revivingKensArt (8 Viewers)

[JTMB]

Nice job on both, Ken. I have yet to see a Rusty Blackbird, mostly because I'm usually too impatient to spend hours scoping through huge flocks of Brewer's and/or Red-winged Blackbirds to pick one out. One of these days I'm just going to have to make it a priority. They are around out here, but quite uncommon.

 

[solitaryVSong]

Nice job on both, Ken. I have yet to see a Rusty Blackbird, mostly because I'm usually too impatient to spend hours scoping through huge flocks of Brewer's and/or Red-winged Blackbirds to pick one out. One of these days I'm just going to have to make it a priority. They are around out here, but quite uncommon.

Thanks John. The best looks I've ever had at Rusty Blackbirds were on consecutive days last week and in different places. Each time the bird was by itself. Its only companions were some cardinals and white-throated sparrows. If I had to sort through huge flocks of Red-winged or other blackbirds I don't think I'd have the patience either.

 

[ospreyscotbird]

Oh SSong those are lovely captures. I esp love the composition of the heron, reckon that it would make a great lino when the print is flipped, facing the right.

 

[colleenc]

wow, love that heron, such energy in the penstrokes

 

[solitaryVSong]

Thanks OSB, Colleen.

The energy Colleen might have been due to the sub-freezing temps. Though I wasn't noticeably cold I didn't dally with my pen either!

Ever since seeing two oh so subltle Rusty Blackbirds in two different areas on consecutive days I wanted to do something in color with them. Since then I've run across a number of common but always striking Carolina Wrens. They both are some of the most beautiful 'brown' birds you'll ever see, though the brown is much more hidden in the Rusty Blackbird.

In any case they easily both might inhabit the same swampy areas though I never saw them together. I figured i could also use their browns to unify the painting. So here's the first attempt on less than ideal paper. 7x10 inches. Eventually this might make a decent lino too, if I could only pull it off.

 

[JTMB]

I like the combination of these two in the composition - very nice! I always enjoy photos that show interesting combos or juxtapositions of birds. My personal favorite was taken on one of only two brief occasions when a Lazuli Bunting showed up in our back yard. They are quite uncommon on the west side of the mountains, and are not usually a feeder bird. Well, I looked outside and there was the Lazuli on the tube feeder, directly across from a Black-headed Grosbeak. That is definitely NOT a combination one would expect to see. I also took a photo of a couple of Barn Swallows sitting on an info sign at a natural area that talked about Ospreys. The swallows seemed to be reading the sign. I've attached the pix below.

 

[solitaryVSong]

I like the combination of these two in the composition - very nice! I always enjoy photos that show interesting combos or juxtapositions of birds. My personal favorite was taken on one of only two brief occasions when a Lazuli Bunting showed up in our back yard. They are quite uncommon on the west side of the mountains, and are not usually a feeder bird. Well, I looked outside and there was the Lazuli on the tube feeder, directly across from a Black-headed Grosbeak. That is definitely NOT a combination one would expect to see. I also took a photo of a couple of Barn Swallows sitting on an info sign at a natural area that talked about Ospreys. The swallows seemed to be reading the sign. I've attached the pix below.

View attachment 422018View attachment 422019

Both quite enjoyable John. As I've never seen either the bunting or the grosbeak it would have been an exceptional treat to see them together.

My oddest juxtaposition, and one I showed on here a year or two ago, was a 'Wild' Turkey walking down the paved road at Metzger Marsh in Ohio, with a Double-crested Cormorant gliding by in the canal that parallels the road. I particularly loved the bright yellow line dividing the road in the middle of the picture.

 

[Bigshent]

I too love the Heron Ken I think it time pull out the knives for another Lino :t:

 

[solitaryVSong]

I too love the Heron Ken I think it time pull out the knives for another Lino :t:

Did someone say Heron?? After almost a month long hiatus I've returned to the heron lino. Here is color number four. Right now I think there will be just one more color.

Sorry for the bad light here. If I used natural light it was too dark to see much. And artificial inandescent light produced a yellowish tinge as well as some texture due to raking.

I'll finally take a good photo when it's done.

Just to explain some of the difficulty with reduction lino you print each color on the same sheet of paper. As you can imagine registration isn't always ideal. So from an edition of 20 I'm now down to 10 at most that are good enough to go in a final edition. Sometimes it seems crazy to do this. But when I get something I like it's nice to have more than one.

 

[JTMB]

Looks great, Ken! I remember back a few years when I was with a commercial graphics company and the constant dealing with registration issues with multiple-color screen print jobs, just as one example.

 

[Bigshent]

Some great looking greens on that one Ken B

 

[colleenc]

over the top with that Heron lino Ken

 

[Lykos]

agree with Colleen :t:

 

[solitaryVSong]

Thanks all. Hope not everyone is bored to death by this but I did want to show the just completed linocut. The image is 6x8 inches and print itself is 9x11 inches. Edition of 12. It's only having an edition that makes all the work worthwhile.

I'm also enclosing a photo of the linoleum block in its final state. With reduction printing you keep cutting away the colors you've already printed, unless you want them to show through in some manner. So by the end there's not much linoleum left. I think this photo shows that. The final color of black was printed on the raised areas here.

All together five colors were used in the lino. I used the black at the end to tone down some of the purplish color. I also hoped that it might make the Prussian blue seem lighter, but obviously that wasn't the case!

 

[buzzard12]

Hi Ken,
So much going on here, great to see your getting busy...

The Green Heron cut is simply great, everything I hoped for and more. It's a total success and you should be really happy with it nice to see the Lino itself, gives a wonderful insight to a method I have never tried for fear of hacking myself to death..

Special mention for the colour Rusty Blackbird. I've never seen one, though I gave seen Carolina Wren, this piece transported me back fifteen years to an early spring day on Pelee where I spent and hour trying to ID two of these skulking in a bush. Brilliant piece, thanks for posting Ken..

 

[solitaryVSong]

Thanks Alan. I'm happy to see that someone is as happy with it as I am! I know it's a bit busy, but also I think fairly true to the actual scene, a bird with a very complex interweaving of light and dark behind him.

I rarely see Rusty Blackbirds so they're a real treat. I keep thinking I need to do more with that study, perhaps another reduction lino, or maybe an acrylic? Carolina Wrens are common where I live, but far more often heard than seen, even when they're very close. But when you do see them, no matter how many times you've already seen them, you have to be impressed!

I feel fortunate to be able to remind many of their visits to Point Pelee, oddly enough a place I've never been, though I have often visited Crane Creek directly across Lake Erie. One of these days..............

 

[Bigshent]

I take it Over the top means something different in USA as here it means gone too far, Over done it ect which we would all agree isnt the case of these fabulous linos. To be honest you last post lost me a little with the process I never realised you cut away the colours already used. I though you just added different coloured ink to the parts of the lino, I am indeed a heathen in this art lark :-C

 

[jvic31]

I take it Over the top means something different in USA as here it means gone too far, Over done it ect which we would all agree isnt the case of these fabulous linos. To be honest you last post lost me a little with the process I never realised you cut away the colours already used. I though you just added different coloured ink to the parts of the lino, I am indeed a heathen in this art lark :-C

I am with you on that! Following this thread, the process is very detailed, completely out of my league. Wonderful stuff. :king:

 

[JennyMK]

The lino is amazing! I have tried to make a few, so I know how much work it takes, not to mention the 'headache' to keep track of the next step... Beautifully done!!

 

[cjoakley]

Wonderful to get such an insight into what it takes to produce such an amazing work.

Love this lino...