This is Tenaya, a multi block relief print of Tenaya Lake in Yosemite National Park. I took this picture years ago and ever since wanted to use it for a drawing, or painting but finally decided on a relief print. Water fascinates me, my entire life I could spend hours looking into water studying the way it bends light, reflects perfect images off of it’s surface, supports amazing life forms mesmerizing to watch. Colors shifting and the shadows of bubbles and wind riffles travel across the bottom, submerged rocks visible beneath the shimmering surface. The challenge here was to depict these qualities that I love so much in a print and make it believable. The way I approached this problem was to start with a separate block and lay down submerged shapes in raw umber, then printed a layer of transparent green for the shallow water at the shoreline and the darker green main lake color as a foundation for the reflections. Once this was done I began using the main block to print the reflections, distant mountains and sky, then worked my way forward so that the foreground is printed on top of the background to create depth.
This is a large print so I decided on an edition of ten, one became a proof so it is an edition of nine. Cranfield Caligo Safe Wash ink on Somerset printmaking paper.
This is Tenaya, a multi block relief print of Tenaya Lake in Yosemite National Park. I took this picture years ago and ever since wanted to use it for a drawing, or painting but finally decided on a relief print.
Water fascinates me, my entire life I could spend hours looking into water studying the way it bends light, reflects perfect images off of it’s surface, supports amazing life forms mesmerizing to watch. Colors shifting and the shadows of bubbles and wind riffles travel across the bottom, submerged rocks visible beneath the shimmering surface.
The challenge here was to depict these qualities that I love so much in a print and make it believable. The way I approached this problem was to start with a separate block and lay down submerged shapes in raw umber, then printed a layer of transparent green for the shallow water at the shoreline and the darker green main lake color as a foundation for the reflections. Once this was done I began using the main block to print the reflections, distant mountains and sky, then worked my way forward so that the foreground is printed on top of the background to create depth.
This is a large print so I decided on an edition of ten, one became a proof so it is an edition of nine. Cranfield Caligo Safe Wash ink on Somerset printmaking paper.