“Unfettered Flow” was created by floating sumi inks on a pan of still water, and laying paper over the water surface to take up the inks. This is a delicate way of creating a monoprint, which is a print with a single unique version. Thanks to Photoshop, though, I was able to go further and make a monotype, basically a monoprint which has been modified after it is created so that each version is slightly different. (This isn’t quite an accurate definition in the traditional sense of these two terms, but in our modern digital world it is the closest I can come to a definition… I hope someone reading this post will add to this if they feel so moved!) I scanned the original print and modified it in Photoshop, enhancing some parts, “dehancing” others, and adding a bit of texture, until I had what is posted here. For me, Photoshop is a wonderful tool for expressing the “deep structure” of what I start with.

“Reflected Tree” is just a part of the years-long journaling I have maintained of images of Beebe Lake near Cornell: we live just a few steps away and there is so much to see there as the seasons and weather change. This was taken early this spring before all the foliage greened up, and geese with their goslings were all over the lake (the goose was cropped out in favor of emphasizing the verticality of the image). Other than that, no liberties were taken with this photo!

This is one of my Suminagashi prints, somewhat edited in Photoshop to crop the image and slightly alter the color balance. While in creating a Suminagashi print you must leave quite a lot up to the laws of physics, it is possible to control your image to some extent, and I was able to do so at least a little in this one. But part of what I find intriguing and inspiring in creating Suminagashi prints is that those laws of physics (ink against water) always intrude their demands and make their own impact on the design!

This is a quick sketch that I sat down to recently, when I was in a bit of the COVID doldrums and needed to do at least a little art to pull through. A few days before, on a hot, sticky evening, I had made deviled eggs for supper, and had admired the pleasing shape and shading of the sliced eggs before I filled them. So I boiled an egg, sliced it carefully and pried out half the yolk, and sat down on the porch to sketch. Using the white of the paper for most of the egg-whites felt right. A few bits of intense color from my Caran D’ache “Luminance” pencils were satisfying for the yolks.

When I had finished the sketch, I popped the separated half-yolk back in its half-egg, added a dab of mayo and mustard to each half, and ate the egg, with a very happy sense of completion.