Block Print
Sunrise on Plainfield
30cm x 23cm
Ink on Paper September 2017 Exhibition Text: Sunrise on Plainfield illustrates the sunrise that was imitated from a photography that was taken on a mid- February morning on my phone. The artwork was inspired by Impressionism and German Expressionism. The bright colors and tones of artworks like Claude Monet's "Sunset in Venice" and Andre Derain's "Big Ben" played a big role in the choice and inspiration of this block print. I wanted to combine German Expressionism and Impressionism in one black and white print with the impressionism scenery but a German expressionism look and feel. |
Planning
Inspiration
“Sunset In Venice.” Sunset in Venice, 1908 by Claude Monet, www.claude-monet.com/sunset-in-venice.jsp.
“Käthe Kollwitz. The Widow I (Die Witwe I) (Plate 4) from War. (1921-22, Published 1923) | MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org/collection/works/69685.
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The cultural inspiration was German Expressionism and Impressionism.
Impressionism is a art movement that lasted 20 years from 1872 - 1892. It developed in Paris and influenced all of Europe and eventually the United States. Impressionism could be considered the first modern movement in painting, and originated from artists who opposed official, and government exhibitions. These artists had a goal set in mind; this goal was to capture the momentary and sensory effect of a scene in order to attract viewers. Impressionists relaxed their brushwork, and lightened their colors to incorporate intense hues. Claude Monet was the leader of the french impressionist movement who was a master at painting light and the atmosphere as well as using intense colors and light brushwork. |
German Expressionism. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2017, from https://www.moma.org/s/ge/curated_ge/
Käthe Kollwitz. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2017, from https://www.moma.org/artists/3201
Impressionism Movement, Artists and Major Works. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2017, from http://www.theartstory.org/movement-impressionism.htm
Impressionism. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2017, from http://www.artmovements.co.uk/impressionism.htm
Claude Monet. (2017, April 28). Retrieved September 17, 2017, from https://www.biography.com/people/claude-monet-9411771
Käthe Kollwitz. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2017, from https://www.moma.org/artists/3201
Impressionism Movement, Artists and Major Works. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2017, from http://www.theartstory.org/movement-impressionism.htm
Impressionism. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2017, from http://www.artmovements.co.uk/impressionism.htm
Claude Monet. (2017, April 28). Retrieved September 17, 2017, from https://www.biography.com/people/claude-monet-9411771
Process
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8. After the linoleum block is all carved up and ready to print you bring out the tools which are the water-based black ink, spatula, ink tray, brayer and baren. |
9. Scoop some ink up with the spatula and drop it on the center of the ink tray
10. Start rolling and spreading the ink out with the brayer evenly and roll the brayer on it until its smooth and flat.
11. Make sure the brayer still has ink and roll the brayer on the surface of the linoleum block evenly, and from many different angles. Ink should be everywhere on the surface except in the carved lines.
12. Place a sheet of white paper on top of the surface of the linoleum block after it has ink spread on it. Making sure the paper is aligned with the block.
13. Press down on the paper and massage it with the baren to make sure the ink from the block is properly transferred onto the paper.
14. Lift the paper and congratulations, its a block print.
10. Start rolling and spreading the ink out with the brayer evenly and roll the brayer on it until its smooth and flat.
11. Make sure the brayer still has ink and roll the brayer on the surface of the linoleum block evenly, and from many different angles. Ink should be everywhere on the surface except in the carved lines.
12. Place a sheet of white paper on top of the surface of the linoleum block after it has ink spread on it. Making sure the paper is aligned with the block.
13. Press down on the paper and massage it with the baren to make sure the ink from the block is properly transferred onto the paper.
14. Lift the paper and congratulations, its a block print.
Experimentation
Even though i wasn't sure with the how to do the process and I've never worked with a block print before, i still took the block print challenge. Every time something wasn't quite right, i tried over and over, I wanted a nice crispy clean print but sometimes the paint didn't print on right, or i put too much paint. In the first experimentation I spread too much paint on the block and it decreased the size of the carvings because ink got in them. The second experimentation was a bit better but i didn't like how the road looked so i went back to fix that. On the third one i had too little paint and there was white spots all throughout the print. Those are just examples of some of the disgraceful experimentations. At times the ink would go in the lines so i had to go back and carve that deeper. I wanted the sky to look more detailed so i carved more lines in the sky. The sixth attempt was the most satisfying because it didn't have white spots, and just the right amount of ink.
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Tools Used
Critique & Reflection
Similar to Impressionism my artwork has relaxed lines and i tried to get an accurate representation of the light while it changed tones, even though the block print is in black and white, and some fine detail. The thick white lines were a characteristic of German Expressionism as well as the meaning and feel the bare trees bring into the artwork. Overall i'm satisfied with the results of this blockprint. Some challenges were getting fine detail on the block because the cutting tools weren't fine point and the amount of force you had to use in order to carve simply didn't let me get all the detail in. Another challenge was making the tree branches; the cutting tool would drift into other places that were already carved, therefore i had to use alot of force in order to direct to tool to carve new places. Carving straight lines was sort of difficult because the tool would stop all of a sudden and the straight line would mess up. The big spaces that i had to carve were the easiest parts, for example the road because the tool could glide anywhere aslong as it stayed in the line of the road. Rolling the ink on the block without getting little dimples of paint was also an obstacle i faced because that meant there was too much paint on the block and it would go in the carved spots when the baren was passed over it. Lastly, placing the paper perfectly on the block with ink was a difficult task. Something i couldve done better was to put more detail in the planning sketches to have a better idea of where i should carve.
Connection to the ACT
1) Clearly explain how you are able to to identify the cause-affect relationships between your inspiration and its affect upon your artwork.
German Expressionism artworks are typically black and white with thick white lines and have a desolate feel, which is shown in my artwork. In addition, Impressionism features like scenery and small detail are also seen in my artwork for example in the tree branches.
2)What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors talked about Impressionism and German expressionism in a informative way and reached out to the reader with lots of examples and artworks
3)What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Culture and the environment is reflected onto the canvas or artwork, for example german expressionism focuses on wartime grief. Peoples feelings and ideology can spark a whole new art movement, and peoples experiences can be seen off of their artworks.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
Sunrise photography views, impressionism scenic views, and desolation which ties in with German Expressionism.
5)What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
Outside situations can be seen on a persons artwork, artworks can have a deeper meaning beyond their surface and, history and technique go hand in hand as essentials to make a successful artwork.
German Expressionism artworks are typically black and white with thick white lines and have a desolate feel, which is shown in my artwork. In addition, Impressionism features like scenery and small detail are also seen in my artwork for example in the tree branches.
2)What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors talked about Impressionism and German expressionism in a informative way and reached out to the reader with lots of examples and artworks
3)What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Culture and the environment is reflected onto the canvas or artwork, for example german expressionism focuses on wartime grief. Peoples feelings and ideology can spark a whole new art movement, and peoples experiences can be seen off of their artworks.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
Sunrise photography views, impressionism scenic views, and desolation which ties in with German Expressionism.
5)What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
Outside situations can be seen on a persons artwork, artworks can have a deeper meaning beyond their surface and, history and technique go hand in hand as essentials to make a successful artwork.