December Mystery Tubes!

I've never done a mystery tube offer before, but it sounds fun. So here goes:

Introducing the December Mystery Tube. Each tube will contain at least five prints; including gig posters, art prints, one imperfect/misprinted art print, and an unreleased line variant. And each tube will have an original drawing or sketch.
All work comes signed (and numbered when applicable). Only five tubes available. Check it out!

Additionally, you can see original drawings, monoprints, and new art prints here.

Get stoked. I am!

Minno

In an email to a friend today, I mentioned that it's hard for me to believe that with all the possibilities this world has to offer, so many people chose the most ordinary and unimaginative paths to follow. Saule Sidrys was not one of those people. I so rarely meet someone with her passion and ability to make friends with absolutely anyone. On November 18th, my friend Saule passed away.

It's so sad and confusing to know that you'll never see a person again. I had not spoken to her in a while, as she had been living in Poland, but one of the last times I had seen Saule, I got the distinct impression that she was living life in pursuit of her dreams. Her zeal was both admirable and inspiring. I'll forever wonder what else she would have accomplished had she not left us so early.

We will miss you.

Phun With Photocopiers

Hello! Quite a lot of things are going on here. I'm working on a brand new art print for Pandora's Prints, and I had the pleasure of doing T shirt artwork for an excellent band from Germany, Bogatzke. I tried something kind of different for the process, which involved me inverting the image on a copy machine and using a sharpie to reestablish highlights. I've grown to really enjoy being able to work subtractively on my films when preparing for screen printed art. This job required no film preparation on my part, however, so I needed to complete this step in a different way.

The image on the left is the completed drawing, which is ink and sharpie on paper. I was not entirely happy with some of line hatching.

The picture in the center is the negative of the image, produced on a photocopier. I then went into the highlights (now black) and extended them into the shadows (now white) and inverted the image back to a positive. At this point I touched up the new positive, and inverted it back to a negative. I worked back and forth like this a couple of times.

The image on the right is the finished product, which I scanned and emailed to the client.

I really have no idea how to use a computer to create an illustration, and that's fine with me. I enjoy drawing, inking, cutting, and scratching at my films by hand.

One more thing before I take a walk and get some groceries on this beautiful fall evening:

My friend and fellow technophobic artist, Gina Kelly (of recent Nightmare on Elm Street fame) has a new blog up about art, astrology, animation, and things that don't necessarily start with the letter "A". Check it out! www.weathermakerarts.blogspot.com

Impending transparent astronauts

Hello! Things have been pretty busy here. I've been doing a lot of drawing lately. To the right is some ink work for a new print. I'm starting to keep other parts of film preparation process in mind when doing the art for my key plate. I'm leaving a lot of open spaces to be occupied by colors, textures, layering, atmospheric perspective (which I often like to attempt with split fountains), and this one will probably have some more hand cut cumulus clouds in the sky. I'm beginning to approach the screen printing process more like a painting and a little less like a finished drawing to which I'm simply adding color.

Shifting gears a bit, here is the information for the 2010 print subscription:

Subscribers will receive one of each print I do for the entire year (an estimated 40-50 different pieces), which includes all art prints and gig posters. Subscribers will receive matching edition numbers, there will also be a small closed edition for subscribers only, as well as some other fun bonuses.

The subscription will open on November 1st. Information regarding cost, payment, etc. can be found at justinsantora.com

X-Acto knives, soy milk, and backside disasters

I spent Saturday night cutting clouds out of rubylith. That's actually a lot more fun than it sounds.

Also, my friends at Seripop just launched a new website. Check it out: http://seripop.com

Helium balloons and hanggliders

I finished printing these last night. Seven screens, edition of 33. I'm quite pleased with how they came out. Today I'm working on the drawing for the last in the series.

Persistence

I've been back in Montreal and back to work, first on a gig poster for The Flaming Tsunamis, and I've resumed working on the third print in the narrative series. I printed the fourth color today and have at least three to go, but I might do an eighth layer for some highlights if necessary. To the right is a picture taken after the first and second screens were printed. I am using transparent inks for each of the colors on this print, including the key line, which presents opportunities for subtle underprinting to achieve additional colors, texture, and depth. Cutting films knowing that the key line will be printed with a semi transparent color changes the approach a bit. Colors have to be trapped more carefully, but it's proving to be a challenging and interesting way to work.

I have a few pictures from my recent European excursion (including some from Groningen's Vera). I'll get those posted soon!

Stay tuned--this new print will be finished and available soon, and the fourth in the series is on the way, as well.