Dinosaur

This is a quick Linocut I did last week...

Here is the color version...

Opening night of the Post Card Show

Opening night of the Post Card Show @ the Lab in San Francisco
November 30, 2007.

Four Oceans Press artists Kathe Welch, Mark Knot, Heather Piazza, and the students of Oak Grove Middle School as well as nearly 200 other artists had their work on display. The Opening was packed with 250-300 people in the gallery looking through boxes of small format art.

We attended the opening and had to wade through the crowds to get a look at the amazing work of various artists. There was a lot of really cool work and we had to wait quite a bit to get to see it all.

Heather stood back and spied on the boxes of our artists to see what kind of reactions people were having to the work. The comments we heard were positive and we saw people walking away with a lot of the stuff we made.

• Kathe Welch - Maps - a book about finding one's way.
  
• Heather Piazza - Origami ornaments and paintings.
  
• Mark Knot - Prints and drawings.
  
• Oak Grove Middle School - Amazing drawings by up and coming
  artists. Watch them take over the Art world...

Check out the Video I shot on opening night...

Last Leaf

This is my finished print for the Four Oceans Press Fall Exchange. I actually finished it a while ago but there are so many things to do - I have neglected to add this to my blog.

Last Leaf is 6" x 8" printed in water-based ink on 8.5 x 11 paper. I used my proof press to print the first few images, but I was not happy with the results I was getting, so I used a baren to print the edition. The image has a spot of green on the leaf which is hand-colored , but the rest of the image is black and white through out.

You can see the whole image on the Four Oceans Press Website Fall Archive page. If you are a printmaker and you need something to do - there are a few exchange projects you can sign up for at Four Oceans Press and on the Baren Forum.

Post Card Show 2007

I am showing my book "Maps" at the Post Card Show at the Lab in San Francisco. The opening is from 6 - 9, Friday, November 30, 2007 - that's tonight. The show runs from, Nov. 30 - Dec. 8, 2007.

This is my third year participating in the Post Card Show. You can see more about my Maps book on my website and you can click to see my work from previous Post Card Shows 2006 and 2005

Maps

This is the front cover of Maps.

‘Maps’ is a hand made artist book. It is the story of how maps shape up and how maps affect our daily lives. I wrote 'Maps' while driving home from work one day and it was inspired by many road trips ‘Maps’ has 18 pages and is full of illustrations. The center page folds out into a large map. This book is hand-made in a limited edition of 200 and is currently displayed in the Post Card Show at The Lab in San Francisco.

You can see more images from my book and get directions to the lab here.

I also posted a few things on the Four Oceans Press store on E-Bay including Maps. Mark wrote a E-Bay guide called 'How to draw a naked Guy.' - It is really about how to get started drawing and how to work with a model - but it is a catchy title.

We are still looking for artist for our two exchanges. The Winter Exchange has 13 artists so far and the Food Alphabet has 11 artists. Q, X & Z - some of the hardest letters are taken.

First Proof.

This is the first Proof I pulled last night. I want to make a few more cuts before I print the edition. It will be mostly black and white with a touch of color on the leaf on the left side of the print.

We are getting in new prints for our fall exchange all of the time and it is really exciting (and exhausting) to coordinate. We knew it would be a lot of work, but it is well worth the effort we are putting out to facilitate such a wonderful thing.

We have a lot of work to do to get our next two exchanges filled with participants.

Ready for Proofing...I think!

This Linoleum is finally ready to proof. Heather and I have been so busy coordinating and doing other web work for our Four Oceans Press Fall and Winter Print Exchanges we have held off on completing our own. Heather's four color print is half way done and I have just finished cutting mine.

I think it is really interesting the way a linoleum looks before it is printed and a lot of artists don't really show the process they go through to make their art. I really like to see the work in before it is finished and I think others might feel the same. I have a few more images of this lino on my website and I will post the proofs and finished image as soon as it is complete.

Our Four Oceans Press Exchange is going strong. We have 16 artists prints on our Fall Archive and we are taking sign-ups for the Winter Exchange and the Food Alphabet Exchange. Also Heather and I both signed up for the BarenForum Year of the Rat New Year's Card Exchange.

Michael Smith at Bucci's

This photo is by Michael Smith.



We went to the opening for Marie Ali and Michael Smith show at Bucci's in Emeryville. The two photographers had very different images which complimented each other quite nicely.

Michael Smith's work is most large sweeping panoramic shots that show the dynamic beauty of naure.You can almost feel the early morning mist as you watch the sunlight rise through.

Marie Ali photographs show a differentkind of intimacy with nature. All of her images are close shots of large turtles swimming and playing in the water. It is rare to get that close to wild nature and beautiful that shehas done it to share with all of us.

The Show runs October 27 - November 30, 2007 at Bucci's in Emeryville.

Winter Print Exchange

Four Oceans Press is nearing the end of our first print exchange and we are quite excited about the turn out. So far we have 13 of 25 prints in and currently on display on our permanent archive page.

We are happy to announce sign-ups for our second Hand-pulled Print exchange.


This is a simple print exchange. You print an edition of 26 hand-pulled prints in any traditional print media – Woodblock, Linoleum, Serigraph, Lithograph or Intaglio. You will have about two months to do the work and send it to us. Send the prints as soon as they are finished and dry. We will coordinate and collate the prints and return to you a pile of 25 prints from 25 different artists.

All of the details can be found on our website.

Our exchange is open to anyone who works in traditional printing media.

Take a look, Read, Consider and then sign up. If you can not get involved this time, check our website regularly for our next exchange and other projects.

Opening night was fun!

I had three pieces hung on the walls of the gallery and 13 prints in sleeves in a display rack.


I won the Best of Show Sponsor's Award for my Linoleum print Sally Bird. My print The Enchanted Tree and my pen & ink drawing Holiday got a lot of really good response form the crowds. Holiday is the second in my calendar series to be shown at the Frank Bette Canter for the Arts. There are twelve calendar in the series of which three are finished. When they are all complete I plan to show them together.

Heather Piazza had four pieces hung on the walls and 15 glass pendants on display. Graham Bird had one of his photograph in the show - a painted nude female figure holding a gold pear and a dove.

Alameda Literati

I will be presenting my half-way completed picture book 'The Last Monkey" at Alameda Literati, (tomorrow) Saturday, Nov. 3, at 12:00.

'The Last Monkey" is a story about my fear of falling off of the bed. The drawings are Pen & Ink. I will be showing several drawings from the book as well as reading selections and answering questions about my story making process. Several more images can be seen on my website.

Another Drawing, 'Holiday' is currently on display at the Frank Bette Center for that Arts with a few of my woodblock and Linoleum prints. 'Holiday' is part of series of twelve Calendars each with its own theme. The first Calendar - 'Month' was shown at Frank Bette in September.

A Partridge and a Pear Tree

Come Check out the show at the Frank Bette Center for the Arts "A Partridge and a Pear Tree". The show runs from November 2nd - December 24th, 2007.

The Opening Gala is Friday, November 2, 7-9 PM.

I have two relief prints and a large pen & Ink drawing in the main gallery.


This Print is called 'Sally Bird'. It is oiled-based black ink spooned onto very fine rice paper. I printed this before I got my proof press.

My friends Heather Piazza and Graham Bird - artists associated with Four Oceans Press & Gallery - also have pieces in this show.

Our First Four Oceans Press Hand-pulled Print exchange is well underway. Ten of 25 artist have sent their prints in and they are archived on the site. If you are interested in the next exchange the details can be found here. The theme for the second exchange is "Winter" and sign up starts November 1st, 2007.

Fall

This is a drawing on Linoleum for my next print. It is part of the Four Oceans Press Fall 2007 Hand-Pulled Print Exchange. I will put more shots of the print here as it progresses.

About this time last year I decided it was time to start my own press. I had some clear goals and some big ideas and I knew I would learn a lot in the process. This summer my friend Heather and I decided to do our first big project as a hand-pulled print exchange. We had both participated in print exchanges through BarenForum and a few other organizations. We thought we were ready so we put out the call for artist and whole bunch of people signed up. Currently we have 21 of 25 spaces filled. We are still looking for four more artists (See the details here).

We actually have four exchanges scheduled over the next year and a few projects to go along with the exchange. The first project is a 2009 Calendar which should be completed next fall. We also are working on details for a show here in the San Francisco Bay Area of all four print exchanges – 100 artists, 100 prints.

We want to promote our own work, of course, but we also feel that this is a good way to promote our friends who are artists – so each artist who participates in the exchange will have a permanent spot on the Four Oceans Press Archive with a link back to their website….

I won an Award!

Opening night at the Frank Bette Center was really good! There were about 100 people there and I got a lot of really good comments about my art - especially the 'Month'. I received the sponsors award for this piece. It was quite a surprise! Here is a close up of it and I will get a better picture when the show comes down at the end of the month.

This is a picture of one of the gallery patrons studying the 'Month'.





This is a shot of the huge crowd. It was wall to wall people with a lot of other people in the other rooms. You can see the 'Month" hanging in the corner of this room. It is really big! To the left of the 'Month' two of my prints are hanging. You can see a straight shot of them below...


The one on top is called 'Once there was a way...', on the bottom is 'When I call you name...' The collage in the middle is not mine, but it is very nice.

Art Opening - tonight!

Frank Bette Center for the Arts,
1601 Paru Street, Alameda, CA 94501

510-523-6957

Opening: Friday September 7, 7-9 PM

First Friday Opening Gala of "Reading Between the Lines"

If you can't make the opening check out the show any time - September 7-29.

I have four pieces in this show. I have one large drawing and three prints. The large drawing called 'Month' is about 24" x 40". It is a pen and ink drawing with an image of a laundry machine I invented and some text describing a month in the life. I will post an image as soon as I can get one. I can't believe I did not photograph it before I had it framed. It is first in a series of 12 and I am very excited that it got into the show.

One of the prints is a variation of "The Three Graces" print with a block of blue text added that reads "When I call your name..." The second print is called "Once there was a way..." It is a landscape print of a valley road with mountians in the background and a giant fork in the road - figuratively and literally. The third print is from my Lavatory series. It is a 4" x 6" print of a roll of toilet paper.

I hope to see you there!

Blumen

This is my most recent Linoleum print.

Blumen is the German word for flowers. This is an image of three large flowers. This linoleum block print has four colors and is printed by hand. First the Yellow was printed, then part of the image was cut away and the dark yellow was printed. More linoleum was cut away so that the Orange could be printed and finally the Red.

There are 8 color variations of the image. The whole series can be seen on the 2007 print archive page on my website.

I am excited about doing more multi-colored prints...

It has been a very busy summer. Yesterday was my first day back to work in two months. School starts on the 27th and none of the teachers are ready... I will be glad to have a regular schedule, but that means I will have less time for goofing off - and I will misss it.

Open Art Studio Event!

This is a large reverse acrylic painting I have been working on. It is painted on glass and then peeled off and will be mounted to a canvas. This image will actually be cut and made into two separate canvases.


Several artists are featuring their work at the same studio location (some of the artists involved are featuring their collection of female and male nude drawings/paintings/prints at the same studio location). Oil & Acrylic Paintings, Sculpted Glass Pendants, Pen & Ink Drawings, Linoleum & Woodblock Prints, Photography and More...

Pro Arts is pleased to announce East Bay Open Studios during the first two weekends in June: June 2 & 3 and June 9 & 10, 2007.
East Bay Open Studios will feature over 400 artists.

June 2 & 3 and June 9 & 10, 2007
11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Several artists, including:
For more information:
http://www.kathewelch.org
http://www.markknot.com
http://www.heatherpiazza.com

Thank you for your support!

Citrus Tree...

This is a 'quick' oil painting I did this afternoon. It is 9" x 12" on Canvas. It is harder each day to come home from work and work more - on my own art, but summer is so close.

Officially, I have 20 school days left. Then, I will have two glorious months to paint and print...

The Enchanted Tree

The Enchanted Tree is part of a series I am doing for a book project. This print is part of the BarenForum Exchange#32.

Hide

This is an image from the book I am working on called "The Last Monkey." It is about my fear of falling off of the bed. This drawing is from the part where I am trying to hide from the Sharks circling my three level bunk bed.

The story is finished and about 1/3 of the illustrations are done.

Communication

My students want me to show them how to draw certain cartoon characters and I want them to use their imagination and experiment and try to figure things out. This sketch grew out of a drawing I made to show a kid how to make a cartoon monkey and a cow. I thought it would be funny if the two of them had a conversation.

This drawing is based on the Illustration Friday theme of Communication. Cick on the link below to see more.




I am starting to list some of Art on Etsy. Etsy is similar to E-Bay but with out the auction format and all items are handmade.

Gravity

This is a sketch for Illustration Friday (see below). This weeks theme is 'Gravity' so I drew a tree with it's last leaf on the ground...

The Mountian

I have been experimenting with mono-printing. This is one of my first attempts. I actually tried it a few years ago with bad results, but I took another shot last night and I was much happier with what I got. I am going to try a few more with different and extra details and I think I will hand-color this one...

Orange Flower Oil Painting

This is a oil painting called Orange Flowers. It is about 9 inches square. Painted on Masonite.

Orange Flower

.

This is a pen & ink drawing from my Flower series. It is colored with Oil Pastels. It is on 5 x 7 archival Artist board. It is available on Ebay.

29 Blocks waiting to be cut...

I picked up some wood in Berkeley last Saturday. I cut it on my table saw this afternoon. Now I have 29 Blocks waiting to be drawn on and cut...

9 are 5 x 7
16 are 4 x 6
4 are 6 x 7 3/4
There are a few odd sized scraps, but I plan to use them, too.

The Great Baren Cairn

This wood cut is part of a bigger project organized by Maria Arango of Las Vegas, Nevada. Maria is one of my role models. The URL for her website called http://1000woodcuts.com clearly spells out her goals - to do 1000 woodcuts - she is nearly a quarter of the way to her goal at 238.


My part of the cairn was drawn and carved yesterday after work. The entire Great Baren Cairn project can be followed at Maria's website. Take a look at her other work. She is amazing.

Yellow Flower

Oil on Canvas
8 x 10


Painted on August 10th
Should be dry by September 10th

The Tree

Oil on Canvas
8 x 10
Painted on August 10th


This might take a few weeks to dry...

What's Your Number?

The Art Bureau is collecting numbers for an Art Bureau calendar. And now they have my number.

From their site:

Art Bureau (.org) is an online art gallery and publishing house for artists. As a supplement to the Art Bureau online gallery, we publish a black-and-white zine fostering a D.I.Y. approach to art, design and community. Each issue features 32 pages of artwork, interviews and articles about artistic collaborations, networking and organizations.

Play the accordian, Go to Jail

‘The Accordion’ is part of a music series which also includes ‘The Bass’ and ‘The Guitar’. It was created while I was hanging out with my brothers’ rock band. Yes! They played the accordion on some songs even though the singer had a sticker on his accordion case that said ‘Play an accordion, go to jail.’
‘The Accordion’ is 10.5” x 6” on a 12” x 18” sheet of rice paper. It is from an edition of 4, with two artists proof (A/P) that means there are only six in existence.

The Church in the Field

This is the church print. The Lino-Block can be seen here. I uploaded that image on March 19th, printed it the next night, but had a bad printing run. I decided to come back to it in a few days, hoping I would have a better printing session. I did and I was able to print the full edition that night. The original image had a window in the middle of the building, but I did not like the way it looked on the print so I tokk it out and I think the results are better.

Kathe Welch

Kathe Welch

I did a big update on my website this week and I made a site for my friend Heather - another artist.

Point Reyes National Seashore (Spring Break 2006)

The first Road Trip of Spring Break. We drove north out of Oakland across the San Rafael Bridge, up 101 to Lucas Valley road to Nicasio Valley Road, left on Point Reyes/Petaluma Road and all the way to the end of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.We got out a few times a long the way to take in the view and look at the many cows and waterfalls. We stopped at a gas station in Point Reyes station to check our directions – I usually go with out a map, though I did have my GPS unit. Inside the store two young business women (maybe 11 or 12 years old) asked if I wanted to buy some sage that they had picked. I was impressed with their entrepreneurial skills, so I bought one.

We were soon back on the road and began the count down of dairies on the way to the lighthouse – each one labeled with a letter – Historic C Ranch Established Circa 1859. At one of the dairies along the way, we saw a cow that had just given birth. Her calf lay on the ground at her feet and the placenta was still hanging from her body. There was a vulture waiting on a nearby fence.

At the end of the line we walk .4 miles from the parking lot to the visitor’s center and 400 steps down the hill to the light house. The views were amazing and well worth the long drive. The air was crisp and clean and it was one of the first sunny day in some time.

Ah...Vacation...

Nine Glorious Days!
Starting Right Now.

Window

4x6 lino-cut
Printed last night...

Flower Print

4x6 lino-cut
Printed last night...

The Church

This is freshly cut linoleum block that will be printed tomorrow night...

Project: Catch-22

Pro Arts Shows



Still Present Pasts: Korean Americans and the "Forgotten War"

Inspired by Korean American life stories of struggle, survival and compassion, three visual artists, three performance artists, a documentary filmmaker, a psychologist, and a historian came together to create a common vision for Still Present Pasts and its elements. As the oral histories are retold via text, audio, and video recordings, visitors experience the projected images of soldiers from all sides, cross a twelve-foot bridge of division and reconciliation, and are asked to help piece together gaps in family history via an interactive puzzle. All this and more intermingle with installation art, photographs, historical texts and first-person recollections to create a strong visual and deeply evocative experience.

Artists' Reception: Thursday, March 9, 6 - 8pm
Artists' Talk: Saturday, March 11, 1pm
Making Connections: Saturday, March 25, 1pm
Intergenerational Dialogue & Closing Program: Saturday, April 15, 1pm More information ...

PROJECT: Catch-22 presents works on 81/2" x 11" paper by local artists exploring their personal response to military conflict and war.
Artists' Reception: Thursday, March 9, 6 - 8pm More information ...

Tonight...

PROJECT: Catch-22
Exhibition Dates: March 2 - April 23, 2006

Artists' Reception Thursday, March 9, 6 - 8pm

PROJECT: Catch-22 presents works on 81/2" x 11" paper by local artists exploring their personal response to military conflict and war.

Participating Artists:
Mandell Andres, Chris Beards, Melissa Bolger, Timothy Buckwater, Brent Bushnell, Tony D'Aguanno, Susan Feldman, Henry Fesler, Erik Friedman, Thomas Frongillo, Annette Goldberg, Lulu Hanna, Judy Hiramoto, Monica Johnson, Verlena Johnson, Mary Kandalian-Aslanian, Stefan Krikl, William LaRue, Elaine Maute, Nancy McHone, Laura McHugh, Ronald McKenzie, David Miller, Ibraim Nascimento, Anna Natille, Kathleen Ney, Lori Pino, Julia Pombo, Rob Prideaux, Courtenay Redis, Barbara Rogers, Tiffany Sankary, Joyce Shon, Sue Shuff, Alison Smith, Kathe Welch, Melissa West, Al Wong, Holly Wong, Julia Wren

My fear of Falling off of the Bed

This is one of the drawings for my book I am illustrating. It is called The Last Monkey and it is about my fear of falling off of the bed. There will be about 140 drawings in the end. Last night I finished number 25.

HANG

This is a sculpture I made a few years ago. The figure is strung up by his feet as he struggles to hold up his arms. His major bones are wood and his muscles are built out of twisted Brass and Copper wire.

Click on the picture to enlarge it and see the detail in the way the wire muscles wrap around his bones.

I am quite proud of this sculpture. It is one of my favorites because of the detail and the time involved in creating it.

The Three Graces

‘Three Graces’ is my version of a classic pose. Three curvy women stand together huddled as if they are telling great secrets. Many famous artists have painted or sculpted this pose. My favorite is Rodin’s version which stands invitingly atop “The Gates of Hell.”

I started this print before I move to the bay area the first time. I made all of the cuts and printed the Blue at my first apartment in Alameda. Life got in the way and the woodblock and prints were put aside for quite a long time. When I move back to Alameda, I dug the woodblock out of a box and put it on my kitchen table, so that I could see it everyday until I actually finished it. One day in January, I sat down to finish the cutting and last week I went out to the studio to print. I am excited that it is finally finished as it seems to be the culmination of a lot of other things. I feel more and more like I am getting to where I am supposed to be and finishing this print is like finishing this chapter. Now I feel I can move on from where I have been stuck.

‘Three Graces’ is a wood-cut. The image is 7” x 8.25” on Rice Paper. 5 were made in blue and black. 4 were made in orange and black. There are 10 in black only. The color (blue or orange) was printed in water based ink and the black printed on top in oil based ink.

The finished version can be seen along with some shots of the print in progress at my website.