My camera rocks

I can't wait to get back in the shop!!! Here's the rest of the stuff I had at home. Well, most of it. I think there might still be a couple that got away from me, or that I haven't gotten a decent photo of yet. I just finished uploading all the pictures from my end of summer trip to see my friend Aaron in Burlington, Vermont. I'll probably put a few of my favorites on here at some point, but to see the whole album you can go here: http://www.myspace.com/torch957 and it's the album titled "B-town" under the pics link in my profile.

"Battle for the Earth"- Lithograph

I love how the texture on the serpent turned out on this one. It took awhile to get the print right, as it did with all my lithos, but I enjoyed the process. The serpent represents all the injustice and "evil" that's holding the world prisoner, and the woman is Mother Earth, fighting to take back what's hers.

"The Watcher"-Acrylic and spraypaint on canvas

More playing with spray paint...I think I might still add to this one, but I'm not sure. I'll let it sit for awhile like I do with all my other paintings.

"Farewell to Earth"-Acrylic and spraypaint on canvas

This canvas probably had about five or six paintings on it before I started this one, so the blue crack is where some paint peeled off and I just went off of that instead of ditching the canvas. I think this was the first painting where I played around with spray paint too. The effect is really interesting when you do a wash, spray some paint, and then flick some more water on top of that to let it run. The spray paint breaks apart, creating kind of a marble look. I use it a lot now; it's really great for backgrounds.

Untitled (so far)- Acrylic, paper clay, torn canvas

I've been working on this one on and off for about four years, I think. It's still not completely there, and maybe it never will be. That's okay, though, because I've enjoyed the countless hours of work that I've put into it. I don't know how many times I had to totally resculpt that face. And reattach fingers. I like the mystery of this one. Is this person trying to get out of somewhere...or trying to stay in?

Face closeup

This turned out so wicked!

"Ascending"-Acrylic and ink on canvas

I did this one after a lot of reflection about my place in the world as an artist, wanting to do as much as I possibly can and reach people while always growing as a person myself. It's a mental struggle at times, but pain brings inspiration, and life without challenges would be dull as hell.

"Brainstorm"-Lithograph

This was a fun one. The first litho on good paper, after the figure ones we did to start out. It took forever to get it to look decent because some of the darker areas really collected a lot of ink. The content? Yet more expressionist doodlings from my busy twisted brain =)

"Surfacing"-Acrylic, paperclay, torn canvas

When I paint, I usually just start laying down colors and seeing where it goes. This is a good example of me just playing around. This canvas had a few paintings on it already, so it's got some cool textures going. And for the lips, I actually painted my own and kissed the canvas. I like to get messy when I work.

"Cease fire"-Acrylic on canvas

Yet another rant about society in the form of art. It's cathartic to create images like this.

Almost all are up!

I've been a slacker about getting the rest of the stuff I've got up here! There's been plenty going on to keep me busy, though. Here are a few more prints I had lying around, still some more to get up, but I'm almost finished with what I have. And I just got myself a new toy-a digital camera!-so as soon as I get that thing all figured out, I'll finally be able to get pictures of my paintings and lithos on here, and likely some photos from my upcoming trip to Vermont. Exciting stuff!







Philosophizing in Reverse-line etch, aquatint, monoprint

I often use text in my prints, which of course requires mastering the art of writing backwards. I was thinking about that, how when I write on a plate, I see something different than what others see in the final product. I started asking myself what the right way to see it really is, why we always view things from left to right, top to bottom. So this was just me getting all philosophical and confusing myself, as I often do. This one is still in the works; I'm not totally sure what else I want to do with it, but I like the concept and this one turned out alright, so we'll see what happens.

Tattoohead- line etch, drypoint, aquatint, simultaneous color

I found a piece of scrap copper with just the outline of a face etched into it, so I took it and played around with it. The outlines of the tattoo designs were all done with drypoint, to keep me working during break last summer. When I got back into the shop, I aquatinted the plate to fill in the designs (I'm surprised I had the patience, and that it turned out so well on the first try!). Tattoos and other forms of body modification are very interesting to me, and I want to do more with this subject in future prints.

Intergalactic Rodeo- Aquatint, simultaneous color

Another one done on scrap copper-this one just had the scratches etched into it. I aquatinted the plate and dripped varnish on it, and this is the image that it formed into. I thought it looked like a weird alien creature on the back of another weird alien creature...hence the name. The dark background really makes the figures pop, an effect that I really like. I'll be playing around more with that, I think.

Humanity drowning in oil and blood-monoprint


This one was done on the same plate as Intergalactic Rodeo. I oiled down the ink quite a bit, covering the plate and letting it do its work for the background, then painted the face directly on the paper afterwards. The title explains what the image made me think of, like most titles of my monoprints do.







Their hearts bled as they cried why- simultaneous color, etch

To get the background, face and figure for this image, I dripped asphaltum on the plate and painted in the figure and face, then let that etch in. The background was wiped on, and I had to go back in and paint on the plate to fill in the figure and face because they didn't show up otherwise since there was no aquatinting done. It was a fun, although at times frustrating, process. Just experimenting with a new idea and seeing what happened.