A little bit more on printmaking

This week I posted about etching, drypoint, linocut, and woodcut as methods for making durable, quality prints by hand. I also experimented recently with "soft ground" etching, which delighted me by producing a print that looks like a drawing.

"Soft ground" is a softer version of the "hard ground" wax used for etching. When etching with hard ground, one must use a needle to scratch the image into the hard wax. For this technique, one can press a design into the soft ground with a pencil. One transfers the image by drawing on a piece of newsprint placed over the wax-coated metal plate. The wax will stick to the other side of the paper, leaving a duplicate image on the plate, ready to be exposed to the acid.

I lay this little sketch (based on a drawing I made last summer, at the Kenai River) on top of a plate waxed with soft ground. I went over it with a pencil, pressing my marks into the wax.

 When I lifted my drawing off the plate, this image, in wax, appeared on the reverse of my paper:

Wherever the wax stuck to the paper, the plate was exposed. Into the acid bath it went. Then I inked it and ran it through the press with a piece of wet paper. Here is the print:

Now I can make as many of these as I want! Neat, isn't it? 

I like this image a lot, but I liked the soft brown of the wax so much I might print it again using a sepia colored ink. I could also hand color the final print with watercolor to give it the Alaska Landscape finishing touch. Mostly, I want to experiment more with this wonderful, simple way to make prints.

Next post, back to oil painting. I am doing some small pieces (6 x 6, 8 x 8) which will be very affordable, especially if bought unframed. Stay tuned, shoppers.

Noodling around in the summertime

This summer I finally went full time with the artwork, but, inevitably, other activities worked their way into my schedule: time at a remote cabin, and a trip to the Kenai river, getting in a winter supply of  salmon. And we got a dog, so I became a dog trainer. Life, in other words, intervened. Nevertheless, I noodled around with my sketchbook. Here are some results.

A graphite study of the birch just outside the cabin bedroom:

A quick watercolor of Mt. St. Elias, one of our prettier volcanos. That's the Kenai river in the foreground, where my friends were fishing for salmon while I kept the dog company!

I spent some time in the studio as well. Thinking about a still life I want to tackle, I made this preliminary sketch in charcoal. The second photo gives you an idea of how things are set up in the studio. Such a small space, but all mine.

There are no finished oil paintings in this post because I worked on painting florals for the rest of the summer. Florals are a challenge! Of three paintings started, I am satisfied with only one. It is drying and waiting for varnish and its "official" photograph, coming in a week or so. 

Our summer is ending, and I am headed east for a month of classes. I'm excited to see what will come of an intensive period of painting and drawing. More on all that later. I hope you had an enjoyable summer!

Arctic Spring

In 2009 I travelled north through the Alaskan arctic. This was at summer solstice. The sun was above the horizon all day, and when it was overcast, as in this painting, 4PM and 4AM looked about the same.

I didn't have the opportunity to stop for plein air work. However, I made sketches and lots of color notes, and did paintings from memory at the end of each day. This painting began as one of those.

The arctic is wonderfully green in June, with rolling plains leading off into the mountain ranges. This is the country of the great caribou herds. In this view, there is a small river, with snow still hanging on at the edges. Small wildflowers, deep green flowering shrubs, and slender grasses cover the tundra. A mysterious place.

Arctic Spring

9 x 12

oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com

Plein air in Denali National Park, Part I

Right after Labor Day I made my annual plein air painting trip to Denali National Park. In past years I have camped at the west end of the park road, and concentrated on the views in the vicinity of Wonder Lake. This year I stayed on the east end, car camping at Teklanika campground, and riding the green buses west to my painting site.

I also changed how I worked. Previously I painted as many small panels as I could during my week in the park. This year I decided to go for the big picture. I set up at Polychrome Pass on the first day, and spent the entire time on one painting.


Because I was riding the bus with all my gear every day, I needed a way to carry a large wet painting without completely disturbing the paint, my fellow passengers, and the wonderful bus drivers. My solution was to use two 16 x 20 panels. I clamped them together to make a 16 x 40 surface, and packed them in a 16 x 20 panel carrier for the trips to and from camp.

I also ordered a new easel, and I was really happy with it. This design is called a Take-It-Easel, and is beautifully made. The first painting day was difficult, with wind gusts up to 40 mph. My easel was steady! The weight of my paint box anchored it well. I went for the original rather than the cheaper knock-offs, and am glad I did.

I also carried a piece of heavy cardboard, measuring about 10 x 30, to help brace the outer edges of the panels. That was the most awkward item to carry on the bus. However, once the panels were clamped in place, all was well. Until that moment I had to throw big rocks on whatever I needed to put down to have a free hand.

Here's my notebook with rocks and my foot, since both hands are holding the camera. No matter how hard the wind blows, I make my Munsell notations. For those who are interested in such things, the view was very much in the 5YR range, with some variations in the YR and R hues. Luckily, I used my notes from last year to mix up and bring what I needed.

I chose Polychrome Pass primarily for that great sweep of glacial plain, with rivers, mountains, snow, skies, and weather. My second reason was human presence. Every one of the many buses traveling the park road stops at Polychrome Pass. I met 50 - 60 friendly and enthusiastic people a day, had my picture taken about 20 times a day, and ran out of business cards. Next time I'm bringing at least 300.

I figured that, because of the many buses, the wildlife might choose to be elsewhere most of the time. As much as I like to see wildlife, I preferred to see wildlife at a respectable distance.


Once I had spent a few days there, my attitude shifted a bit. There was a bear close by for several days, and I am sure the bear knew of my presence, but like all the other bears in the area, my bear was too busy putting on fat for the coming winter to indulge in idle curiosity. Just in case, though, I kept the bear spray on a belt around my waist.

Before long, just about everyone in the park knew about the crazy woman standing out in the wind 5 or 6 hours a day, easy to see from a distance in her bright yellow rain gear.

Many thanks to Mr. Rob Chambers for the photo at the top of the post, and to the kind person who took this one with my camera! More photos in Part II, coming soon.

Tributary of the Thoroughfare

On our sixth and last painting day in Denali National Park, I went back to Eilson Visitor's Center to catch the afternoon shadows. This little river joins up with the Thoroughfare River, which runs roughly parallel to the Alaska Range. What a gorgeous last day!


Mary Bee came down from her hike on a nearby ridge, found me painting, and took this excellent photo.


The next morning we all went back to the north side of the lake for an early walk. We came across this old truck (no, it wasn't abandoned), and wished we could just get in and have our own adventure vehicle. I can't imagine two better people to have adventures with!


Mary Bee caught this photo of Paul and me having one last walk before leaving the park. Just another beautiful morning in one of the most beautiful spots on earth.

This is the last post of the Denali National Park series. Thanks to Mary Bee, to Paul, to friends who helped make this trip possible, and to all of you for being an appreciative audience!


9" x 12" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com

Windswept McKinley

After lunch on our first painting day, the mountain came out intermittently, with blustery wind at our level and sweeping clouds up there at 20,000 feet. I pulled out my biggest panel to capture this biggest mountain. I had to work quickly, while it was still in view, and here is the rather dramatic result.

That's the Thoroughfare River at the foot of the mountain, below the tundra-covered glacier.

Mary Bee Kaufman, my painting partner, took the photo of me, and I used her camera to photograph her. It's great to have a really good photographer along, I would have many fewer photos but for Mary Bee!

Yes, I look like a crazy woman with all those layers, but I was glad to have them!

Mary Bee warming up in that afternoon sun.


16" x 20" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com
$960 plus shipping, unframed

Along Mint Mine Trail

This is the near the trailhead of a popular hike, in the Hatcher Pass area of the Talkeetna mountains. Wildflowers, especially fireweed, are plentiful. Those are the headwaters of the Susitna River, with Idaho peak in the distance. This is such a beautiful place, I could have painted in any direction. I am always attracted to the water first, but there are many more possibilities to explore next time.

12" x 10" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com

On the Placer River, Alaska

This is a sketch I did back in June, on my first trip to Homer. I set up by the river just before the day got warm enough for the mosquitoes to turn out, and I had not put on enough bug dope. Later I counted over 40 punctures on my left wrist alone! I was a bit distracted to say the least, and set the painting aside to polish up later. Just now got round to it.

This is just one of many peaks that don't get named on the map in the Alaska atlas.

8" x 10" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com
$150 plus shipping, unframed

Savage River 2

Here is the second Savage River painting, with a photo taken by my painting buddy, Mary Bee Kaufman. I'm smiling because we were toasty warm, out of the wind with an afternoon sun! A glorious day for plein air!

9" x 12" oil on linen panel

To purchase, contact me at info@carollambertarts.com
SOLD

Savage River #1

On September 21 I had a great day painting in Denali National Park. This is a view of Savage River. Thanks to Steve DuBois, a friendly Alaskan photographer, who took this photo! It was windy up there on the road, and I was so cold I could hardly hold the brush still. It was worth it, though. What a fantastic place!

6" x 8" oil on linen panel
SOLD