their softer surface and ability to cut easily in any direction. I cut and pull all of my prints, running them through the press multiple times for colored editions, or painting them individually. All of my prints are originals, most are done in limited editions.
STATEMENT:
I first became interested in relief prints when I discovered the woodcut novels of Lynd Ward and Frans Masereel in mid-1990. I was mesmerized by their strong contrasts of light and shadow, black and white. I quickly delved into the work of the German Expressionists and Mexican socialists, and perhaps have been influenced by all.
My blockprints are carved out of linoleum. I print each one on an old Showcard Sign Press, and the larger prints I burnish by hand. The choices of paper and style are important in trying to create the "correct feel" for the subject matter.
My ideas are a result of my interests in narrative: story, poetry, and lyric, as well as direct correlations to personal experiences.
PROCESS:
• I begin each idea for a blockprint with a small "thumbnail" sketch. A final draft is then drawn to scale and transferred to the linoleum block. The drawing on the block is backwards as the eventual print is the mirror image.
• After the drawing is transferred, the linoleum is carved using several "V" and "U" shaped gouges. There are a number of strategies when trying to break down an image into just black and white, but in the end, whatever is cut away will be white while the surface of the block will print black (or another color of choice).
• Once the block is carved, the surface is inked, a paper is chosen, and then both are hand-cranked through a press. The prints that are too large for the press are rubbed on the back using a large spoon.
• Each colored print has an individual block carved for every color. The print must then align with the previous image and be pulled through the press multiple times. In addition, some of the prints are individually painted using watercolors.
• The final print is then signed and numbered in a limited edition.
Recent PAINTINGs
My grandfather was a magician, my dad a mathematician, and perhaps I'm an amalgamation of both. My paintings merge the science of perspective and reverse perspective, with geometry and optical illusion. In addition, the science of color and value play an important role in enhancing spatial depth and altering the way we perceive our world.
I've been working with shaped panels for the past 10 years and 3-dimensional panels for the past 2. I'm indebted to the Renaissance artists Giotto and Brunelleschi (the father of linear perspective), and most recently, the groundbreaking work of Adelbert Ames and the reverse perspective paintings of Patrick Hughes. It's not my intention however to merely replicate their work, but to expand on it and make it my own. As a result, my illusions have moved into fascinating free standing objects and corner pieces, in addition to the truncated pyramids and wedges on the wall.
The concept behind the illusion is that we tend to perceive a trapezoid as receding in space - converging toward a vanishing point. In these paintings and sculptural pieces, the small end of the trapezoid is actually closest to you in proximity while it's painted to look furthest away. The steeper the slope of the 3-dimensional form, the quicker the painting "moves", or rather your relationship to it changes as you move. You're seeing either more or less of the trapezoid plane which gives this sense of vertigo.