One fun (sometimes frustrating) thing about printing
is that the prints never turn out exactly as I anticipate -- and
maybe the surprise is the most comical thing!
I was originally thinking that the real comedy of Life is that it
doesn't last very long -- starts with birth, and the punch-line is
that the end is already rushing up. So, I was imagining things like a
pretty girl with skirt tossed by autumn breeze and skeleton clinging
behind. Or skeleton with breeze tossed skirt. Or madonna with baby
skeleton. Kinda comical in a dark way. Then it seemed like dogs would
be naturally more comical than girls and skeletons. And with
Halloween approaching, I wound up with another one of those doggie
designs with no place for the eye to pause, just figure eights and
circles forever... The theme is something like: pack of dogs finding
their way through forest when rain starts, lightning strikes, ghosts
dance everywhere, is it the end? No one knows...
Originally, I planned to use sienna, ochre, ultramarine... an
autumnal pallette, but got to luxuriating in the play between the
veridian and magenta, and the edition print kinda developed
impromptu.
Sorry the print lacks a better story, and that the humor
connection so weak (what in the world did I think was going to be so
comical about the inevitability and unpredictability of the end,
anyway?
The center ghost dog kinda got lost in the pale middle of the
print, so I enhanced it a bit with mica -- my first experience with
mica -- seemed way, way too easy... hope it sticks forever and
doesn't get all over every other print! Now that REALLY wouldn't be
very funny! I hope you like the print.
Here are the printing particulars for those who like that sort of
thing:
- Artist: Mike Lyon
- Title: "It's a Dog's Life"
- Medium: Hanga (Japanese style polychrome woodblock print)
- Size: Chuban (8 1/2" x 10 1/2")
- Paper: Gampi, handmade
- Quantity: 31 for Baren Exchange #7 (The Comedy of Life), plus
13 proofs
- Date: Began design October 11, began cutting blocks October
13, completed printing October 27, 2000
- Watercolor Pallette: Quinacidrone Magenta, Veridian, Cadmium
Yellow Medium, Prussian Blue, China White, Sumi
- Number of Blocks: 12 ( 19 carved 7 were not used for edition
prints. Key block was altered prior to edition prints to remove
lines from all except trees and lightning and eyes of center dog
of trio. )
Number of printings: 18
- ghost dogs: shina block in white
- complete background: shina block in pale blue
- complete trees: shina block in pale veridian
- bokashi of background: luan block in blue + Sumi (bottom)
- bokashi of background: luan block in blue (top)
- dog trio: shina block in pale magenta
- bokashi of trees: luan block in veridian (top)
- repeat bokashi of trees: luan block in veridian (top)
- lightning: shina block in yellow
- two back dogs of trio: shina block in blue
- center dog of trio: luan block in magenta
- lightning: luan block in magenta and yellow
- repeat ghost dogs: shina block in white
- bokashi of lightning: luan block in magenta and yellow
- lightning: luan block in yellow and white
- key: shina block in black
- rain: shina block in white
- ghost dogs: shina block (center dog) in paste and affix mica
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