Five O'Clock Shadow

I like to joke that I have a "serious" line of work and a "frivolous" one.
This would fall in the latter category but these silly works, made without thoughts about meaning or purpose always have a spontaneous feeling rather than being fussy or forced.   And I think if they still make ME smile, then I think that's a good thing as they'll probably make others smile too.

This is a small work--the image is just 2" x 2" (5cm x 5cm) and is based on one of my many scribbles and doodles in one of my sketchbooks.

 
I had meant to do this as pure color woodblock. But cutting all those little dots for the beard stubble takes time and I really thought they'd be perfect done with an etching so the drawing was etched on a small zinc plate.
Unlike the previous Lampreys/Valentine prints, rather than using aquatint for the colors, I went ahead and cut several small wood blocks for the color passages.


So this ended up being Japanese woodblock and hard-ground etching on zinc and three color blocks (Shina) and was printed both with a baren (the color plates) and a small press.

These are test prints (rather than true Artist proofs),  and I think I need to darken the lines in a few places and decide on how much plate tone I want as I try to print a reasonably consistent edition once I decide which one I like best.

Etaga-ME!

"I look a little like this"

My etagami penpal, Yasuko Izumiya, will be coming to Florence for the 17th LAILAC Japanese Festival next month and although we have been exchanging these sumi ink and watercolor drawings for over two years, we've never met in person. The Japanese Etagami Society has many members and last year's group and the publicity they received in their monthly journal (with photos of the fair, the etagami tables, the paintings they did of Florence) has stirred up much interest and I'm told that this year there is a waiting list of those who wanted to come......Most are in their 70's and 80's, so it's quite a stretch to imagine flying from Japan to Italy, touring the country a bit, spending two full days at the Fair, hosting the Etagami tables and helping young and old alike learn how to make etagami, jet-lag and all.

I will be demonstrating moku hanga prints again this year and I've also volunteered to help out with the etagami section if there's need.
I'm thrilled I get to meet my Etagami-pal after sharing  drawings of flowers, bugs and everyday objects with her for almost 2 years.

As we've never met, and there will be a big crowd, I'm sending her these cards to help her pick me out from the others.