Everybody loves Ice Cream...right?

Ice Cream - 16x20 - 13/14 color reduction linocut

Edition of: 8 + 1 AP

So I've been slowly working on this Ice Cream print for over a month now.  It's one that was basically created because my wife wanted one....well over a year ago.  This neon sign is courtesy of Disney's California Adventure (Paradise Pier) and was the first major Ice Cream based neon sign that I had seen that really screamed to turn it into a linoleum print.

After coming home and looking at it closer, I realized that there were more colors in the image than I had originally thought.  I had originally figured 8-9 colors, which has become my happy medium for printing and instead discovered 13.  Ouch.  I don't want to skimp on the colors though so that what I'm gonna shoot for and pray to the printmaking Gods for sharp registration.

Like most of my pieces, I start with the light grey which is almost always the shadow on the neon tubing.  The image above is that first printed color.  I'm excited for this piece and I have a lot more confidence in registration than I've had....probably ever.

Flo's - 12x16" - 9 Color reduction linocut

Edition of: 7 + 1 AP

I printed the fourth color to the Cars Land/Cars Flo's V8 Cafe.  The latest color is a light turquoise color.  I had some difficulty mixing this color for some reason....actually....I used too much white which really gave me problems when I went to turn it into the color I wanted.

I'm very happy with the color that I did come up with though.  The next color will be straight turquoise and that will be followed up with a darker version.  I'm about half way through this one and very happy with it so far.

I'm definitely having to take longer to ink the block for these larger pieces.  The first couple of these I pulled did not have a nice even color so I had to reprint them at the end.  I can't apply the ink heavily so these thin layers of ink take considerable time and if I remember correctly, I'm up to about 5-6 minutes worth of inking before I can print the block.

Well I'll have to chat with you all later...I have some things that I have to do today.  Hopefully I can finish carving the Ice Cream block soon so I can print it this coming Saturday.  Have a nice day everyone and I'll update you later.

#art #printmaking #linocut #reductionlinocut #neon #printingprocess #icecream #flos #disney #pixar #disneyland #californiaadventure

Do Flamingos drink Coke? - updates

 

Flamingo - 8x6" - 7 color reduction

So since my last post, I've actually managed to print 2 colors for the neon Flamingo.  I printed a grey for the shadows cast by parts of the Flamingo.  I don't appear to have any photos on my computer of that stage (they are probably still on my phone) so I'm going to just continue with the 3rd color.

The third color was a light pink which is mostly a background color.  I printed two pieces before deciding that I wasn't that crazy with how the color was working out.  The pink I had mixed just seemed way too light so I added some additional red into it and made a much nicer value.

This is both colors set side by side.  I printed the rest of the edition and then once I finished I went back and reprinted the first two pieces that were with the lighter color.  I like how this piece is turning out so far.  The colors are so far pretty good and I have already mixed up the next pink...it's sort of a mid-pink...darker than the image on the right, but not to dark.  It's hard to explain, so I guess we'll just have to wait until the next update.  I was hoping to print it today, but it's still very tacky to the touch so hopefully next week.

Flo's  - 12x16 - 9 color reduction linocut

Flo's is moving along pretty well.  I've printed the two pinkish layers in that upper left corner of the block.  That area is a "V8" logo that is at the center of the structure.  Both pinks printed very rapidly since it was such a small area.

I needed to find the second pink color and needed it to pop against the initial light pink.  In the past, I've created a second color only to find that it didn't really contrast well with the initial piece.  I'm very happy with the color and I'm really excited about the next color...problem is...the ink is still tacky and now I must wait.

 

Coca-Cola - 3x3" - 5 color reduction linocut

I've made pretty good progress on the Coca-Cola since it's last update.  I printed the initial light grey which doubles for the background color as well as the shadowed area of the logo on the bottle cap.  I've made this an edition of 20 so far.  I don't usually make an edition of this size as I find it...unexciting...to print the same image over and over and over.  I like to print a couple of one image and then move onto another piece.  At 3x3" though, I figured it would create a good number of prints that I could submit to various shows all at once.

 

Just today I printed the second color for the bottle cap.  Just a straight red which is also the red highlight of the bottle cap.  All other reds used will now be shadow colors.  I'm very happy so far with the registration as well.  It doesn't look very exciting at the moment, but I'm hoping with the next red it'll really create some depth to the image.

I've also torn the paper for the 16x20" Ice Cream print that my wife has been wanting.  I'm excited to get it started and afraid at the same time.  There are quite a few colors to this piece and I just have this fear of messing it up somewhere along the line.  Hopefully I won't and I'll be thrilled with it, but of course for right now...it's a lot of what ifs.

Have some errands to run so I'll update everyone hopefully next week.

#art #printmaking #linocut #reductionlinocut #flamingo #neon #Flos #Disney #LasVegas #lightandshadow #CocaCola #bottlecap #red #pink #printingprocess

Pixar and soda (pop) based inspirations

 

Flo's - 12x16" - 9 Color Reduction Linocut

I've begun working on a couple of the newer pieces that i have been planning.  First up is "Flo's", it is based on a location in the Disney/Pixar film Cars.

Disney has always been a major inspiration for myself.  During high school the only thing that I wanted to do was become a Disney animator.  I did pursue that dream and attended college for animation.  Though the dream of animating for Disney never came true, I did get to work freelance in animation for a small studio located just outside of Pittsburgh, PA and I did get to see my work on a big screen (okay, so it was a scoreboard at PNC Park (home to the Pirates), but it was still a big screen).

During our last anniversary trip, my wife and I traveled to California and spent the first couple days at both Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure.  If you have not had the chance to visit California Adventure, I do recommend giving a shot at some point.  Cars Land is a section of the park completely devoted to the movie Cars and is practically a perfect recreation of Radiator Springs from the movie....neon and all.  Both my wife and I became quite enamored with the place that we visited 3 times over our last 2 days at Disney.

My piece, "Flo's", is based on a photo that I took of part of the signage for the fictional gas station.

(Inked block - Color #1 - Light Grey)

 

(Left: Color Proof - Right: Printed Light Grey Layer)

 

Coca-Cola - 3x3" - 5 Color Reduction Linocut

I've also started another mini print of a Mexican Coca Cola bottlecap.  Coca-Cola recently released Georgia Peach and California Raspberry flavored glass bottled Cokes.  After trying them both I wound up sitting on the couch with my wife for a while.  When I went to throw the bottles and caps away, I noticed that the light from the lamp created all types of highlights and shadows across the bottle cap.  Needless to say...it stopped me and though the original intention was to do the Georgia Peach cap, I decided instead on a traditional Mexican Coke cap.

I would like to do a larger scale piece, but really want to do a test piece first so I've chosen to do a mini-print of it first.  Depending on the outcome of this piece may lead to larger 8x8 or 10x10" pieces.

(Paper "white" areas carved away and prepared for printing of first color)

Lastly....

YMCA - 4x12" - 5 Color Reduction Linocut

This is a piece that I've fiddled with since I first started doing linocut.  It's based off of a location on Pittsburgh's North Side.  I've struggled doing this piece ever since and I don't understand why...it's a simple 5 color piece.  The "M" was recently the subject of one of my mini-prints.  This piece isn't overly large and part of me would really like to do it as a large scale piece...say 9x20" or 10x22".  Since I have the Flo's and another 16x20 piece currently in my pipeline, I'll hold off for the time being and just complete this smaller version.

That's all for this update.  I should have some new printed pieces by the end of today and tomorrow.

#art #printmaking #linocut #reductionlinocut #printingprocesses #lightandshadow #neon #bottlecap #disney #pixar #animation #flos #carsland #californiaadventure #ymca #cocacola #coke