8x4 Print PRINTING!!

And the epic quest draws to a close!

As the months rolled on, completing my print started becoming more of a reality instead of a far off distant wish. 

Carving carving and more carving. When I started printmaking I remember hating carving because it hurt my hands and I didn't really know what the image would look like when it was printed. Now I really like carving, it comes with experience but its really relaxing!

Here it was almost done. I had all of my details printed and I had inked up one side so I could visualize a bit more what the image would look like in just black and white.

And then... TADA!! I inked up the whole image to make sure everything looked the way I wanted. 

And with that, it was finished!! Carving: check. Next step, printing.

So taking advantage of my day off from school because of Presidents Day, I made it my printing day. 

I had to figure out how to print this large print without a press because, obviously, of its size. I thought about creating a steam roller event but because I carve with Sintra which is softer then plywood I figured the pressure from the steam roller would crush my image. So I had to come up with another way. My solution: a sod roller I rented from Home Depot for $16 for 24 hours.

This method worked pretty good. I filled the drum up with water which made it really heavy and then I just walked it back and forth. I purchased a thin sheet of Masonite so that the small scratches wouldn't damage my print.

And the moment of truth!...

Nope. Too light.

I think the big issue was the type of ink we were using. For this first print I was using tubed ink which works really great when you're running a print through a press, yet not so well for this process.

Try again. We switched inks with ink we had in a can which already seemed to be better.

Round 2. I decided that it would be much cheaper to print of fabric and bed sheets then buying lots of paper so most of the prints we made were on fabric. but I did get paper so that I would have some of paper.

The challenge with fabric is the wrinkles and making sure it lays down flat.

With 2 people holding the top down and making sure it doesn't move, we had a few other people smoothing the fabric down

Rolling and rolling....

and then....

Yes!! Success! The different ink really helped the image.

The challenge of an 8 foot print is finding space to let the prints dry after printing. We ended up stringing them up to the rafters and holding them with clothes pins. That was an added blessing because then I could stand back and sigh with relief that it was done!

Hahaha but don't jump the gun too soon, it is far from being done!! That day I ended up printing 11 or 12 in total. I printed 5 on fabric for myself and I created an edition of 3 on Stonehenge paper. Then I printed 3 Printers Proofs for those people who were helping me. It took us all day; we stared printing around 1-130pm and got done at 7, so almost 6 hours of printing. By the end of it we were all tired of being on our feet and felt like we had  benched pressed 1000 lbs. Worth it? Most definitely!

Would I do this again? I had a blast doing this and so it was definitely worth the experience and portfolio piece. But maybe the next large print I do will be more my size. I think the next large ambitious print I will tackle will be 6 foot.

Thanks to Darrin, Jennessa, and Gina, my printing crew!! I couldn't have done it without you! And a special thanks to my beautiful wife Kayla for all her support and help!!

Thats all folks!

Progress on 8' x 4' print

Since being hired on Home Depot's freight night crew I feel like a slacker because some days I just dont feel motivated to come into the studio and print. I like my job and am grateful to have it because my bills couldn't be paid otherwise, but at the same time its difficult to work when I would rather be in the studio printing, doing what I love.

So after many weeks of not posting anything on my blog I finely have something to update! Sorry for the long wait...

Slowly I've been working on my 8' x 4' print. A print this size is more work then I originally thought, and has taken more time then I planned. Which shouldn't have surprised me because the first of art is: "Art always takes longer then you plan." Need I say more.

As I was getting ready to write this post, I looked for some pictures I took some time ago showing more of my process and how I prepared my sintra for printing, but I must have misplaced them.... So anyway. After I drew my image on the sintra with a sharpie marker, I took acrylic paint and painted the whole surface.

I paint it a color that isn't very distracting but dark enough that when I step back and squint my eyes I can get a feel for what the print will look like if I were to pull a test proof right then. Yet the paint is also light enough that I can still see the sharpie. The primary reason I do this is so that there is the contrast between what i've printed already and what I haven't. So I really like painting my matrix before I carve. If any of you were to try this let me give you a heads up; its easier to draw the image with sharpie first before you paint because i've found that the sharpie has a more difficult time going on top of the paint, it almost feels like the paint dries out the marker a little bit. So I like to get a good drawing done first before I paint it to make it easier on myself. Just a heads up. 

So now i've started to carve! I'm really excited to see it begin to take shape. Because of my schedule I haven't been able to dedicate as much time as I would like to on this piece, but 'slowly but surely' right? 

Here the first figure is carved and so is the heart and jar. 

I then worked on the trunk of the tree and the second figure. Eventually I began working on the back ground. It was a lot of straight lines..... 

It was a good day, this day I made some serious headway in my print! I love days like this! 

And this is where I am currently! I've come a long way in the past few weeks but still have a long way to go.