Victor McCay Printmaker's Blog

Death of the Poster

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 18:16:00 +0000

Having recently done a poster design that, if I do say so myself, did not suck, I've been thinking a bit about poster design - or more specifically the lack thereof.

Computers mostly enhance our lives these days including making it really easy to "design" a poster/ postcard, etc. that is really crappy.

I'm not a professional graphic designer, but I've done many posters over the years (from grade school contests to the above mentioned and below blogged Parallel Lives poster) and I've always taken a great deal of pride from a well executed design. It is difficult subtle work that ultimately has to look effortless. A few lines and colors that convey the viseral excitement of _______ and get the viewer to experience that and want to participate - no easy feat.

This type of design work seems to be disappearing, maybe not in the corporate world (they know the power of a logo) but from our communities, schools and even universities. And ultimately facebook is where everyone advertises everything these days and its no coincidence that facebook is the largest repository for these bad designs.

This is where I place the blame squarely on technology. No one designs a poster anymore - they don't have to. Let's say your doing a play. It's much easier to take a photo* of the cast and then use photoshop or some such program to pick a font to slap the title across it and you're done. The only problem is it's exactly as good as the time you spent on it. Congratulations, your poster sucks. It conveys nothing about the show to the viewer and doesn't make anyone want to come see it. You wouldn't spend just twenty minutes rehearsing the play to get it ready for a performance; it's not an appropriate amount of time to spend on your poster either.

*I'm not knocking photography. If you have a photographer with an idea I'm all for it.

I'm not knocking computer design programs either, but the people really making art with those programs have a design background and an art education/experience because whatever the tool its still only as useful as the person using it.

I know I'm on my soapbox but only because this means something to me. The poster is an integral part of the production. It is the graphic interface between your production/event/cause and your audience (even if it is on a computer screen). It deserves respect, and failing that - at least consideration.

Okay, I'm done now.

Parallel Lives show poster (printmaking+photoshop=oh my!)

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 22:40:00 +0000

This is the poster design I just completed for a production of Parallel Lives (formerly Parallel Lives: The Kathy & Mo Show) being produced by Terrific New Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama (& starring my dear, dear friend Carolyn!).
This project was a marriage of old school and new. The image is a hand-cut linoleum block print while the text and colored background are all photoshop. I'm fairly pleased with the results. I think the design is true to my style and represents the show well visually and thematically. I've designed posters over the years, but I've just done the art. This is the first time I've done the whole thing (art, layout, text, etc.). This was mainly because of a really tight deadline, but I also wanted to challenge myself to learn more about this here computer program. It was very satisfying to talk to the printer on the other side of the country about file format and then just send them an email - blap! Done. Let me just say I can only imagine how much the graphic design industry has changed over the last twenty years.

This is the linoleum print in black ink that was scanned in and cleaned up. Normally when printing a lino block, you have to do a couple of proofs and then go back and re-carve areas to clean up the image. It was very nice to be able to do all of that digitally in photoshop - click, click, click. The print itself becomes a manipulable tool instead of being the final product that has to be perfect. This part I like.

This is the final sketch. This was scanned to be laid out on the lino block. Any printing plate has to be cut, etched, etc. in reverse so that the final image is correctly oriented. Photoshop is great for this - flip the image horizontally, size it to fit your block and print. Then I transferred the image to the block and spent many, many hours cutting it out by hand (old school).

X-Wing Couple (The Things We do for Love)

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:23:00 +0000

This is the second piece from the Comic-Con series. This piece addresses the phenomenon of couples in costume. It is common among the costume or 'cos play' types. I believe Elektra and Darth Maul from my previous post were a couple (though obviously they went in different directions thematically). Often times though they do dress in tandem. This couple chose X-wing fighter pilots. What I like about this piece is the expression on her face that suggests that this was his idea, and that she is playing along, dorking out for her sweetie. Ah, love....

Photoshop learning curve continues to be steep, but I really do like the slickness of these.

Elektra & Darth Maul go to Comic-Con

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:41:00 +0000

These sketches were inspired by Comic-Con in San Diego. Anyone who knows me knows I am a big Comic-Con fan and attend annually. There are thousands of people at this event and many choose to dress in costume. These people are usually quite polite to pose for photographs out on the convention floor. But these people are also convention-goers and what I find really interesting are the more candid, pedestrian moments: Superman smoking a cigarette, Wonder Woman on her cell phone, wearing glasses with her purse slug up over her shoulder, middle-aged superheroes with their offspring in tow, etc. I also want to capture the energy, the hustle and bustle of the convention in this series because Comic-Con takes over San Diego and for those four or five days it really is a strange and different world.

This is a real departure in that it is not a print and because it was colored in photoshop (and when it comes to photoshop I am still a blind monkey poking at it with a stick). Though it is not my milieu, I think the subject matter benefits from the slick computer coloring. Upon printing it out I think this one is a tad overdone. Somewhere in the middle there was a version (that I didn't save, d'oh) that struck a better balance between the looseness of the original drawing and the slickness of the color.

Below is the original inked pencil drawing before photoshopping.

My Work in NYC

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:30:00 +0000

Yeah, yeah, yeah - it's been too long - I'm a terrible blogger and worse self-promoter and all that...

Because if I was any good at self-promotion I would have clamored that my work was in a show in New York City. My dear friend (and celebrated artist) Jon Coffelt co-curated the show/collection at Central Booking. Central Booking is "Brooklyn’s own space focusing on the art of the book and its fuller integration into the mainstream art world".

This is the announcement. One of those tiny names is mine. Pretty cool.

These are the prints that were in the exhibition:

Roller Derby Girl - collograph print

Modigliani's Studio - linoleum block print

Superman -woodblock print

Facebook meets Blogger - aka 'Rhett wrote on Scarlett's wall'

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 08:06:00 +0000

Rhett & Scarlett -- 6"x 9" monotype print with watercolor

Greetings, gentle readers. All worlds merge on the internet it seems, as my blog is now on my facebook page. Thanks to all of you who confirmed my blog ownership (...what an odd thing to say). I finally gave in and joined the grand social network, and I'm glad I did. Its been wonderful to reconnect with so many old friends - if any of you have stumbled across this blog...welcome! This is the ongoing chronicle of my return to printmaking. Some of you have prints of mine that I gave to you years ago, and it's wonderful to hear that they still have a place in your heart and in your home. If it's your first time visiting, poke around, look at some older posts, I welcome comments and questions. If you like what you see, come back again (you can even subscribe if that strikes your fancy) and see what's new.

Today's print, from my recent Hollywood Icons show, is "Rhett & Scarlett" from Gone with theWind. This print is a monotype created by covering a metal plate in printing ink and then carefully removing ink with paper towels, blending stumps, q-tips, etc., to define the image. Paper is then placed over the plate, the plate is run through the press transferring the ink to the paper and...voila! I then watercolored the print after the ink had dried.

the inked plate ready for printing

Scarlett wrote on Rhett's wall: I only know that I love you.
Rhett wrote on Scarlett's wall: That's your misfortune.

Bare Hands Gallery presents...

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:13:00 +0000

Greetings, gentle readers! Sorry to have been away so long. I've been back in L.A. for a few weeks now, but after pushing so hard to get the show done I've been too burned out to blog.

Thanks to everyone who's been so supportive of this blog and to everyone who helped me pull this show off. It was a group effort and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

The show has been very well received and sold fairly well. Hopefully we'll sell a few more (since I just found out today that the show is going to remain up for another month! Thanks, Wendy!). The opening reception was very well attended. The 'Hollywood Icons' theme really came together with elements like a retro tv sculpture (pictured below), tv theme songs and movie soundtracks for music and even a popcorn machine. I saw many old friends and met some new ones. The evening was a wonderful, frenetic blur. I intended to take pictures of the reception, but again - blur. Luckily, pictures were taken at the reception and as soon as I get some of them I'll post them for your amusement. In the meantime, here's a few pics from the gallery.

Thanks again to everyone.

view from the front of the gallery

loose prints clipped to super-slick wiring system (thanks, Rashid!)

giant Kermit print

retro tv sculpture (thanks, UAB Theatre Dept. and OzWorks!)

woodblocks on display

Bandit detail

Raiders... bathed in gallery light

Kermit the Frog & Fozzie Bear

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Sat, 31 May 2008 09:33:00 +0000

Kermit the Frog 29 x 41" collograph print
Fozzie Bear 29 x 41" collograph print

I'm leaving for Birmingham in a few hours for the Hollywood Icons show, so here's one more blog post for the road. Muppets!! I was a huge fan of the Muppet Show as a kid and dabbled in puppetry for most of my youth and throughout college. So when I was trying to come up with icons that I could print large, bold and simple - these two came to mind.

Printed on oversize Arches cover paper, these are the flagship prints of the show - very BIG!

These prints are a type of relief print made by cutting out shapes of vinyl, inking them, then laying them out puzzle-like directly on the press bed, laying the paper on top of the whole mess and running it through the press. There is no plate or block in the traditional sense. I'll do a post in the future where I go into this technique in greater detail.

Kermit hot off the press (for a sense of scale)

Kermit (detail)

Fozzie (detail)

"This print better turn out good, Kermit."

Cut vinyl pieces inked and reassembled on the press bed ready to print

Fozzie fur and vinyl pieces on the press bed after printing.

Kirk & Spock

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Wed, 28 May 2008 07:00:00 +0000

Kirk & Spock 5 x 7" linocut print with watercolor

Today's Hollywood Icons entry goes out to my good friends Colin & Christopher.

Kirk & Spock two-color linocut print (blue)

Kirk & Spock two-color linocut print (purple)

linoblock during inking

linoblock detail

Live long & prosper.

Indiana Jones

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Thu, 22 May 2008 05:28:00 +0000

Raiders of the Lost Ark 12 x 18" original linocut print artist's proof

The Hollywood icons show is closing in fast, and I'm happy to say the prints are finished (whew!). Everything went to the frame shop on Monday, and the handful of prints I'm framing myself are finished (Thanks, B!). Now the real fun (not) begins: address lists, frame labels, packing and shipping, etc.

Today's Indy post is rather fortuitous. As I type this the new Indy flick, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is about an hour from premiering here on the west coast (and already open on the east coast).

I didn't really appreciate Raiders until I was an adult. As a child I wanted Han Solo to fight Darth Vader, not Nazis... but I digress.

These images are a little wonky, because at 12 x 18" the prints are too large to scan, so I had to photograph them.

Raiders of the Lost Ark detail

Carving the linoleum block in process

This is about two thirds of the way through the carving process. The white stuff is baby powder. By pushing the powder into the areas that have been cut away, it creates a nice contrast allowing 'the image' to be seen much more easily ( a simple solution and very handy).

inking the block during the printing process

Raiders framed and ready for the show

At 12 x 18" (approx. 20 x 25" framed) this is certainly one of the largest pieces of the show.

Stay tuned. More to come.

Hollywood Icons

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:25:00 +0000

As many of you may know, all these Hollywood prints I've been working on these past months are for my upcoming show at Bare Hands Gallery in Birmingham, Alabama. I was the first artist to show at Bare Hands twelve years ago, and am excited to be returning as the artist for the 12th anniversary show. I'm currently finishing up the last few prints, signing and numbering prints, and getting everything off to the frame shop so it can be shipped to Birmingham for the show. I'll continue to post previews of the show here on the blog up until I go to Birmingham.

But this post is really to show off the official invitation for the show, and to thank graphic designer Christopher Davis for the awesome job he did designing this postcard. It's exactly what I wanted: simple, graphic, retro & hollywood. Thanks, Christopher!

Superman

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:47:00 +0000

Superman 6x8" six-color woodblock print

The year is 1978 and Christopher Reeve is the Man of Steel in ... Superman.

The tagline for the film was "The movie that makes a legend come to life" and that was pretty accurate. Superman was already one of the most recognizable icons in American culture, and this movie (and the fact that it was a good movie) served to make Superman even more indelible. I was seven years old when I saw this movie in the theater, and it certainly made an impression on me.

This is the most ambitious woodcut I've done to date with four blocks totaling a six-color print. The layout was tricky, having to make sure each block was going to line up with the next block and so on. The printing was tricky too, registering each block carefully to line up the colors on every print. Above are the first three blocks cut awaiting printing.

A print (with the yellow already printed) being pulled from the 2nd (red) block.

The third (blue) block on the inking table during printing.

The final (black) block in the process of being carved.

And with the printing of the fourth and final block, the print is complete.

The iconic (and patriotic) fruits of my labor

Bo Derek

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:11:00 +0000

Bo Derek 6x8" collograph print w/ a la poupée and watercolor

Bo Derek 6x8" collograph print w/ transparent top roll and watercolor

Construction of collograph plate - this is the layout stage, cutting out all the pieces of construction paper, making sure it all fits, before adhering and sealing to the substrate. Modeling paste was later added to create the texture of the water and waves.

a big inky mess - the palette for the prints mixed up and laid out.

the inked collograph plate

fresh print being pulled from the plate

Belated Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 04:42:00 +0000

Happy Anniversary, Printing Press! *

Happy Anniversary, first print! *

I'm sorry to say the occasion slipped my mind. As we grow older I suppose more things do.

March 12th was the one year anniversary of this printmaking blog, and therefore also the one year anniversary of purchasing my beautiful printing press.

Getting the press was the impetus to start this blog.

I wish I could state that in the last year I had harnessed the power of the internet to market my work like I should. But I have thoroughly enjoyed the convenience of having a home studio. I had a very successful print show last year and have another print show this June, both of which would have been very difficult, if not impossible, to do without my press. (If you're a printmaker and you're thinking about getting a press, I highly recommend it - and CraigsList is a wonderful thing.)

I also wish I could say I've posted to this blog as often as I'd hoped, but in fact I've been pretty lax about it. I have enjoyed sharing my work, my process and my thoughts with the world via the magic of the internet; but what I've enjoyed most is the feedback and support I've received from you, gentle readers. Thank you.

* apologies for cheesy cupcake photoshop hack job

Yoda: "Do or do not. There is no try."

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 08:51:00 +0000

Yoda 3 x 4" woodblock print with watercolor

The Hollywood icons series continues with the coolest puppet since Kermit... Yoda. Yoda first appeared in the 1980 blockbuster film The Empire Strikes Back (the best of all the Star Wars films, if you're keeping score).

just printed from the block

This woodblock print is printed in a couple of two-color combinations and also just in black relief ink and then watercolored.

two-color print in light and dark green

two-color print in green and black

The Six Million Dollar Man: Reboot

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:19:00 +0000

The Six Million Dollar Man 3"x 4" linoleum block print with watercolor

For those of you following any of this, you may have noticed this is my second $6,000,000 man piece. I was having trouble getting a good print off of the collograph plate, so I decided to take another crack at it. Printmaking can sometimes have a high percentage of things that don't work out. Also since doing the first piece, I printed a bionic woman print (below) that is also 3"x 4", and I thought a pairing might be nice.

The first print above is printed with black relief ink and watercolored after the ink has dried.

The Six Million Dollar Man 3"x 4" linoleum block print with chine collé

This print is printed in transparent black relief ink on top of a vintage merchandising image from the Six Million Dollar Man toy line (which I had many toys from... Bigfoot, anyone?). The vintage image is on a thin piece of paper with glue on the back of it. The pressure of the printing press simultaneously transfers the image from the block to the chine collé paper and adheres the chine collé paper to the thicker printmaking paper.

The Six Million Dollar Man 3"x 4" two- color linoleum block print

This is a two-color relief print. First an uncut linoleum block is inked with transparent red ink and printed. Then the image block is inked in black and carefully lined up and printed on top of the red.

All three prints are available for purchase in my etsy shop ... here.

hot off the press

The Bionic Woman

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 07:48:00 +0000

The Bionic Woman 3" x 4" woodblock print with chine collé

The Hollywood icons series returns today with Lindsay Wagner as Jamie Somers, the Bionic Woman. It didn't seem right to do the Six Million Dollar Man (two posts down) without giving the Bionic Woman equal time.
This is a woodblock print which I've printed a couple of different ways. The first print is a chine collé print with the woodblock printed on top of a vintage merchandising image (you can either view it as a statement about commercialism, or just a retro-cool print). The second print is a two color woodblock print. The transparent green color was printed first as a solid block of color, then the image was printed on top of the background in black relief ink.

two color woodblock print

two color woodblock print fresh from the press

Modigliani's Studio

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:29:00 +0000

Modigliani's Studio 6" x 7" linoleum print with watercolor

Taking a little blogging break from the Hollywood icons series (more in the works, but nothing ready to post) to find a little inspiration from one of my favorite artists. This print is from a series of prints I did of the artists Modigliani, Matisse and Picasso. This print depicts the bohemian Modigliani seated in his studio between his painting, Madame Pompadour, and one of his many elongated head sculptures. This is a linoleum print printed in black relief ink and colored with watercolor.

fresh off the press

The Six Million Dollar Man

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 06:17:00 +0000

The Six Million Dollar Man - 4.5" x 6" collograph print with pastel

Lee Majors is Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man.
This is a collograph print like the Redd Foxx print. Lines of glue are laid out onto a piece of mat board, then sealed with acrylic medium. The plate is then inked with brushes, q-tips and brayers and then printed. This is a very simple technique that yields some very interesting and unique results. This print was very dark, so after it dried, I punched up the color with pastels.

"We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better...stronger...faster."

The inked plate prior to printing (click the pic for a more detailed view of the plate).

The Blues Brothers: "We're on a mission from God."

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 01:08:00 +0000

The Blues Brothers - 5" x 5" two-color linoleum print

The Hollywood Icons series continues with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as Jake and Elwood Blues. This print is a two-color linoleum block print. First the blue background was printed with only the areas that would be white in the final print cut away. Then a second block was carved, inked in black and carefully printed on top of the blue background.
Inking the background block (note the negative space has been carved away)

A finished print fresh from the press.

Carnac the Magnificent

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 09:02:00 +0000

Carnac the Magnificent - 3" x 3" two-color reduction woodblock print

I thought I'd revisit Johnny Carson since he was recently named the number one television icon. Here for your consideration is Johnny as Carnac the Magnificent.

(Carnac holds the sealed envelope up to his turban)

CARNAC: Sis boom bah.

ED McMAHON: Sis boom bah?

(Carnac rips the envelope open and removes the card)

CARNAC (reading): Describe the sound made when a sheep explodes.

This print is a two-color reduction (or suicide) print. It is so named because in this process multiple colors are printed from a single block (usually there is a separate block for each color). The block is carved, one color is printed, then more of the block is carved away, then another color is printed, and so on. Once you carve away more of the block and begin printing the next color, there is no going back. So you have to be careful in the layout and planning stage.

A few prints with only the first color printed.

Inking the block with the second color after more carving.

The second stage of the block.

A finished print pulled from the block.

Redd Foxx

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 08:26:00 +0000

Redd Foxx - 5" x 6" collograph print with à la poupée

The latest entry in the Hollywood icons series is actor/comedian Redd Foxx of Sanford and Son fame. A little research turned up Foxx was also an artist. To view some of his artwork click here to visit the official Redd Foxx website.
The plate for this print (below) was simply made of mat board and glue. This was a test to see if the detail required for a portrait could be captured in lines of glue. All the lines on the plate are glue applied with a fine applicator tip. When inking the plate, inks are applied with brushes and q-tips for most of the color. Then the "lines" are inked by top-rolling a dark color onto the raised lines of glue. Click on the image of the plate for more detail.

"Elizabeth, I'm coming to join you, honey!"

The plate after printing

Hot off the press

"Heeeeeeeere's Johnny!"

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 07:29:00 +0000

"Heeeeeeeere's Johnny" 5 x 11 monotype print

the plate ready for printing

the moment of truth

freshly pulled print and plate with residual ink

True Grit

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 06:34:00 +0000

True Grit 4 x 4 woodblock print

John Wayne played Rooster Cogburn in the 1969 film True Grit, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor. John Wayne epitomized rugged masculinity, was larger than life, and my dad loved him. There's a line in the Statler Brothers song Whatever Happened to Randolph Scott? that sums up my father's (and his generation's) feelings about John Wayne and what he represented in society: "True Grit's the only movie I've really understood in years." My father was also fond of saying "real men don't eat quiche".

Like the Clint Eastwood print, this is also a two-color woodblock print. The blue color field is printed first, then the image, inked in black, is printed on top of it.

inking the block

fresh off the press

Clint Print

noreply@blogger.com (Victor McCay) — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 08:19:00 +0000

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 8 x 12 woodblock print

The Hollywood icons series continues with Clint Eastwood from the 1966 'spaghetti western', The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. This is a two color woodblock print using two 8 x 12 woodblocks. The first block was simply inked and printed to create the orange-red 'color field'. Then the image was carved into the second block, inked in brown and printed on top of the color field. Below is the finished print being pulled from the woodblock.