I 've done a larger, vertical version of the Ridgetop theme. While the photo isn't that good, I'm going to move on to some other ideas, so I decided to wrap up the gray-on-gray/negative space thread for now. The best of these can be found here, in a portfolio with commentary. Be sure to click " Become a Fan", too. I'll post newer work soon.
BTW, in case you out-of-towners are wondering, yes, it HAS been an unusually gray winter here.
"Ridgetops", Monotype, 15x21"
I'll do a larger version Monday. I'll lighten the far ridge, and adjust the scale and distance. I promised myself some more interiors, so I think that'll be next. Nor have I done a "fun" Weekend-type post lately, so I'll work up something of that nature.
The year seems to be getting off to a good start. I wanted to do more sketching as a way of adding focus and unity of purpose, and I wanted to keep the images minimal and make greater use of negative space. Those things seem to be happening here, in the print I did Monday. It's not in its final state; I'll need to touch up a couple of areas.
It's two drops, gray and dark gray, and it was trickier than it looks; I took my time. I had gotten a late start because we went over to help lift a press into a car bound for its new home up in the mountains. It's a Squishtoid occupational hazard- every time someone buys a press, we wind up doing the grunt work. It's not something my back especially looks forward to after 25 years of lifting 50 pound bales of potatoes, but it's nice to see a printmaker living the dream, and she did buy us breakfast and bake us cookies!
I have a ghost of this which I'll post tomorrow. For now, I'll post the sketch to prove I'm not just talking the talk.
If there is such a thing as omens, then Monday's printing would be a good one. I went slow and examined each part of the routine for changes I might like to make ( for example, I made a slight adjustment in paper size during tearing, because it might make the smaller pictures more compatible with ready-made frames now available).
When I finally started composing, I kept it simple and tried to be conscious of negative space. When you are working with a limited color palette ( in this case black, and mid-value gray), It implies that white ( the paper) will be one of your colors, so use of negative space in the printmaking is essential.
