Printmaking and a painting

My grandfather makes small metal vehicles and other objects, cars, tractors, trains, bulldozers, excavators, et cetera. Last summer, my grandfather and grandmother asked me if I wanted any of the creations, and I came away with the Model T and the little windmill that became the subject of my first woodblock print.



This deep copper plate etching was in the acid for about five hours. I used China marker and lithocrayon to explore different etched textures in addition to using the asphaltum.



My antique Arvin radio only gets AM stations, takes four C-size batteries to power it, and the grill reminds me of fish scales. Linocuts are not for me, but I do want to try making my own stamps.



Tearing up the surface of a copper plate with a mezzotint rocker over and over is painful work for my right arm, but the results are exciting. The texture is gritty and adjusting the values is much easier to accomplish than with aquatinting. Mezzotint wins hands-down against modern aquatints.





Almost two years ago ago, the price of gas was $2.95 for Regular Unleaded. It was high at the time, and now I wish it was that price, especially with the long road trips that I'll be making in two months.