Starred #30

This picture captures my FAVORITE part of screenprinting. RageHaus mixing colors.
Silhouette by Joe Bagley (via Oh So Beautiful Paper)
Poster by 1982 (Nate Duval + Jon Smith collabo)
Picture #62 of Make Something‘s 365 Project
Juliana Swaney print (via Art Hound)
Named after the Add Star feature in Google Reader, “Starred” is a column about things that catch my eye as I peruse the blogs I subscribe to. If you’d like to subscribe to Perfect Laughter, here’s a link to our RSS Feed.
Sylvia by Dennis Jacobs
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
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.
Scott Belcastro
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
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.
ABOUT PERFECT LAUGHTER
Perfect Laughter is Dennis and Christina Jacobs of Detroit, Michigan. In addition to blogging about artists that we love, we design, screenprint and letterpress paper goods. If you're looking for a graphic designer or illustrator, commissions are always welcome! (read more...)
OUR LATEST GIGPOSTER
We got to design and print a poster for Darling Imperial's farewell show at the Berkley Front. They let us do whatever we wanted, so we went with vintage lettering and a weathered, faded feel.
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Silkscreening Problems
Spray Paint & Stencil
Estate Sale Tips
Brett Manning
Matt Cipov
Lauren Rice
Tugboat Printshop
Eddie Thiel
Rick McQuaid
Jason Filipow
Jax de Leon
Jessica Serran
Ryan Weiss
Michele Maule