Original Fine Art Prints

Screenprinting is a printmaking technique where a stencil is made on a piece of thin mesh fabric (originally silk) stretched over a wooden frame. Thick ink is passed through the opening of the stencil onto each piece of paper in the edition. A second stencil is then created and the second layer of ink is printed on top of the first one. This process is repeated until the print is completed. My larger prints often require fifty to sixty layers to create these exuberant images.

Linocuts or linoleum block prints are a form of relief printmaking. An image is carved into a piece of specialized linoleum. A thick ink is rolled onto the upper surface, a piece of paper is laid on the inked block and rubbed to transfer the ink to the paper. You end up with a mirror image of the original carving. Any part that you carved away will either show the white of the paper, or any other color ink that you have previously printed.

To create an etching you first coat a piece of copper plate with a tar-like substance called asphaltum, which protects the copper from the acid bath. You draw through the asphaltum with a needle which exposes the copper to the acid bath which follows. The longer the plate is in the acid the deeper the lines are etched into the copper and the more ink that it will take to fill the etched lines, resulting in a darker line. After the acid bath, you remove the asphaltum and rub ink into the lines and remove any excess ink that remains on the surface of the plate. A piece of paper is laid on the plate, and both are put through a press. The ink is transferred to the paper and you get a mirror image of the original drawing.