::: The heat continues :::

Hi there, it is hot here in NYC, very hot. We have the heat wave now already for a couple of weeks. Everybody sweats and the power bill is rising to astronomical heights, just to stay cool. - Well, what can I say, it is summer. - Monday was my last day before the summer break to monitor at the Manhattan Graphics Center, now I have 1,5 month time to work at the studio without anybody around. That is what it is all about, the reward sitting every Monday for 4 hours at the MGC. This is the best time, this is when the fun starts and I can go whenever I have time to work on my prints. Great.
I am still trying to figure out what topic I am going to work on. I can still go on with my trees, but I would like to include other elements as well as more color. I think I will continue with images like you see here on my blog in the side bar (the 2 color/plate print). Sooooooo, keep coming back and I will keep you posted.

Stay cool!!!!!

::: Another try :::

Hi there, first of all, Germany lost against Spain ... oh noooo! That's life. -
You saw my headline, ... yes ... I try it again and I sent out my work to be judged, this time to Roxbury, NY. I had a solo show in 2007 in the Roxbury Arts Center, and they asked people who had a show there to send in work. The shows are for 2011 and at the end of the month their curator will go through all the submissions and decide who is a lucky one! Cross your fingers for me, I would love to have another show there.

I will keep you all posted.

::: July is here :::

Hi there, happy 4th of July to everybody. And after a week of very comfortable weather the weather forecast tells us that we will have the heat back. - But nevertheless, today I've got my "SASE" letter back from the Hawaii competition ... and ... rejected. Oh boy this year is not very successful for me. Last year I was excepted three out of four times, and it felt great. There is a lot about the psyche and, I have to admit, the ego too. Everybody likes to be acknowledged and appreciated, so all these rejections don't help to feel good. But I am a "tough guy" and I will not stop reaching for the "stars" .. how is that for a build up?!
So, tomorrow is the next soccer game, Germany against Argentina ... GO GERMANY!!!
See you later, and kick the ball.

::: Soccer again :::

Hi there,
today plays Germany against England ... GO Germany ... I hope they win - so this was totally unrelated to my art and printmaking. Soon more about being creative!

::: I am back :::

Hi guys, I am back, I took a little time-out and now I am starting again to create. I just sent in my prints to the Art House Coop print exchange. The topic was "Let's have fun", and I just made it in time for the cut-off date. I like to do at least one print exchange per year, mainly to see what people do all over the country/world. It is mostly good stuff ... and I get also some inspiration from it.
Otherwise I entered prints into three competitions, one was in Christchurch, New Zealand and like before I didn't get in, the other one is still open, the Pacific Rim in Hilo, Hawaii ... I don't have high hopes for that either, but if I don't try I will never know. And the third one was the "Footprint" competition in Norwalk, CT, and I was rejected there too. Sometimes I get frustrated with those ways of exposure, we all know that the juror is maybe seeing your work for a few seconds or even less and judges your work. Can the juror really decide in such a short time which work is right for the show or not. I still hope they can. But the thing is, sometimes, when I later see the work which made it, very often I ask myself, what disqualified my work here? I try to be objective and look at all the work with an outsiders eye and try to find out the reasons. - That is not always easy to see and understand.
Nevertheless I will still enter competitions and hope for the best and a breakthrough.
All right my friends, I will go back to watch the worldcup soccer game USA against Ghana ... go USA!

::: That's it :::

Hi hi followers, today is the day to take my show down. The month went by very very fast. I am leaving work today a little earlier and go straight to the Manhattan Graphics Center to dissemble the show (the next show will be hung over the weekend, it is Daphne Brucculeri ... check it out if you can). I have to do some serious sparkling and then I will bring the works back home.
I had some surprise guests in the show, one of my clients came who I never thought would even waste a thought about me and my art. So you see, you never know who sees your art and it is never wasted energy to invite all people you know ... even if they seem to be the most unlikely ones to show up!.
I will also put up more of my work from the show so you can see and let me know what you think.

Now I have to think about what is next in my art, what is it I want to do, will there be another theme ... and ... and ... and. Let's see, the suspense is unbearable. :)

And last note, my friend Heike's birthday is today ... Happy Birthday Heike, and you look younger than ever!!!! :)

::: One More Week :::

Hi guys,
one more week and my show is over, ... oh boy the time is really running. First the time flew by when I was preparing the show and now I almost have to take the show down. Coming Friday is the day for me. So if you haven't seen it, now is the time to go!

::: Halftime :::

Hi there,
it's halftime at my show, up to now I sold four pieces. That makes me very happy and excited. I also got great feedback from different and unexpected people. Most people were amazed about me printing my etchings on fabric, and some of them also said that they want to try it. It is always good to be an inspiration for other people. - The thing about fabric is, it is almost like paper, it is not thicker or so, just be careful about other things attached to the fabric like metal/buttons/zippers etc. It could damage your plate or worse the press.
I did dampen my fabric very lightly and inked the plate as usual. the result is very nice.

On another note, I did send out work to three competitions. Two pieces went to the Footprint Competition in Norwalk, CT, two to the competition in Hilo, Hawaii and also two to a competition in Christchurch, New Zealand at the University of Canterbury. Wish me luck that I will be accepted and shown at all three shows.

I will keep you posted. - And ... happy weekend to everybody!

::: Show - the first week :::

Hey ya'll, the show is open for one week now and it is a success. I am getting very nice comments, especially from people I would have never expected it. And that is wonderful, it gives me a good feeling, it tells me that my art is talking to a wide range of people.

::: The Show is open! :::

Hi everybody, yesterday was the opening reception, and it was wonderful. Everything went well and it was successful. People came and we all had a good time, and of course I had to much food and drinks, but it is never for sure how many people are showing up. I sold three works, more than I thought I would. I will write more later, first here are some photos of the event.

::: Ready to go :::

Oh yes, the show is up and ready for the opening. My office was closed yesterday and I had the day to hang the show in quiet. Because of Good-Friday there was no workshop time in the studio, and I had space and time to get ready. - It looks really good and also the fabric panels found their place and they swing in light breeze of the fan, and it looks great, like trees in the wind. Later today is the opening and I am getting excited, the tension slowly retreats and I am looking forward to it. Now everything is done, I just have to open the wine bottles and greet the guests and enjoy the time "All about me"!
I will post photos from the opening, so you all can see how it looks.

::: Progress - Progress - Progress :::

Hello art lovers!!!! - I am making progress, yesterday I framed all my work and it is ready to hang at the Manhattan Graphics Center. Bob ironed fabric panels and also Laura is ironing some of them (there are a lot). Today I will tackle the hanging of the panels problem, I am still not sure how, but as I said before I have an idea.
Saturday, "opening night" is approaching very fast.
Also today, just in time I did send out my submission for the Footprint Show in Norwalk. Please cross your fingers that my submission is going to be accepted and been shown.

So, I hope to see you at my opening this Saturday!

::: One More Week to Go :::

So, one more week until my show opens at the Manhattan Graphics Center, and I did spend another full day yesterday printing on fabric panels. I printed enough to fill the one wall in the studio. Now I just have to figure out how to hang them so they have different distances to the wall, to be layered and overlap. I already have an idea how to do it, I just have to execute it. Excitement is kicking in and I look forward to the opening.
Also the opening is one day before easter sunday, the holiday must have slipped my mind, but everything is planned and ready to go. I hope that people will come and have a look.
I will keep you posted.

::: Great productive weekend :::

Ohhhhh guys, what a weekend, the weather was terrible. Rain, rain and more rain mixed with strong wind. This was the right weekend to create create create! I've got a lot accomplished, 2 new prints for my show and I did print some of the plates on fabric, and it looks great! It is going to be a beautiful installation on the main wall. Exciting!

::: 3 weeks left :::

Hi everybody,
3 weeks are left until my show opens. How exciting - and scary, I still have lots to do. This weekend is a perfect day to do a lot of work, because the north-east is going to be very very wet. The weather forecast predicts lots of rain. I will use the time to be in the studio and work on 2 big plate, print them and hopefully have time and energy to start printing on fabric. - I will try to create "flag-like prints" for a special installation in my show ... there is just this little thing called ... time ... what is giving me a hard time. But nevertheless I will try to do it.
By the way, here is the invitation, so if you have time come by and have a look.

::: Snowy Day in NYC :::

It is snowing now the whole day ... but it doesn't stick. It is a great day to create/work on a new piece. My plates are ready to be worked on and the creative juice is flowing, even after a stressful day at work. My motivation is the deadline coming closer and closer to my show opening in April. I am still debating about an accent piece - I planned to print my work on fabric and let it hang at one wall overlapping each other. But I am not sure that I will be able to do that ... the time is running pretty fast.

We'll see!

::: I am on a roll :::

The show comes closer and closer and I am creating and creating ... I am on a roll, and it is no end is in sight. I am very busy at work, but I use my free time either to create new etchings (or watch the Olympics ... I love this event). I just finished a 2 plate/color Aquatint, and I am very pleased, it came out very nice. The size of one plate is 12" x 12" and the second one is 5.5" x 5.5" which is printed in the center of the big plate. - I did the size with a good reason, there is the footprint competition of Norwalk is coming up, and I am planing to send the etching into the race. Maybe I will have a second one ready soon ... the plates are prepared to work on them.

More to come soon!

::: Drypoint - here it is :::

So, here it is, as I promised, this is the drypoint I was working on for a long long time. As I mentioned in my last blog, I did print it yesterday and I am very pleased with the print. So look for yourself and let me know what you think.

::: Drypoint - 3 :::

Hi hi,

another cold day, it is a long and cold winter. I don't know, it almost seems like the winter is colder and longer than usual. But I think we say this every year. - Now back to my drypoint, today was the day, I went to the studio and printed my big drypoint. And ... it is beautiful. The inking was a bit difficult and extensive, but it paid of. I love the print and I it will be part of my upcoming show in April at the Manhattan Graphics Center in NYC. I will scan the print and put it up here soon so you can see it.

::: Drypoint - 2 :::

So, today was the day to print my drypoint. It was very cold outside, but I went anyway to the print studio to print the first print. And, ... I forgot that the studio had a Mezzotint class running ... darn ... I couldn't print. - But at least I prepared the paper, cleaned and filed the plate. I also prepared two other plates so I can work on them. My show is coming closer, and I start to get excited about it. It is still lots to do, but I am certain that I will be ready.

::: Drypoint :::

Hi my friends, I am making big progress with my drypoint (by the way, the plate is 18" wide and 12" high ... I just measured it). As you can (barely) see in the photo above, the frame/outside of the drypoint is almost done, just two of the big rocks in the left bottom corner are not finished, but I try to finish them today, and tomorrow I will start to do the inside. Here comes the problem ... what to do in the center, I have an idea, but I am still thinking about it. - I will let you know what I am going to do!

Wish me luck!

::: Dry Point :::

Hi there, my solo show is coming closer and closer. Currently I am working on a dry point on a zinc plate. Why zinc? ... we are not allowed to etch zinc plates in the studio, so I am using my leftover plates for dry points. This time the plate is approximately 18" wide and 12" high ... I have to measure the plate. I am half way done, and it is fun again working in this medium. I really like the way this technique looks printed. The only down turn is that the edition can't be so big. It's a big plate and I can't wait to see the first print ... I will post it here when it is done. Promise!

I also think, that, if you never tried it ... do it, it is an exiting very traditional technique.