More From the Grotto

I started to get some images of some of the prints today ... and discovered that everything was wrong. Still got a few shots, but not nearly as many as I have printed designs. Will have to come back to that project, with some mat board and mounting tape and a bright overcast day, and a LOT more patience.

That said, here are a few little tastes.

A tiny print, don't think the image is even 3" on a side. 

Close up of the tiny print. This image looks grainier than the actual print does. Did I mention, everything was wrong?

One of my recent favorites. Have done this in several colors / color combos. Can't decide which way is up, which is usually a sign that I have done something right.

Detail from the one above. 

This one is another favorite. That plate got changed many, many times, and reprinted after each change. This was my favorite iteration, but I didn't love it at the time, so I only got one good print pulled before it went under the knife again.

Same as the one I posted yesterday, in a much more ... painterly execution. Probably not finished yet, I think I want to add some highlights and outlining by hand. 

Short show & tell, I know. Next step is to get enough mat board to get them all mounted, so they look like something. Maybe even something other people would want.

partial credit, I demand it!

Tried to post this stuff a few days ago, did not manage to do so, and decided to post it now, before I forget again for the rest of eternity. Of course, it's a holiday, so probably no one will see it. C'est la Vie!


So.... these photos are stubborn about placement! Wow.



This tiny strip is actually a fabric thing about five feet long, maybe a foot wide. The black silhouette region was printed by IKEA, I'm filling in the colors myself. I stitched all around where the black meets the white, because I'm going to fill it with pillow stuffing and turn it into a sort of low relief type thing.

All these sheets are watercolor paintings I did three years ago. I'm getting them into mat board finally this week, as I'm taking everything I can carry with a reasonable expectation of not damaging it, and trying to sell stuff at the flea market this weekend. Hoping the holiday shopping frenzy is in full swing.



Most of what's kept me busy since then has been the framing stuff. Today I matted six of the large pieces, and prepped a bunch more for tomorrow. It's amazing how long this stuff takes me. I think I might move a little faster if I work on a lower work surface (will try it tomorrow), but they sure look nice when they're done. I even shelled out for the nice poly sleeves to put them in. Pics coming real soon! Trying not to get distracted, but if I get actual daylight during the day tomorrow, then pics tomorrow.

Still Not Dead

Also, still not finished with that project. Today might be the day, though. I think it's just down to fixing in those last 8 pieces of glass. You know, the ones that don't fit anymore? because the wood changed size due to moisture content, or paint, or whatever? Yeah. Those. Anyway. That.

So.

While I'm all busy cursing about that, I'll leave you with this. In Vienna, Austria last week, there was lots of art-boggling, and a purchase was made of a fine art print from Michael Ferner. This is my second M. Ferner print, the first being the two koi print from back in January.

I am now going to point you to his web site. If you do nothing else, simply reload his front page over and over, because the images there are gorgeous. The dragons, the bamboo, the seahorses, the owl. These are some of my favorites.


This is a tiny image (from his site) of the print we bought in Wien last week. Never bought a print with a pedigree before! The print itself is largish, for us, anyway, 70cm X 150cm. It's going to look very, very cool hanging in our Laubengang, which is a long hallway thing, paneled entirely in wood, with windows and doors along both sides.

Step 1 - Collect all the underpants!

I've just finished the scrollwork for a picture frame I've been wanting to make for a while. I don't think this is the frame I originally dreamed of, but it will be cool anyway. And I can always make more! I like this very much, although it is pretty far from done. Next time I'll probably keep track of how many hours go into something like this. I didn't this time, but I know it was *many*.

That's 4 pieces of thin plywood that were stacked up and staples driven into the edges. The design was applied to the top layer, and I drilled holes to feed the saw blade into the interior of each enclosed space to cut out, starting with the smallest / furthest inside first, and working my way out. The last step was to cut the outsides, gradually replacing staples with tape so the stack would stay in alignment.

The roundy thing in the center, below the flash glare is a quarter, for size reference. Next step.... paint it, I think. Then paint something to glue it to.

Framing for fun

One of my current projects is a frame. I got a calendar this year that needs one. Here is the rough sketch. It will probably not look so much like this when it is done, but this is the concept I'm starting from.

Have not yet decided whether to make it brightly colored or monochrome.

Yo Dawg...

Almost every time I run errands, I pass a framing shop. They have a rotating stock of framed art in the windows, and this one caught my eye more than anything else they've had there in the last 18 months or so. I peeped it every time I walked by for more than a month before I realized, hey, I could just BUY that. And look at it at home... it is like magic. This is a print -- I believe it is etched.

It's about 18"x16" or so.

These aren't new, but...

These 5 paintings aren't new, but I just framed them last night. Framing them has revealed to me that I will be painting at least 2, and probably 3 new components for this set, because what's there either doesn't fit, or doesn't please me. That's just how it goes, I guess.

I've been stalling on framing these for 3 or 4 months, probably because I already knew I wasn't going to be happy, and didn't want to deal with it. Guess it's time to own up and finish it.