On separation… The first four ink paintings I attempted were all relatively large and restricted to a single color. I’d like to say their intention was a humble homage to the great Color Field painters, but it was more a matter of practicality. If anything, the wider windows provided plenty of space to develop my fledgling knife-on-panel technique. For the next experimental series, I wanted to branch out into color interactions. A quick aside: The lithographic inks I paint with are formulated to lay thin on paperboard—- and when I say thin, I’m talking microns. To accommodate the inline printing of multiple colors, inks must also vary in viscosity, so as to “trap” the next printed layer without releasing the previous. Here is some quick context. So, as you may have guessed, I was opening a can of worms by laying it on thick AND abutting different colors. Indeed, mixed results ensued. Smooth arcs held strong for about five minutes, then collapsed into chicanery. Other spots remained perfectly in place. Lessons learned. Of the six in that series, one pair was covered with a solid layer of silver; one pair was covered in gold (and would become Gold Palimpsest One and Two, 2005); the final pair was modified with square wood dowels, creating levees for my pools of color. The rest, they say, is history…

On separation…

The first four ink paintings I attempted were all relatively large and restricted to a single color. I’d like to say their intention was a humble homage to the great Color Field painters, but it was more a matter of practicality. If anything, the wider windows provided plenty of space to develop my fledgling knife-on-panel technique.

For the next experimental series, I wanted to branch out into color interactions.

A quick aside: The lithographic inks I paint with are formulated to lay thin on paperboard—- and when I say thin, I’m talking microns. To accommodate the inline printing of multiple colors, inks must also vary in viscosity, so as to “trap” the next printed layer without releasing the previous. Here is some quick context.

So, as you may have guessed, I was opening a can of worms by laying it on thick AND abutting different colors. Indeed, mixed results ensued. Smooth arcs held strong for about five minutes, then collapsed into chicanery. Other spots remained perfectly in place. Lessons learned. Of the six in that series, one pair was covered with a solid layer of silver; one pair was covered in gold (and would become Gold Palimpsest One and Two, 2005); the final pair was modified with square wood dowels, creating levees for my pools of color.

The rest, they say, is history…