alandesigns

Self portrait

It’s me! This is a print using the relief technique. Basically I carved the image out of a linoleum block, covered it with paint, slapped a damp piece of paper on top, and ran it through the press. I carved the different brown tones at different times though, carving out the white first, then light brown, then medium then dark brown last. It’s a similar technique to Japanese woodblock printing, except it’s on linoleum instead of wood, and except that its…not…even like a Japanese woodblock and I suck in comparison…..

smurfette

It’s Smurfette! This may look like quick little drawing, but it’s actually etching print using the “Intaglio” technique. Basically, I covered a zinc metal plate with an acid-proof coating, then “drew” the image by scraping off the coating where the image goes, and placing the plate in a bath of acid. The acid eats away the metal where there is no protective coating. Many many repeats of this process with different lengths of times in the bath are needed to get the right amount of tonal differences. When the plate is done I cover it with ink, wipe off the excess, slap a damp piece of paper on top, and run it through the press. The pattern in the background is actually a piece of lace I placed over the coating.

Family sketch

This is a sketch I did in 2007 of a huddled family made of circular and linear elements. The sketch started, as many of mine do, as just random expressive curves and lines. The idea materialized in the process and I then refined the drawing into the huddled family, as I see it. If you see something else then you’re right too!