Sylvia by Dennis Jacobs

posted by dennis

I completed a mixed media painting this weekend, entitled Sylvia. The piece measures 12″ x 16″ and is made of hand cut spraypaint stencils over collage on board. Below is the process by which I created the piece.

As with any painting I do, I start by laying down a base layer of collage. With this particular piece I used clippings from vintage magazines, anatomy books, old magazine ads, maps, newspaper, and photos from military books.

This particular painting required two stencils, based on a digital illustration, to complete. Rather than printing and cutting one stencil for each color I instead use the each stencil for multiple colors. For example, I will cut out the sections that for red, spray it, then tape them back into place. I will then cut out the black sections and spray them. This helps to make sure the registration of the stencil is correct and also saves time on cutting stencils. While this does result in the stencil being destroyed, I only make one off paintings, so I will never need to reuse a stencil. If i were to begin doing multiple paintings of a single image, I would then create one stencil per color needed.

See more process pictures as well as the completed painting after the break

“Bonfire” by Tugboat Printshop

posted by christina

Tugboat Printshop has a new woodcut print. It’s called Bonfire, and it’s making me long for summer, where I can run around a pile of burning palettes like a little heathen.

Bonfire is available for pre-order on Tugboat Printshop’s website. There is an edition of 100 and each print is $150. Behind the cut, you’ll find images of each of the five painstakingly carved blocks that made up this image. In case you missed it, check out our interview with Paul and Valerie that we did a few months back.

Read more…

Scott Belcastro

posted by christina

Los Angeles artist Scott Belcastro paints nature scenes that are more dynamic than most of its type. Grasses and trees look like they’re exploding out of the ground while animals graze peacefully on the landscape. His skies are beautiful but ominous at the same time.

The last painting, “Snow Castle”, is available as a 12×12″ print for $75. Visit Scott’s shop to purchase one. In addition to displaying his work on scottbelcastro.com, he also blogs about his process.

Glenn Barr’s “Evening” by Pressure Printing

posted by christina

Pressure Printing has reproduced many originals with perfect authenticity, and this Glenn Barr print is likely no exception. “Evening” was one of my favorite pieces hanging up at CPOP before it closed, and I was sad that it wasn’t part of his recent show. I guess the Pressure Printing guys must have needed it for a while!

The really interesting thing about this print is the process. Pressure Printing’s blog talks about how the it’s actually made of two pieces of paper.  The painting was printed as a giclee on etching paper, cut out, and then laid inside of a big rectangular depression on 300gsm Arches watercolor paper. Then it was pressed flat with a heated plate to smooth it out.

The details are beautiful: deckled edges, embossed printer’s chop, and hand signing and numbering by the artist. The print is an edition of 50 and costs $395 unframed. It’s available now in Pressure Printing’s shop.

Recent Highjinks from Cakeasaurus

posted by christina

Marian from Cakeasaurus Prints recently sent us a note about her latest edition. Birds Don’t Like You is a hand carved, two color woodblock print with a dark sense of humor.

The print measures 20 x 13″ and can be purchased at the Cakeasaurus Etsy shop. Marian also has more process pictures on her Flickr page.

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