A catalogue for the International Mezzotint Festival 2011 is out and on the Festival’s  facebook page

Didn’t realised there were so many mad social retards – the likes of me, sitting somewhere in their little corners, rocking, scraping and burnishing away… Us, little gnomes.

Mezzotint Art by Marina Kim

The Matrix

A friend of mine, Lesley Samms, sent me a link at the end of December to apply for the “Show Me The Monet” BBC series on art which I did. And forgot about it.

Last week nice voice by the name of Nel phoned and we had a great chat – that was the second stage of selection. So, from 3000 it went down to 300, and after the telephone conversation another 150 of the applicants went in a puff of smoke. But I survived. And that’s why…

Tomorrow I am going to Shepherds Bush for an interview. After that only a quater of the remaining 150 artists will make it to the final exhibition. Wish me luck!

Me and The Matrix

I’ll have to produce a proof of my identity and a proof of my authorship for the artwork I submitted. I thought I’d do the latter in a blog form to save myself lagging stuff around London and also illuminate briefly on my way of working on a mezzotint portrait.

It started last Autumn. I was again thinking about a getting a new model on my quest for a remarkable face, and remembered Eve – a pretty girl of about 14-15. I contacted her mom Angela, asking if Eve would be interested to sit for me and if Angela herself wouldn’t mind. “Yes” was the answer and one day after that they came to the gallery.

Sketch drawing of Eve Delf

Eve was 15, slim, nearly 6 foot tall and beautiful beyond words. I didn’t expect all this when I was asking and certainly got more than I bargained for. It turned out as well, that Eve has just been signed up by a modelling agency after an unexpected turn of events.

We had a couple of sessions in my studio with Eve. I was photographing and drawing. We talked about this and that. And so, at the end I had about 800 photos, a few video clips and several quick sketches.

The next stage is brooding. Brooding, brooding. Looking through the materials: photos and clips. (I am still to figure out how to make use of videos…)

Fibonacci spiral

During that time, I re-visited the Golden Ratio and Fibonacci spiral ideas and thought about composition.

A few photos emerged as possibilities. Then I photoshopped them into something I wanted the mezzotints look like. Trying them with bands of colour, cropping etc.

Eve

So, here is the photo of Eve which was the base for the print. What attracted me to this particular one out of the 800 others is the geometry of the lines formed by the hair on the forehead, outline of the face, hand and arm.

The face is peaceful, at the same time there is a subtle smile. It hints towards thoughts which cannot be seen, cannot be known, but they are the most important element. They create the dynamics of the whole picture. So, the picture is very static here, but there is motion created by the underlying geometry of the composition and by the subtle expression f the face.

Eve Delf - 2

Next stage – cropping. I decided to take the Golden Ratio proportions and Fibonacci spiral to base the composition on. Why? To tie together proven classical references and rules (one way or another they run a lot of human programming in terms of how we perceive art) in order  to create an iconic image.

In a way, I am after something as iconic as Mona Lisa, and some references to that portrait are also incorporated into Eve’s mezzotint. All that laid on the powerful chiaro-scuro effect of the technique itself is bound to create a remarkable image.

Eve Delf - 1

The road is marked. Now, all that is left to do is to actually make it. Simple

I ordered two large plates to Martin Maywood. Not long before that we talked and he said he was able to rock much bigger plates now. That’s why I could plan a more ambitious project – size-wise as well as in other ways. 75-46cm plate is quite large for a mezzotint. Got the plates some time in February or March. The next 4-5 months were spent in burnishing. And that’s it.

Many hundreds of hours and several stage proofs later I had two beautiful portraits of Eve Delf. Well, also a series of hands with an apple and a trio of smaller plates picturing fragments of Eve’s beautiful face.

PS. I’ve never watched the program itself, as we haven’t got a television in the house. I might leave it that way to make it more exciting

Matrix and the framed print

Mezzotint Art by Marina Kim

Presentation and Lecture by Chris Nowicki

Visit to Ball State University – Chris Nowicki and Jacek Szewczyk

During January 16-18, 2012 we were guests of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Our main objective was to see the Printmaking and Glass Departments. We stayed at the University Hotel in the Student Building and it was very nice. Everyone was friendly and we had a great stay.

We had a great dinner at the home of Peter Blume who is director of the Ball State University Museum of Art. Peter gave us a complete tour of the Museum complete with the history of the collection and it’s most important acquisitions.

During our stay in Muncie I had the opportunity to give a lecture and demonstration about my favorite technique – mezzotint. The Printmaking Department at Ball State is small compared to our Academy in Poland but it is very well equipped. David and Sarojini Johnson are the professors of printmaking and they were very helpful in showing us around and helping with the demonstration. There were about 20 printmaking students in attendance who were all very attentive and asked a lot of good questions. I was able to take my time and explain about tools, paper, inks, printing presses, technique, and the history of mezzotint. My greatest compliment came at the end when some students decided to try mezzotint.

Jacek's Lecture

Jacek gave an excellent presentation of our Academy with photos and videos to an audience of about 50 students. We hope to arrange an exchange of students between our schools and Jacek’s talk created much interest among the students.

Ball State University has a beautiful campus with nice architecture. Everything is within walking distance. Our visit was a success and we look forward to future contact with this excellent institution.

Please click here to see more posts by Chris Nowicki at Active Artist Network.

Student Building

Printing Demonstration

Mezzotint Art by Marina Kim

Wanderer

Early Worm

Mezzotint Art by Marina Kim

Artists Chris, Agata and Jacek

We arrived in Chicago in blizzard conditions but what can you expect in the middle of January.

As you can see in the photos, the Chicago Cultural Center did a wonderful job setting up our exhibition of the Wroclaw School of Printmaking.  The exhibition was hung in three galleries and was attended by about 250 people.  For anyone going to Chicago the exhibition is in the Michigan Street Galleries of the Chicago Cultural Center and will run until March 25.  It consists of work from the Printmaking Department of the Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Art and Design in Wroclaw, Poland.

Chris Nowicki Interviewed At Printmaking Show

We stayed in the Courtyard Marriot Hotel in the middle of town and were able to enjoy Italian food in Bruna’s Restaurant one of the oldest in Chicago (and the food was great) and a super Cajun restaurant on Michigan street.

Now we are in Muncie, Indiana to see Ball State University.  I will give a lecture today to students on the history and technique of mezzotint.  I don’t believe that anyone here does mezzotint so it should be interesting for the students.

Cajun Restaurant Wall Of Hot Sauce

Unfortunately we are only here for one day; Muncie is a beautiful small Midwestern own.  The people are friendly and helpful.

Tomorrow we are driving with my friend Mel Arndt to Toledo, Ohio where we will visit the Toledo Museum of Art and I will show my colleague the sights of Toledo.

Mezzotint Art by Marina Kim

Printmaking Online – Link to a British site promoting printmaking and printmakers:

“Welcome to our directory of professional printmakers.

Why not use us to reach the artist you really like.

Be it to purchase a wonderful original or select an artist for your gallery. 

We are that link.

This Month we are delighted to introduce a NEW PRINTMAKER, JO BOURNE, showing a fantastic selection of WOODCUTS.

"Two Little Birds"

If you are a printmaker please go to ‘contact us’ for application details.”

Mezzotint Art by Marina Kim

Active Artist Network » New Mezzotint By Chris Nowicki.

Mezzotint Art by Marina Kim

Plate For Mezzotint 'Norvin' 35cm x 25cm

This is a photo of the mezzotint plate that I am working on right now. There is a long story about this motorcycle and I will fill in details as I show photos of my progress.

It has taken me about one month to get to this point. Rocking the plate took almost three weeks since I rock by hand and only rock about 2 hours per day. This past week I have been scraping but there is still a lot of work. I scrape a plate about three times. The first time is to get the image on the plate. The second scraping is to work on the light and shade, and the third time hopefully is just making final adjustments but I almost always have to do final adjustments more than once. After I finish the motorcycle I will still have to decide what to do with the background. That’s another story.

This print has been in my mind for a number of years. I started a plate with this image about three years ago. I made one proof to see how it was going and then the plate disappeared. I have looked everywhere but it is not to be found. It has bothered me for two years that I didn’t get to finish that print so I decided to start a new and better one.

This is a unique motorcycle. It is a Norton frame with a Vincent engine. There are other Norvins but they are all custom built so they are all unique. I bought this one in ten boxes and rebuilt it from the tires up.

Also here is a photo of the only proof I have of a plate that I started two years ago and then lost. It is just a print of the plate after the first scraping. This print is only about 6 inches long. The new plate is 11 x16inches.

First Proof Of Lost Plate

Mezzotint Art by Marina Kim

White Door Drawing

Over the past ten years or so I have been working on pencil drawings of doors. These drawings are 70x100cm and are done entirely with pencil.  I do them when I am tired of rocking mezzotint plates or need a break from scraping and burnishing.  They allow me to relax and at least temporarily put aside my obligations.

These pencil drawings are finished relatively quickly when compared to a mezzotint, usually in about three weeks.  My large mezzotints take about seven months.

Doors are very symbolic.  They represent portals between spaces and can be opened or closed. Is the door half open or half closed? What is on the other side? Whose door is it? When was it built? How many people have used this door?  Why is it in such bad shape? All of these questions have answers that usually we do not know.  But we do know that it is either there as a barrier or an opening or possibly both.

I have traveled extensively and am always fascinated by the old doors that I see.  The Greek doors with their stone frames, old Lithuanian doors with their rotten wood and traces of hands and paws, and Polish doors whose aged silvery wood and graffiti all intrigue me.  They are worn and have beautiful textures in the broken frames, old wood and broken mortar and stone on the surrounding walls.  Stains from leaky eves and drains, and electric wires add details and structure. All of these characteristics add to the appeal for me and even though doors are different everywhere they all serve the same purpose.

The challenge for me when drawing these doors is to study texture, different textures.  This information that I gather in making door drawings is easily translated to my mezzotint work.  In fact I consider it essential.

But I also love the process of drawing.  I love the feel of the pencil with its freedom of movement and simplicity or should I say directness.  It is possibly the simplest tool for creating an image.

Grey Door Drawing

Black Door Drawing

New Door Drawing

New Door Drawing 2

Mezzotint Art by Marina Kim

Setting Up The Show

After my first visit to China about 4 years ago I was so impressed with the quality of Chinese printmaking that I felt a closer contact between Polish and Asian printmakers would benefit both. The best way to start this contact would be to show Asian artists what is happening in Europe and Poland is a great representative of European printmaking.

I am now in Seoul to open the largest exhibition of Polish Printmaking ever assembled. I have been working on this project for 2 years and after the initial exhibition in Tianjin, China last October we are now able to bring this excellent show to South Korea.

With the extensive help of the Art Department at the Kyung Hee University and especially Professor Seung Woog Kim we were able to make this spectacular print exhibition happen here in Seoul, South Korea.

There are about 240 prints in this exhibition and about 85 of the best Polish artists are represented with their most recent works. All printmaking techniques are represented with many examples of etching, aquatint, lithography, serigraph, linocut, digital, dry-point, mezzotint and more.This is an exceptional and incredible show.

The opening is this Friday September 2nd at 6:00PM, the site is the A&D Gallery on the Kyung Hee University Campus, Seoul, South Korea.

Show Curator Chris Nowicki

Mezzotint Art by Marina Kim