THE DIRECT PRINTING METHOD:
My first attempt at creating visual art with directly from nature related subject matter was with a dead cottontail rabbit, a jack rabbit, and a fresh roadkill buck.
I was driving back from college and a rabbit ran out in front of my car and I hit it. I was moved by this situation and pulled over on the dirt road and walked back to the rabbit. Carrying it to the side of the road in a rural area,where no one else was around to cast their gaze my way. My heart went out to this entity as it was breathing rapidly and gasping for air,choosing to stay with it as so to offer some last moment of comfort. Speaking from the heart to this rabbit, I quietly asked for forgiveness and gently caressed its head and looked directly into its eyes. The eyes were a beautiful brown and black and I could see my reflection in its iris. I stayed with this tiny forest animal till its soul slipped into the spirit realm. I silently asked the universe to accept this woodland creature into the great mystery of life. Being touched at this event I carried its limp warm body to the car and went home . On the drive back to the studio I decided to somehow remember this animal by making art about the experience of roadkill.
This was the summer I was experimenting with woodblock printing and embossing pieces of fish skin, so my mindset was in a state of printmaking techniques. At lunch in the cafeteria that day, I had just got done reading about Albrecht Durer and seeing his famous art piece, a rendering of "The Hare".
In the studio, I sketched the rabbit and studied the wonderful colour combinations of its hide. It was decided that I would cover the rabbit with paint and make direct prints from it...to see what visually happens. This was a pivotal moment in my early years of print making, for the visual artist had made a spiritual connection to nature through art. I had to now validate my image and be responsible for the message conveyed. I reflected at the catch 22 of this artistic situation. Ironically I was driving a lime green VW Diesel Rabbit that took the live of this tiny woodland rabbit, who was on its own journey.
Man,Technology and Nature through the medium of print making.
After a few artists proofs of the printed rabbit , I chose to create a small edition of prints titled.."ROADKILL ON THE QUEEN'S HIGHWAY".
Below are documented photographs of the process. On a respectful note the rabbit was buried back by the creek that runs through our ecosystem.
The object from nature is painted with india ink.
The ink is painted against the grain of the fur so the found object becomes a well lubricated stamp.
The found object is gently pressed onto the rag paper, then special attention is given to pressing the ears and feet as so to achieve a good detailed print of the fauna specimen.
My spare VW Rabbit car tire is painted with ink.
Then it is rolled over the printed image of the rabbit. Its print on print.
Two different print images combined together reflecting MAN and NATURE, again meeting.The fact that the tire treads have a pattern almost mimicking a heart beat rhythm.
The story of the rabbit and the man, is now a visual language portrayed through printmaking. My art is a homage to this experience.
THE MYSTERIOUS JACK RABBIT:
To get a glimpse of a jack rabbit running across an open field is truly a sight to see. They are the fastest of the rabbit species and the largest. I have witnessed them stand on their hind legs and actually box each other. They almost resemble a cheetah in full gallop...and are extremely fast. They are almost extinct in the Chatham-Kent area, so it took about 4 years of looking out for one on the back roads of farm country. Then on a day you least expect something, it appears.
This is a document photo of printing a jack rabbit with paint onto a stretched canvas.
This is finished piece
Title: ''Honoring the Jack Rabbit Roadkill"
Medium: Blue and Yellow ochre acrylic with red clay mixed with matt medium on canvas.
Size: 58cm X 71cm
ANTIQUE PHOTO
This is a photo from the turn of the century. I am fascinated with this image for the mere reason it portrays the beginning of consumerism and a global mindset of disconnecting with the land. In this trophy photo the are 723 Rabbits(Cottontails and Jack rabbit) along with 2 possum and 1 wolf. I hope they all cleaned their plates after each meal. Did anyone say thank-you to these animal spirits. On the back of the photo it was inscribed that this was one day of rodent clearing. Now look at us with global warming and extinction level override
My first attempt at creating visual art with directly from nature related subject matter was with a dead cottontail rabbit, a jack rabbit, and a fresh roadkill buck.
I was driving back from college and a rabbit ran out in front of my car and I hit it. I was moved by this situation and pulled over on the dirt road and walked back to the rabbit. Carrying it to the side of the road in a rural area,where no one else was around to cast their gaze my way. My heart went out to this entity as it was breathing rapidly and gasping for air,choosing to stay with it as so to offer some last moment of comfort. Speaking from the heart to this rabbit, I quietly asked for forgiveness and gently caressed its head and looked directly into its eyes. The eyes were a beautiful brown and black and I could see my reflection in its iris. I stayed with this tiny forest animal till its soul slipped into the spirit realm. I silently asked the universe to accept this woodland creature into the great mystery of life. Being touched at this event I carried its limp warm body to the car and went home . On the drive back to the studio I decided to somehow remember this animal by making art about the experience of roadkill.
This was the summer I was experimenting with woodblock printing and embossing pieces of fish skin, so my mindset was in a state of printmaking techniques. At lunch in the cafeteria that day, I had just got done reading about Albrecht Durer and seeing his famous art piece, a rendering of "The Hare".
In the studio, I sketched the rabbit and studied the wonderful colour combinations of its hide. It was decided that I would cover the rabbit with paint and make direct prints from it...to see what visually happens. This was a pivotal moment in my early years of print making, for the visual artist had made a spiritual connection to nature through art. I had to now validate my image and be responsible for the message conveyed. I reflected at the catch 22 of this artistic situation. Ironically I was driving a lime green VW Diesel Rabbit that took the live of this tiny woodland rabbit, who was on its own journey.
Man,Technology and Nature through the medium of print making.
After a few artists proofs of the printed rabbit , I chose to create a small edition of prints titled.."ROADKILL ON THE QUEEN'S HIGHWAY".
Below are documented photographs of the process. On a respectful note the rabbit was buried back by the creek that runs through our ecosystem.
The object from nature is painted with india ink.
The ink is painted against the grain of the fur so the found object becomes a well lubricated stamp.
The found object is gently pressed onto the rag paper, then special attention is given to pressing the ears and feet as so to achieve a good detailed print of the fauna specimen.
My spare VW Rabbit car tire is painted with ink.
Then it is rolled over the printed image of the rabbit. Its print on print.
Two different print images combined together reflecting MAN and NATURE, again meeting.The fact that the tire treads have a pattern almost mimicking a heart beat rhythm.
The story of the rabbit and the man, is now a visual language portrayed through printmaking. My art is a homage to this experience.
THE MYSTERIOUS JACK RABBIT:
To get a glimpse of a jack rabbit running across an open field is truly a sight to see. They are the fastest of the rabbit species and the largest. I have witnessed them stand on their hind legs and actually box each other. They almost resemble a cheetah in full gallop...and are extremely fast. They are almost extinct in the Chatham-Kent area, so it took about 4 years of looking out for one on the back roads of farm country. Then on a day you least expect something, it appears.
This is a document photo of printing a jack rabbit with paint onto a stretched canvas.
This is finished piece
Title: ''Honoring the Jack Rabbit Roadkill"
Medium: Blue and Yellow ochre acrylic with red clay mixed with matt medium on canvas.
Size: 58cm X 71cm
ANTIQUE PHOTO
This is a photo from the turn of the century. I am fascinated with this image for the mere reason it portrays the beginning of consumerism and a global mindset of disconnecting with the land. In this trophy photo the are 723 Rabbits(Cottontails and Jack rabbit) along with 2 possum and 1 wolf. I hope they all cleaned their plates after each meal. Did anyone say thank-you to these animal spirits. On the back of the photo it was inscribed that this was one day of rodent clearing. Now look at us with global warming and extinction level override
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