Three Prints

Blue Arches, ed. 4; 16 1/4 x 17, image size 8 1/4 x 9 in. 

I finally got myself organized––chose paper, figured out the sizes I'd need, tore it down, set up my printing area so as to have a decent shot at printing squarely on the paper––and printed small editions of the three cardboard plates I've cut thus far. (To see the plates, go to this post.) The first print I worked on was Blue Arches, which I printed on different papers before ordering them. I guess I'd call it a variable edition, because of the papers and because each print is a little different from the others: the ink coverage changes, some have white specks where others have blue blotches. I see this as part of the essential informal character of what I hope will be a new body of work. 

Corner Triangles, ed. 4; 14 1/4 x 22 3/4, image size 6 1/4 x 14 3/4.

Of course I'm very uncertain as to whether these are any good, or just amateurish meanderings. But really, that doesn't matter because I'm enjoying doing them. They seem to me to fit in to a category of abstract art that I call "funky minimalism" for its relaxed, free approach to reductive painting, which would include artists such as Richard Tuttle and Mary Heilmann. So, I'm giving myself a pass on my slap-dash approach.

Four Green Squares, ed 4; 18 3/4 x 18 3/4, image size 8 3/4 x 8 3/4 in. Variable edition with squares placed in random order. 

Four Green Squares, image turned from image above

I decided on four to five inch borders around the images, to give them plenty of breathing room. I made the borders equal on all four sides so the work can be displayed in any direction. In this piece I moved each of the four pieces around so no one print is the same as any other. I like the idea of freedom from the one right way to display a piece of art, which my other work adheres to. 

Hanging in the studio, the prints enter into a lively relationship with my textile work (as always, you can click image to enlarge). I'm glad of the opportunity to expand on my approaches to abstraction.