Traveling Riverside Blues part 9

 After studying the image of the first proof over the weekend, I had decided what was needed on the block.    I had to work on the standing female figure for sure, make her look a little more human.  The table holding the lamp was a little confusing, and could benefit from a little more cutting.  The bottom of the feet of the male figure in bed bothered me a little, and they could use something.  And the wall- in my hurry to print a proof, a few blobs of ink ended up on the brayer and thus ended up on my block.  I'm not sure if any of them printed (I tried to scrape and blot them away), but a few spots on the wall seemed a little too dark, and that could account for it.  Or it could just be the way I cut the wall- the only way to find out was to see the block itself.  So I grabbed my cutting tools and some blues discs and headed up to Ocean Grove. 

I looked over my block and proof.  The printed proof was dry, which is good to know for when I have to frame things.  The block itself, despite my blotting of the whole thing, was still a little inky.  Lucky, I have a soap that cuts through that ink fairly well.  I pulled up the photo I took of the not yet inked block as a reference.  I got out a mirror and looked at the block, proof, and camera to see if it helped at all.  I found that my pencil didn't show up on the inked wood, so that wouldn't help.  In the end, it was just a bunch of free handing, drawing with tools, so to speak.  Most of the time was spent on the female figure, but it needed the most work.  This is where my camera was most useful, as it showed what I had drawn with pencil on the wood, directly from the model.  I made changes to the face, the hair, and parts of her body, all of which I think helped.  For the male figure, mostly I just looked at the block itself, and recut some bits that seemed to be there, but had filled in with ink.  The wall and table were just handled by looking at the block and clarifying things.  I don't think the blobs of ink affected the wall, but I cut out all reference to those anyway.    Results looked like this:

All that took the duration of my blues radio show disc (which worked today, so go figure, and you can read more about it on July of 2022 if you are interested) and about the time it ended, I was done with my planned cutting.  I won't know for sure if I was successful until I print it, but right now it looks better.  I'll save the printing for another day.  For now, I cleaned up the few shavings of wood on my table, washed all the ink off my hands, put the block back in my rack where it came from, and headed home.

Traveling Riverside Blues part 8

 My original plan was to wait until next week to proof this latest block, but I had no reason to hang around the house today, I wasn't ready to eat lunch, and I had to move my car anyway after the weekly lawn mowing, so I decided to go to the Studio today and pull a print of my new block.  Besides, having a few extra days to look at the results couldn't hurt.  So I left a bit before noon (after the lawn mower showed up) and got up there in the early afternoon.  A lot fewer cars in the lot than yesterday, but I guess that's the difference between a Thursday and a Friday.  I went straight down to my space. I had brought the jazz/blues book of discs today, and selected my Duke Ellington disc, written about back on November of 2022 if you want to know more.  In any case, good music to work to.

The first thing I did was tear some paper down to size.  I knew I had enough Rives Light Weight to do the job, but not the right sizes.  For now I tore one the right size to include the lyrics, and a few half sheets that would hold the image area fine.  That's what I wanted today.  Then I looked at the block itself.  I could see right away that there were some things I could have cut, but didn't, on my standing female figure.  For reference purposes I took a photo of the unlinked block itself, so that no matter what happened, I would know what had been there.  For ink I got out the can we had last used to make Mary's prints for her Asbury show last month.  A little skin had formed under the wax paper, but I cut that off and had plenty of ink to work with.  

Otherwise, it was pretty standard printing, something I have done many times.  As an instrumental version of "Take the A-Train" played, I thought of past times taking the A Train- I knew that the A, C, and E trains  all went north from the Soho area to Penn Station, and any of those would get me back there, each stopping there before heading to different locations, and I know from song lyrics that the A went up to Harlem.  Of course you can think about such things when doing simple tasks like proofing a block.  

As always, I knew that the first proof is always the hardest one, and so I wasn't expecting much.  And I only printed the image area, as I don't need the lyrics for most versions, and this is just an early proof to see how it turned out.  The results can be seen below:

Most of it seems to be about what I wanted.  So far I overall like the light in the room and the effect of the lamp.  I think the male figure in the bed is fine.  I have a lot of issues with that standing female figure.  Too much black right now, so I will have to go back into it and find some lights, and make sure to create some separations between the hair and other shadows.  The face needs cleaning up as well, plus the areas I didn't cut yesterday.  But those are problems for next week.  My experience with this ink last month tells me it should be dry enough to cut by early next week.  Meanwhile, I'll keep studying this image of the first proof, and decide if any other changes need to be made.

Traveling Riverside Blues part 7

 Thanks to a sleep study I was prescribed a few nights ago, I decided it was safest to have speech therapy on a Thursday instead of my usual day, and the only time available was 2:00 pm.  However, that meant I had time to get to the Studio in the morning first to get some more work done on my current block, the latest Robert Johnson piece.  Made sense to listen to some blues while I did it, and I had brought the copy I made of my last radio show (the only disc I currently have that has any Johnson on it), but for some reason it wouldn't start in my box.  Time was limited, so rather than try to resolve that problem (it's happened before and I know this disc works), I just went with a different disc I had there, my live Bob Marley collection, written about back on October of 2021 if you want to know more.  

I knew I could finish the female figure, and thought I would likely finish the wall behind her, and maybe I would have time to do the floor.  As it was, I got to all three in the allotted time.  Results can be seen below:

So far I like what I see, but I won't really know what I have until I roll some ink on this block, and that will have to wait until next week.  At this point I think I have done everything I can do with it other than print it and see what it looks like.  Once I do that, I can decide it it is cut enough, or needs more to make the drawing more clear, or the value balance better. If it is good, or needs very little change, I can go ahead and print a show-worthy proof, and still have plenty of time for it to dry before I need to frame it for the upcoming show.  

Traveling Riverside Blues part 6

 I figure about 3 weeks until the next set of prints has to be delivered framed and ready to install, which means I have to finish the block on that last one soon.  That meant a day in the Studio today.  Well, I can think of worse ways to spend my time.  I had discovered a few loose discs already in my bag, so I grabbed my roll of good tools and eventually left.  Had to wait until late to take care of some business involving an upcoming sleep study, but that seems resolved now.  

First thing I wanted to do was talk to Jeanne and make sure she had received the email I sent last week, with all the info for the show next month, but she wasn't in.  Instead there was a meeting of elderly women (volunteers?) going on the office, so I got out of there quickly and over to my space.  I continued working on the latest Robert Johnson print.  I knew from last time that I wanted to continue working on the male figure in the bed, then move on to the area of wall behind and next to the small table lamp.  For music I decided to put on the copy of the albums from Hans Rotenberry/Brad Jones and Alejandro Escovedo that by friend Doug made for me several years ago (written about in June of 2022 if you want to know more).  

It was during the first album that I heard something going on in the hall outside my space.  A lot of noise, but the door didn't open.  Sweeping maybe?  But then the door finally opened, and it was Molly.  I didn't have as much to update her on this time, though I did get confirmation that she got my email last week regarding making a t-shirt for Nellie.  Still not sure if she's going to do it, but she did say that she would definitely contact her.  After that I left her alone and she got to work on her towels, adding another layer of color.  

Meanwhile, I kept working on my current block.  The first album ended, but the disc continued into the second album Doug put on there.  My block went according to plan- first the bed and the guy there, then the large corner- both sides.  Results of today's cutting can be seen below:

Molly had finished what she planned for today (she said she hoped to do more, but had run into people earlier and lost most of her morning), and decided to take off.  I continued work on my block as planned.  By this time I had finished all the bed area, and was working on the walls, following my sketched plans for the area.  The cd finished, then shortly later I did.  I decided that was enough for today and cleaned up.  However, before leaving the building I stopped by the office again and this time found Jeanne.  She verified that she got my email last week, which contained all the requested information, one of only a few who had replied to the note.  Well, the day is not over yet, so maybe she will get a bunch more.  If not, she can put out another request, but my part is done for now.  I do have a lot more to do before then, but the other stuff isn't due for a few weeks.   I won't really know what I have until I print this thing, but so far it's turning out as expected, and I'm more than halfway done.

Traveling Riverside Blues part 5

 When drawing was done, I went downstairs to my Studio and Nellie met me down there shortly afterwards.  This was planned, as she has an opportunity to show some prints soon and wanted me to supervise and advise her printing some old blocks.  These were linoleum, but relief is relief, and that is one thing I know well.  She had taken my class in woodcut a few years back, and so printing should not be a problem for her- we cover it, and she had done some prints since.  However, she said she felt more comfortable having me present to talk to her and advise her.  

So even before figure drawing, I had cleared the part of my table that I used, to make some room, and while I waited for her to get there, I put away some drawing stuff.  She had a box full of tubes of ink, tools, and such, but had left the plate at home, so she took the quick ride home to get it.  (I didn't want to take up Molly's space, in case she suddenly showed up to do something) When Nellie returned, I looked at the plate and all her materials, and gave her some advice.  She asked if she could try some printing there in the space, to get some confidence, and I okayed it.  She did a first black (water based in) proof, but I knew the ink was too light, and she decided to do more.  After printing two more black ones with more ink she realized the problem, but I advised her to save the first proof for experimentations with coloring.  She washed up everything in the sink, and cleaned the black ink off my palette.   With wood I would blot the block instead of washing, but I figured the water and sink would work fine for linoleum, and it did.  Later she also printed versions of her GG Allin block in both blue ink and red ink.  Here is her in action:

She started printing with a wooden drawer pull, but decided she liked my wooden spoon best.  She also  used my metal ruler to measure her paper and tear it down to size.  She decided to make the paper the same size as the block, to print to the edge.  It's not what I usually do, but it is perfectly acceptable in printmaking.  She liked all her proofs and feels good about showing them.  What they are for is an Asbury Park Punk Rock Flea Market, which was held in our building in Ocean Grove last year.  For all I know we will also have it in our building again, but I haven't heard anything yet.

Meanwhile, I am not one to waste an opportunity, and was working on cutting my latest block on another part of the table.  I didn't cut as much as I might on a day there by myself, with Nellie hitting me with a lot of printmaking related questions, but I think I'm fine on time here.   I need to let the office know soon I will be part of the show, but it will be more than three weeks before they need the actual work.  What I worked on today was the lamp/table and some of the male figure in bed.  It can be seen below:

I probably won't be there tomorrow, but maybe I'll send them an email about the show, and confirm things next week when I'll be back in.

3rd Time Around

 Last week Joe mentioned during the figure group that Vivi would be back for the next meeting.  He mentioned this to me as this was the model he hooked me up with (at my request) to pose in my Studio for a group of prints I was working on.  This was back in July, and while I have worked on all those blocks, none are finished yet.  But I know she is good to draw, having done it twice so far, so I decided I would go this week for my 2nd and last time this month.  

Otherwise it was like any other drawing group. Got my stuff from my basement space, and took a spare space in the classroom.  More artists than last time, but I still found room.  My former student Nellie was back, as I expected.  The model was a little late, but she showed, and got right into a backwards arched back hand and feet pose- probably right out of the yoga she likes to do.  It was only a 30 second gesture, so I figured she could handle it, and did.  A few other times during the gestures she took poses on only 2 or 3 feet and hands, and almost lost her balance.  The rest of her poses were more stable.  Later on she took longer ones, and the last one was about 25 minutes and I broke out the charcoal for the occasion.   Some of my pencil drawings weren't bad, but this one was my best:

Nellie also liked the drawing.   In general she liked working with this model, who was younger than what she was used to in college classes.  She was also impressed with the yoga style poses the model opened with.  The model did recognize me and greeted me, so I went downstairs and got the blocks she posed for.  Not yet done of course, but she said she liked them, and was happy to see I was continuing to work on them.  It's entirely possible she was just being nice to get more work, but I will choose to believe she liked what she saw.  In any case, this third time working with her was a good day for me.

Bugs Bunny and Art

 I've mentioned before in various artist statements how I believe that 40's and 50's animation from Warner Brothers was a big influence on my art.  I still believe that.  That era is marked by the start of regular color use in cartoons, plus a lot of references to World War II.  But the artists of this time were well schooled in proper drawing and painting techniques, and that includes animated cartoons.  I recently had an email exchange with one of my college friends, where I made the point that Italian Futurists (an early 20th century movement) rejected much of what had been figured out by local artists before and during the Renaissance, but I know from experience that it's hard to escape from that all that history in Italy, and that it affected all art that followed, including animated cartoons.  And the art that came after that as well.  

For example, I do woodcuts, and my two biggest influences there are northern European art, both the early woodcuts of the renaissance and the 20th century expressionists, and the Japanese woodcuts of the 18th and 19th centuries, but due to being an art major, I have had plenty of art history, everything from the stone age to the end of the 20th century (art history textbooks, slide libraries, and my college education all ended there), and have taught art history at the college level a bunch of times- relating to both visual arts and as a subject in itself.  I once had a student in one of the latter classes remark how much the art history overlapped with her class in world culture.  My response to such things is that you can't understand art history without also knowing scientific history, political history, religious history, and military history as they are all related.  I stand by that.

The reason I thought of this today is that I decided to stay home today and to watch and delete stuff I had on the DVR, taking advantage of my parents not being home.  One of those things I watched was some Bugs Bunny recorded over the weekend, including a classic early 1946 short Baseball Bugs.  Like most of the WB cartoons of that era, backgrounds are painted simply, sometimes seeming not to be finished, as we are meant to be concentrating on the main characters.  This was not unique to mid 20th century animation,  but can be found in the optical mixing of Velazquez, Impressionist painting, the woodcuts of Frans Masereel (who was a newspaper cartoonist and illustrator facing frequent immediate deadlines before he took up woodcut), and probably other things I am familiar with.  But I know it best from Bugs Bunny, and that is where I took ideas from.

In the above image, I know I turned to a Bugs Bunny cartoon for artistic guidance.  The narrative came from a book, Butler's Lives of the Saints, and the date from the person who commissioned it, and some of the art from other sources, including me.  And the composition is mine.  But some of it came from cartoons, such as the vague shape of the people in the audience, and the colors came from a circus themed Bugs Bunny short.  Good ideas are good ideas, no matter where they come from.  

A Woodcut Show Ends

Got a call last night from my former student, the one who put my work in a show in Asbury Park.  She wanted to let me know that the show was over and coming down the next day, so it was up to me whether I would pick up the works at the gallery, pick them up at her new apartment right away, or pick them up when she came back from being away, in about two weeks.  I decided the best option would be to go get them on Tuesday at the gallery.  I know I can walk that far, and the weather is predicted to be dry.  So that was my plan.

On my way to my car after cutting today I called the gallery to see what was going on there.  If she wanted me to do so, I could walk over there right then, and save myself a trip to Ocean Grove.  I got her, and she told me she was willing to deliver them to the Studio building.  That would be even easier.  Didn't know when that would be- sometime after Mary was picked up to take down her show and 5pm.  So I went home, got some lunch, and took care of other business.  Got back to Ocean Grove around 2:30.  I brought a short disc with me, but didn't even get a chance to listen to all of it before that gallery director called me.   She was on her way, expected to be there in about 5 minutes, and just wanted to know which door to meet her at.  I chose the back door, since the ramp leads right to the basement and I'm there.  So after a few minutes I made my way to the back parking lot.  Not long after that, she arrived, and helped me carry the framed works into my space.  All the gallery information was stuck to the glass, so I took that off.  Leaned them up against my portable tack board, as seen below:

Later I moved them to on top of my table, where I had been keeping them.  This is the first opportunity I have had to see then in a while.  As I thought, I had created new backing before sending them there, so I would only have to do that for the third frame and I'd be set for the next show.  I'll probably just keep them in my space until that next show.

On the way out I took the elevator with Jeanne and the new employee, who seems to be taking Katelyn's place.    (he will have the task of updating our website soon)  I wish him luck.

Traveling Riverside Blues part 4

 Determined to finish the lyric part of the image, I got there by a little past 10:00 this morning.  I had cut all the margins yesterday, but had barely started the lyrics, mostly because of Molly's rare appearance in our Studio.  For music I decided to continue listening to that Elvis Costello disc of Molly's, this time starting with the bonus disc.  Turned out to be mostly demos of unused songs (at least on the actual album), a live cover, and only a few alternate versions of the songs that would actually appear on the later album.  Not bad to listen to, but nothing I had been missing before.  If you want to know more about the album, check yesterday's blog post.  Later I listened to the actual album.  I think the right choice was made when deciding what went on the album.  Considering the status of that album, I guess others agree with me.

Cutting letters is fairly routine for me, having done so many. And as I have said many times (and also written), cutting backwards letters takes as much time and effort as cutting forwards ones.  The only one that gave me any trouble was the letter "E" in the first word. as the whole letter came off the block as I tried to cut it out.  Had to glue it down a few times before it finally stayed.  The rest was pretty much what I expected.  Meanwhile, I put on another one of Molly's discs that was also in my collection- Doolittle by the Pixies.  Wrote about my version of it back in October of 2019 on this blog.  I finished this part by a little after noon and decided to head home for lunch, with plans to return to the building in the afternoon.  Results of today's cutting can be seen below:

Molly had left behind the new print she had ordered, but she did take possession of it yesterday, and the process of paying was established, so it's now her problem.  For today, I moved it from my table to one of hers.  She had turned off the radio and all the lights, plus locked the doors and window, so I was not going to complain too much.

Traveling Riverside Blues part 3

As I wrote recently, I decided to switch over to the Robert Johnson print from the boardwalk print I had been working on, mostly because we now have a scheduled exhibition in the building going up in about a month and I figure there is a much better chance of me finishing the black and white print than the color print in the remaining time.  Both were mostly drawn, but there are definitely fewer steps remaining in this print.  

I may yet do more drawing in this print, but for now I need to cut out all the margins, so I started with that.  Did the two on the sides, and then the bottom part.  Started on the first word of the lyrics below, but didn't get that far because Molly made a rare daytime appearance, and updating her took a bit of time.  Still I got enough done to feel it a successful day, and to believe I can get this done in time to include this in the upcoming show.  Where it stands today can be seen below:

This is probably the first time I've seen Molly in several months, so I had to make sure she got the print she asked me to make for her months ago.  I let her know about our broken window (and that it was reported to the office), the television project, reminded her about the September rent check, showed her some recent work (and she showed some of hers), talked what I remember of dates related to the upcoming show.  We also talked a bit about cd's, since most of mine are at home these days (so I can have something to listen to at home, with so many of mine in storage) and a bunch of hers are now in the Studio (nothing to play them on her home), things going on with her family, the bulb over one of her corners of the space (the building knew, but chose not to replace it or repair her tack board because they couldn't get close enough), the status of some of the work she did that was used in various Asbury Park eateries in the past (and some still do, she tells me today). and of course why she was there today- meeting with a friend of her daughter's, who was there to pick up some of those t-shirts I saw last week, destined for an animation festival in Brooklyn this week.

The print I turned over to Molly was one I had made some time ago, finished by the end of 2022 for a deadline I had been given.  She had seen the framed version I had done for the Tenants show in 2023, and is currently hanging in a show in Asbury.  My plan is to use that frame for the show coming up next month, with a new print in it.  Meanwhile, she's happy to finally have her print.  Now that she has it, and pay for it will come out of the next rent check, what she does with it is her business.

The odd thing was that I was listening to one of Molly's discs when she arrived today- My Aim Is True by Elvis Costello, the artist's 1977 debut.  I had the original American release on my shelf in the old days, so it's almost like listening to one of mine.  (Molly has an expanded version with a bonus disc, but I didn't get to listen to it because of her arrival)  The album is a mixture of the rock, new wave, pub rock, and ballads that mark his work of this era.  Apparently no hit singles, but many of the album tracks got a lot or radio airplay in my youth.  It did make him a star.  

Another Show

Right now I have work hanging in two shows- two pieces in my former student Mary's show in Asbury Park, and three pieces in Ocean Grove, in the first floor of the building where my Studio is.   I think the former show ends soon, but since the dates were shifted and don't match up with the schedule posted on the gallery website, I don't know for sure.  As for the show in my building, I got the impression that was put up to have something for the tv producer to see, so I assumed it was up until there was something else scheduled.   That time may have come.

Got an email last night stating that there is a plan to have a 4th Tenants show later this year, and information about it.  I think it's called the 4th Residential Exhibition, or something like that, which I guess means they have finally taken my advice and stopped calling it the annual show, which it technically isn't.  It has been about a year since the last one (or will be when it opens), but along the way a year was missed, probably the Covid year.  We are allowed up to three works as long as they don't exceed a certain size, and mine don't.  Do I have three completed never exhibited prints ready to go?  Yes.  But do I want to show those?  Not sure. That remains a back-up plan, but I think I'd rather show three related prints, and my best possibility for that is the next three from the Robert Johnson series.  Two are completely done, though I may print a new proof of each.  And I have three frames of the right size for the three planned prints, though two of them are currently in that show in Asbury.  However, I expect that to end soon, and I should have those frames back soon.  (unless those pieces sell, in which case I'll have a nice payday and cut new mats for the prints and get new frames from the work I have stored in the basement)  And I don't need to commit to the show for almost two weeks, and don't need to drop off work for about a month, so I have time to get all this done.  

Now I don't think I can finish the current boardwalk print in time for this show.  If it was black and white, maybe, but with the color it requires, it seems doubtful.  So I think next week I will set aside that block and start cutting the Robert Johnson print.  The drawing is just about done, and the print will just be black and white.  It is smaller as well. I think it's possible to get a proof before the commitment deadline, and a quality proof worth framing before the drop off.  The most recent photo I have is the below image of the drawing from mid-July:  

 I have done more drawing on the block since, mostly on the woman's face (using one of my reference photos from that session), but you'll see that the next time I work on the block, which now looks like it will be next week.  I learned today that the tv producer will be there at the opening in late October, taping it as part of his show.  Don't know if he will be talking to me that night, but we did have some time in my Studio, so I figure that covered it.  But if he wants to, I'll be ready.

Night Drawing by Daylight

 It occurred to me that these morning figure drawing sessions are a lot like the evening ones I used to go to  in Belmar, about a dozen years ago.  Cost is a little higher (which is not surprising), but otherwise it's the same idea- organizer schedules and pays the model, and artists show up with materials and draw.  I used to go to that on alternate Wednesday evenings, so maybe I'll try to go on alternate weeks to the daytime version.  Around medical appointments, which seem to be numerous.

So I was there this week, and found out the group would be held in room 5 today.  Last week, when I chose not to go, it was up on the 2nd floor.  And the time before that (when I did go) it was held in room 3.  But first I stopped by my basement Studio to pick up my drawing pad and drawing board.   Molly was definitely there since my last visit.  I have no idea what all this is for, but I assume someone contracted her to make it

She even cleared off one of her tables, perhaps to use it in production.  Not so much there right now, but these t-shirts covered almost everything in the room, except my table of course.  Lots of cd cases on the counter, and a disc in my boom box, which was still on.  I turned the power off, but otherwise left everything where I found it.  Grabbed my drawing stuff, and went upstairs to join the group.  Not a large number of people this time, so I had my pick of spaces to set up.  

New model as well, tall and thin, no tattoos.  She did fine.  The organizer was there this time, so we did the short gestures he always has us do, then 1 minute, 5 minute, and 10 minute poses, which I did all in pencil in my small sketchbook.  One of the regulars really wanted the longer poses to be reclining and on the floor.  For the first one I moved my big table so I could see the model, but for the second one, that would do me no good, so I moved myself and all my drawing stuff across the room to one of those empty spaces.  The last two were about 20 minutes, done in charcoal.  What I thought was the better of the two can be seen below:

In general I thought today's drawing was successful, so perhaps this practice is paying off.  I documented the better of the charcoals (the second wasn't that bad) and started for home.

Boardwalk Days part 33

 Work continues on my latest boardwalk print, my daytime scene, which is also my Asbury Park scene.  My plan for today was to continue on the right side panel, which is also the Convention Hall side, as on this block it is the reversed image.  Decided to continue with my Beatles music, and selected my home burned copy of their last studio album- Abbey Road.  (as with before, if you haven't come to know this album in the 55 years since it was released, nothing I say here can help you) On the counter top where I keep my Studio boom box all the discs (including my pile) were a mess- which meant Molly had been listening to them.  No problem, as part of the reason I left some there was for her to have things to listen to she liked, plus they are there in case I forget to bring anything with me.  And besides, I occasionally listen to her discs. 

After clearing my table, I got to work on the block.  I started by getting rid of the rest of the sky on that side.  I did the two stairways on the side of the building, leading down to the beach, and the little bit of beach around the bases of those stairways.  This included the boardwalk railing in that panel. The other thing I did was start on the building itself, cutting a little bit of the part of the beach and about where it hits the boardwalk.  Lots more to go, but no hurry to get this done.  The results of today's cutting can be seen below:

Still a long way to go, but it's best to take my time with all this detail.  As I never got around to looking at that plant near the base of the right side lamp, I left that part alone for today. I will try to look at that before my next Studio visit, so I can resolve whatever it is I will be doing with it.  

Boardwalk Days part 32

 Another nice day, and a plan to go the the Studio.  The news this morning was full of stories of yesterday's big event- a drilling of a hole by an unnamed contractor caused some leaks in the ceiling of the Midtown Tunnel in NYC, which resulted in the whole tunnel being closed down for a few hours.  The shown film of the problem didn't look that serious, but maybe it was a precaution in case things got worse, with a greater leak, or flooding, or something.  What they showed was minor dripping, something that a good set of wipers would resolve on any car going through there.  Wipers.  Okay, now I had an idea of what to listen to while I worked.  I brought the rock/pop book of discs again today, with plans to listen to my home burned Wipers disc while working.  (written about back on this blog in July of 2019 and many other places I'm sure, should you want to know more about this music and the very influential but largely unknown band that created it)

On the way there, another crane and bucket truck working on wires along route 71, same as Tuesday.  Aren't they done with that yet?  But I got past and up to Ocean Grove.  A lot of cars in the lot, but there were a few spaces left and I grabbed one.  Went down to my space, and sharpened my tools a bit, because I was planning to do some details today and it had been a while since I did that.  Meanwhile, I had cleared the stuff off my table and got to work on the current boardwalk block.

Today's plan was to work on the lower part of the right panel, the space in front of Convention Hall.  That included all the figures (human and animal) on the boardwalk, inside and out.  Put on some music, and got to work.  I had done more drawing last time, so this went fairly fast.  Of course, there was a lot of detail in all these things on the boardwalk, so it did take the entire disc to get it done.  One thing I left alone was the concrete slab that the right side light pole rests on, mostly because my block sketch shows the remnants of a gestural sketch of a plant there.  Best to check my reference photos of the space before I cut any of that.  Results of today's cutting can be seen below:

I still have to deal with whatever I'm going to do with the beach, then all that detailed architecture.  Then I have to ink it, possibly recut sections and ink again, print some proofs on the proper Japanese paper to match the other ones, and color at least one of them to bring it to the level I expect.  Good thing I don't have a deadline for this.  On the way home those crane trucks were missing.  Either they were on some kind of lunch break, or maybe they were finally finished working on those wires.  So I got home quickly and had some lunch.

Boardwalk Days part 31

 Labor Day is passed, so some would say that we begin what is known as "local summer", when those of us who actually live around here full time can do all the things that tourists keep us from doing for the summer season.  Parking is now available.  Restaurants and bars are not so crowded.  Fewer cars on the road than I am used to seeing. (lots of construction, though, as it is a very nice day today, and all the outdoor projects that were put on hold are now being done) Stopped at the store on the way up to pick up a few non-perishables, and then on to the Studio by 10:30.  Brought the rock/pop book of discs with me today, and from that selected a home burned cd with two Beatles psychedelic albums- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Magical Mystery Tour.  The latter album actually was created for American release only, but it filled a need so well it became one of official disc/albums when they finally started putting them on disc.  I've probably written about this before, and by now you should know about these albums, so no need to talk about them here. Most of what I heard today was recorded before I was born, and one song was worked on the day I was born (information about the most documented band in history).  

My plan for today was to continue work on my boardwalk print, so I got that out.  While still at home, I looked up some photos of the space I had taken quite a few years ago, and made sure to bring my sketchbook with me to have those references as well.  Wanted to do some drawing first.

I hadn't dealt with the paver plaza yet on either side, and that was part of what I needed to complete that left side panel.  So I redrew some of those stones, based on the photos I had.  I also redrew some of the figures I had on the boardwalk, using the sketches I had done as a guide.  With that done, I moved on to some carving.  I cut out all of the pavers in the plaza, and the first section of the boardwalk.  (I had already decided that the layers of light and dark in my photos of the space would be handled with color in the final version, so I'll just cut them all out and not worry about texture.  Below is an image of the section I worked on today:

I will probably thin those lines showing the edges of the pavers (will look more like the actual space and my photos of it), but for now I left everything as I cut it.  I've drawn those lines three times now and it's getting hard to erase all that, so I just went ahead and cut it while I know what is good and what is wrong.

I also brought home the block from my latest Robert Johnson print.  I may do some drawing improvement there before I cut anything, and it's easier to work from my reference photo on a computer than on my camera, and it's easier to bring the block home than to bring my computer to my Studio.  You'll see that one next time I cut it.