You're a master of Karate and friendship for everyone

Hello, all. I hope this blog update finds you well. My sore arms and I are enjoying an open window and some chocolate soy milk after a whole lot of printing. I'm currently working on an art print diptych. I will be printing the eleventh screen tomorrow, and I anticipate a twelfth. Maybe a thirteenth, as well, despite objection from my wrists.
This year, I have received some emails from people inquiring about the process by which I make screen prints. There's really no right or wrong way to make art, of course. The techniques of people I know range from photo based images meticulously separated in Photoshop, to CMYK with spot colors, to cutting every film from rubylith, to inking films and scratching at them subtractively.
I'm a staunchly analogue screen printer, meaning I do not use a computer to create any of my films or color separations. A big part of it is personal preference. I like to be able to touch and manipulate each film with my hands; that way I feel as though I know exactly what I'm getting.

I am always happy to answer any questions I receive, but in case anyone else was wondering about the process of screen printing, I posted some process pictures on gigposters.com. Check it out!
While you're there, be sure to look at all the other process threads, too. I personally can't get enough of them.

Check out I Paint My Mind

My friend Evan recently launched a brand new (non-profit) version of his web magazine, I Paint My Mind. The online publication focuses on arts and culture; with exclusive interviews, features, art advocacy, articles, and more.
The site looks awesome. Check it out:
www.ipaintmymind.org

Learned to surf

I'm unwinding after a long day of film preparation and printing. I just finished printing some posters that I will be getting trimmed down tomorrow (my first ever full bleed poster). Then I've got to sign them and bring them to the venue! I'm looking forward to resuming work on a diptych art print tomorrow. I'll be attempting to print the diptych on single sheets of paper and cutting them in half at the end of the run. The challenge will be planning each color to work for both compositions (split fountains will come in handy here). I hope to have these finished and available before the end of the week, but definitely early next week.

And just for fun, below is a picture of my roommate's dog, Radar. I took a frisbee break with her in between colors this morning. It's been her favorite toy lately.
Radar is a Chesapeake Bay retriever and is easily one of the most bizarre dogs I have ever met. I don't think you can find a dog who likes kale and lettuce as much as she does. Chesapeake Bays are a very high energy breed, and I think if she had her way, she'd put in at least six hours a day chasing sticks, frisbees, and tennis balls around the yard.

Climbing the ladder

I've been working on inking drawings with a brush. I got a brush pen about a year and a half ago, and I still really like it. But lately, the Lowell Cornell #6 has been my weapon of choice. I'm enjoying the variation of line weight and control I'm able to get with it. Like pretty much anything else, improvement has come with consistently trying to work this way. I've sort of been easing into inking with a brush. Sometimes I will just do parts of a drawing with a brush and then go in with pen for most of the details. I really like the idea of completing a drawing entirely with one or two brushes, though. To the left is a drawing I did for the band Made To Mend to use as a logo. This was done with my trusty Lowell Cornell #6, as was the art for the Flaming Tsunamis poster below (save for lettering, which I did with the Pentel brush pen and a fine point Sharpie).

Just a quick disclaimer: The tortured phrase, "in this economy" will be used in this next paragraph. I apologize in advance.

I had a friend tell me that if you can make money off art in this economy, you'll be doing even better when things bounce back. For about a year now, I have been paying my bills by working full time doing illustration, studio art, and screen printed posters. Being able to (or rather to have to) work on art every day has been an excellent means for sharpening some of my own abilities. I have a lot more progress I would like to make, but I'm quite happy with much of the recent work I've produced, and that feels really good.
I usually tell people that I'm not opposed to getting a part time job if it ever comes to that, and it certainly might one day. My concern has always been that my productivity and prolificacy would suffer if I had to spend 20 or 30 hours a week doing something else. I know people who have made it work quite successfully, so I do know it's possible, though. My original plan was to go to grad school and earn an MFA so I could teach studio art in universities. This is something I still intend to do, but probably not any time soon. For now, I'm not terribly worried. I just keep reminding myself that I'm still very much on the climb.