DACHSHUND ON DECK ABOUT TO BARK

"Dachshund on Deck About to Bark"
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition

INDEPENDENCE HALL

"Independence Hall"
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition

BENNINGTON FLAG

"Bennington Flag"
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition

Bennington
Used in the Battle of Bennington, August 16, 1777 by the American militia. Led by General John Stark, they defeated a large British raiding force, thus protecting the military supplies at Bennington. This flag was the first to lead American armed forces on land.

THE BETSY ROSS FLAG

"Betsy Ross Flag"
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition

Betsy Ross
In 1776 George Washington and two representatives of Congress, Colonel Ross and Robert Morris, asked Betsy Ross to make a flag according to a rough drawing they carried with them. At Mrs.Ross's suggestion, stars with five points were used instead of six.

GRAND UNION FLAG

"Grand Union Flag"
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition

Grand Union
This flag was never officially sanctioned by the Continental Congress but is considered the first flag of the United States. It was in use from late 1775 until mid 1777. In its blue canton was the red cross of St. George and the white cross of St. Andrew. The thirteen stripes signified the original colonies.

Art Weekend

My wife, Barbie, on the left, and her cousin, Jill, worked on getting cards made for sale on Etsy this past weekend. Arts and Crafts are fun!

THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER

"The Star Spangled Banner"
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition

THE AMERICAN FLAG

"The American Flag"
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Limited Edition of 13

THE STATUE OF LIBERTY

"The Statue of Liberty"
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Limited Edition of 13

This was difficult. Carving the face was just crazy. I love the rest of the piece though.
The 1st version had longer crown points. Those will be used for greeting cards. I cut down on the length, and will put these up as ACEOs.
This was also the most difficult piece to ink evenly. There are many variations, and each paper, cold, hot and linen seemed to ink unevenly.

THE LIBERTY BELL

"The Liberty Bell"
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition

I decided to do a more traditional view of the Liberty Bell.

THE LIBERTY BELL

"The Liberty Bell"
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition

Visited Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell this past weekend. I plan on doing a National Park Series.

DACHSHUND WITH CHEW TOY

"Dachshund With Chew Toy"
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition

This evening I did a carving of our Dachshund, Squidward, chewing a toy.

GRANT'S TOMB DECORATED

"Grant's Tomb, Decorated"
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition

I slightly modified the Grant's Tomb carving, to add the American flags, as it was decorated when we were visiting on Memorial Day weekend. While I was at it, I slightly modified the top portion of the building.
I intend to only use this modified version for a planned card series of National Parks and Monuments, to retain the integrity of my claim that the first version of Gran't Tomb will be limited to 10 pieces. Unlike the Tardis piece, I feel this is too similar to the orginal to sell it as an ACEO, and maintain the claim that the original is limited to 10.

GRANT'S TOMB

"Grant's Tomb"
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Limited Edition of 10


My wife and I went to New York City this past weekend, and stopped at Grant's Tomb. Guess who is buried there.
I loved the symmetry of it, and felt compelled to do this carving.

THE ALAMO

The Alamo
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition
5/30/10

Wanted to change things up a bit. A few weeks ago I was at the Alamo, in San Antonio, Texas.

SLITHEEN

Slitheen
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition
5/29/10

As hard a time as I had inking the Ood the other night, this inked easily.

VASHTA NERADA

Vashta Nerada
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition
5/27/10

Rather than try to explain what a Vashta Nerada is, here is an explanation from Doctor Who Wiki:

"The Vashta Nerada were microscopic beings that lived in swarms, thousands strong. These swarms were able to strip a creature to its bare bones in milliseconds and the Doctor once described them as "piranhas of the air".

OOD

Ood
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Limited Edition of 15
5/26/10
For some reason, this was ridiculously hard to ink. It is a limited edition of 15.

SILURIAN

Masked Silurian
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Limited Edition of 50
5/25/10

This is another Doctor Who creature, a Silurian.

K-9

K-9
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition
5/21/10


I did a K-9 last night, a robotic dog companion of Doctor Who.

THE 11th DOCTOR, MATT SMITH

The 11th Doctor
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition
5/19/10

Tonight I was in the mood to try something completely different. A person. I'm actually pretty happy with the result.

GRASPING ANGEL

Grasping Angel
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition
5/18/10

This was done this evening. I am now done with the Weeping Angels.
I may do a K-9 next. K-9 is a robotic dog companion of the Doctor.

HIDING ANGEL

Hiding Angel
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition
5/17/10

I carved my 3rd Weeping Angel this evening. These last 2 have been hard to ink, I guess because of the larger surface area. Linen paper seems to be working best. I intend to do 1 more Angel, another scary, attack type.

REACHING ANGEL

Reaching Angel
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Limited Edition of 50
5/16/10

Tonight, I did a new Weeping Angel carving, titled Reaching Angel. I'm happier with the results of this one, than I was with the earlier attempt. This one was printed on linen canvas paper.
I've put this up on Ebay. It joins several other prints I put up yesterday.

PRINTING FOR GREETING CARDS

Yesterday, my wife's cousin, Jill and her husband Zach came over. Jill is going to create greeting cards using some of my print designs.
We used different colored inks and different papers. She intends on putting them up on Etsy.

http://www.etsy.com/

WEEPING ANGEL DRAWINGS

I think one of the reasons the last couple of prints didn't come out as I'd pictured them, was I didn't spend enough time on the drawings. And I rushed the cuts, which, being as difficult as they were, was unwise. I decided from now on, I'd do the drawings, and when I was completely at ease, time wise, I'd do the cuts.

WEEPING ANGEL

Weeping Angel
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition
5/12/10

I just got back from a vacation, and decide to do what? An image that contains 2 elements that I have never attempted in print form. A face and hands.
It's a Weeping Angel, another Doctor Who creature, and it is a living statue, so it's not exactly a human face, but still, difficult.
I am not entirely thrilled with the face and hands. I think the face needs to be more elegant, and the hands more defined.
I also wasn't happy with the 1st version, as I thought the face was too "in shadow". So that is a limited print of 1.
My wife thinks it is very good, and creepy. I'm interested in other opinions.
Either way, I will be doing another version. Actually, I intend on doing a few versions, of different poses.

CYBERMAN

Cyberman
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition
4/29/10

This evening I did a full body Cyberman. I am happy with the results, overall, considering it was a lot of detail, and not a lot of space to do it in, as I am keeping these to the ACEO size of 2.5" x 3.5".

CYBERMAN

Cyberman
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition
4/26/10

Not Iron Man, but a Cyberman, another nemesis of Doctor Who.

TARDIS 2.5

Tardis
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition
4/25/10

I decided to do another Tardis, with no background, like the Dalek, but didn't feel like cutting a 3rd, so I simply removed the background of the Tardis Version 2. So this is a limited print run of 10.
Here are the steps to printing:

Step 1.
I cut up Arches 140 lb hot press paper.
I'm using Speedball water soluble ink, I squeeze out on a sheet of glass.



Step 2.
I roll out the ink using a brayer. I roll it until its smooth.

Step 3.
Roll it evenly over the stamp.

Step 4.
Place it in the press, with a piece of paper over it, obviously.

Step 5.
Press.
Obviously.

Step 6.
Pull apart carefully. At 1st I was pulling the paper off the stamp while it was still sitting in the press, which caused several uneven prints. Live and learn.



And there you have it.

DALEK

Dalek
2.5" x 3.5"
Block Print
Open Edition
4/25/10


The Daleks are Doctor Who's prime nemesis. I've decided to do a series of the iconic Doctor Who images. Next up may be another Tardis, or a Cyberman.

A friend asked how the lino prints are done:

Step 1. Draw out the image.
I draw it in pencil, and then ink it. To better define the drawing.


Step 2. Carve out the image.
I use Speedball cutters.


Step 3. Ink it.
I didn't take pictures of the inking process, but here are the tools I use:


I started doing the prints using Cold Press water paper I had laying around. I'm going to use Hot Press paper exclusively from now on. It takes the ink much better. I also feel I've got a much better grasp on printing evenly.