1772

This is yet another print with one of my favorite images, St. Francis de Assis church at Rancho de Taos. This church is one of the most iconic images in New Mexico and has to be seen to be believed.. Every artist who has ever passed through the area has done a rendition of this church: Ansel Adams, Georgia O’Keefe plus many others. There is a very nice book, called “Images of Spirit & Vision, Rancho de Taos Church” published by the Museum of New Mexico Press with nothing but images of the church by 80 different artists. Unfortunately, my work is not included (the book was published before I did this work).

This image is called 1772 because that is the estimate of the year when the first church was built on this site. It employs my fractured glass technique. This is the largest print that I have made of the church. The print is 15 7/8 by 11 7/8 inches. There are three plates, two in blue and one in orange. There is no edition. There are currently 5 prints of this image plus one print with a slightly different color scheme.

Fractured Taos Church I and II

This is a pair of prints that show the progression of an idea. These two prints were made from the same plate as St. Francis at Rancho de Taos I (see 2009 entries). I have taken that plate and modified it. In the left image, I have added what I call a fractured technique which suggests that the image is either on or being viewed through fractured glass. This approach was suggested to me by some of the works of Paul Klee. I added a second plate for the orange of the church. In the right image, I cut the image of the church out of the plate so I could print the background and the church in two separate colors. These two images, plus the original image, show the progression of the same plate through several techniques.

Both images are the same size: 3 7/8 by 3 7/8 inches. Neither one exists as an edition. There are seven prints of the left image and four prints of the right image.

Still Life with Sand Sculpture

This image is based on a photograph I took in very low light levels. I didn’t really expect the photo to come out but it did. I was so taken by the image that I had to try and make an etching of it. I used a reduction aquatint technique which involves etching the entire plate and then, using burnisher and scrapper, removing the etched metal to reveal the image. This is similar to the process used in mezzotint and scratchboard drawing. The image itself evokes a holiday spirit with the bright candles. It also has a mysterious quality with the sand sculpture and candles rising out of a dark background.

The image size of this print is 9 7/8 by 8 inches. There is only one plate. There is no edition. There are a total of four prints: one in black and white, one in all red, and two that are a combination of the black and red images. These latter prints were made by inking and printing the red plate, cleaning off the plate, re-inking it in black, and then printing it over the red print. I added some yellow to the highlights using a la poupee.

Matriarch

This is an interesting etching on several levels. First, most people that I've asked don’t know what it is. Guesses range from horse to bird. Most people focus on the center of the image in trying to figure out what this is. In reality, it is a close up of the eye of an elephant, based on a black and white photo I took. If you look at the whole image, instead of just the center, the elephant becomes more visible. The other thing that is interesting about this etching is that it is an etching of a linocut. I spent a summer cutting this image into a linoleum block. I then made several prints from the block before wondering what it would look like as an etching. So, I covered a plate with soft ground and impressed the image from the linocut into the ground. I then etched it with this result. Of course, the etched image is reversed from the image in the linocut. Also, the etched image is not as clear and crisp as the linocut.

This print is 11 ¾ by 7 ½ inches. There is no edition but there are four artists’ proofs in different colors. They are black, violet/yellow, red and Indian red. The linocut on which this image is based is 12 by 9 inches and there are four of them printed in black.