Sketchbook Sunday: Rabbits at the Wagner

More Wagner taxidermy. They do manage to be kind of cute, but much like their friend the Longtail Weasel I sketched last month, these guys look like they've been dead a while.

"Indian Pipes" by Karma Grotelueschen

These ones stand out 
Against swathes of green and brown 
Later we'll think them dreams 

I received my set of prints from Baren Forum's Exchange #70 today - yay! Out of the 25 other prints, I decided to highlight this one. Admittedly, I'm particularly interested in it because I've been making prints with more plants, and also because I'm grateful to now know about Monotropa uniflora, otherwise known as the "ghost plant", "corpse plant", or as in the title of this wood engraving, "Indian Pipes".

This print caught my attention because of how rubbery and tube-like the subject appears in contrast to the grassy, woody textures that surround it.

In the colophon, the artist left some comments explaining her rare and fascinating subject:

"Record summer rains bring hundreds of ghost plants to area woods. These white plants lack chlorophyll so live parasitically on a fungus that in turn parasitizes the roots of trees. Also called Indian pipes, they are rare and only grow from their hidden roots when conditions are right, not appearing for many years sometimes."

Branches in Chorus

6" x 8" (block) 8" x 11" (paper)
White line woodcut
Watercolor on Stonehenge

I'm really happy with this. This open, airy approach is one I plan to develop with my white line woodcuts in response to direction observations outdoors.

Molly Hashimoto's Bird Calendar

This image is from a new calendar that I excitedly purchased for 2017. It features 12 sharp and colorful block prints of birds by Molly Hashimoto. The artist wrote about its release on her blog earlier this year.

Although I will miss my Gustave Baumann calendar. (Both were published by Pomegranate, a small press I highly recommend for art calendars), I am thrilled to have have this gem hanging in my kitchen for a year.

All twelve of the prints in the calendar are stunning, but I just had to feature the one owl. Beyond the obvious reasons, the intense gaze and highlights in the eyes of this autumn-colored specimen are captivating.

Happy Winter Solstice, my faithful readers and lovers of woodcuts. Sleep well as our nocturnal cousins revel in the extended darkness of this longest night.

Sketchbook Sunday: Deer Skull

I'm not thrilled with this (proportions are screwed up), but I've been so busy with work and holiday season stuff it is literally the only thing I did in my sketchbook this week. Going back to the Wagner to draw again tomorrow - hopefully do something better. At least I'm keeping my hand moving, which is the point.

Three Figures (White Line Woodcuts by Martin and Heus)

These are both white line woodcuts. The first is A Day at the Plaza by Peter Michael Martin and the second is The Days are Drawing In by Ray Heus.

Three each
Three feminine figures
Three in
Three out
Three bodies with
Solid flesh under
Draped cloth
Warm bodies amid
Cool air
Three light, but grounded






Three hover over
That which has collapsed
Flat on the
Table
Sand
Three look out
Chins up
Three searching souls
Connected to each other and
The world beyond.

First Proof of "Tree In Early Autumn"

12" x 28" (block)
White line woodcut (Provincetown style)
Watercolors on Hosho
First proof

This is my latest white line woodcut. I like the carved drawing, and I'm mostly satisfied with the top portion of the print (detail) but I need to work out some issues with the green. Also, I don't like how it looks on the Hosho paper and I'm going to try next with Stonehenge for a more crisp appearance and to hopefully get more of the subtle woodgrain showing.