Since then I have learned that there is more to art than a fine finish and a pretty face. But painting remains more visual magic than theory, and I ha... (more)
European art had, until the 19th century, been a commodity purchased by churches and governments, to decorate their halls and propagate their myths an... (more)
In this age when the definition of art embraces out-of-focus video loops created for a institutional audiences, Phyllis Serota finds satisfaction in a... (more)
Jim Swain’s painting titled “Alcohol can take me there” was stridently coloured and had a dipsomaniac tilt to it. I noticed it about ten years ago at... (more)
Sarah Amos is, in the usual sense of the term, self-taught. She has no “formal” training as a painter, but that’s not to say she has... (more)
Ron Parker’s large paintings are suffused with a radiant calm. The broad landscapes of our west coast which he paints are stripped to the essentials T... (more)
Wendy Skog was painting pictures of children when I first met her in 1984. One day soon after, a revelation came to her in the library. “This book lit... (more)
Reversals of images have been part of lithography from the early days working on stone. There are a number of techniques practiced by experienced pri... (more)
For most art lithographic printers, the use of a plate was a one-shot deal. Regraining the surface for traditional lithography so it would hold a fil... (more)
A printer may have problems printing an edition done with grease and gum etch as the image starts to darken. At other times the artist may like the l... (more)
The use of photographic techniques has become common amongst printmaking today. The simplest approach is the use of positive plates exposed to positiv... (more)
Hiroshi Sugimoto is an artist of considerable talent. In Japan he has made a career as a painter of murals and ceilings in temples, creating works of... (more)
One of the interesting techniques possible with toner chalks is drawing on newsprint and transferring the image unto several plates. After each transf... (more)
One of the exciting techniques allowed with toner is transferring unto plates an image drawn on Mylar. On a sheet of Mylar registered to a key image,... (more)
There has been a tendency among western collectors to resist the evolution of Sepik art this century, to label works by living artists as less valuabl... (more)
I early discovered in my work with toner that it can be made into charcoal like sticks for drawing on grained plates or paper. At first I bonded the p... (more)
Laser printers and copiers use pigments imbedded in various plastic materials according to the need of the machine and patent rights. Most are 90% pla... (more)
Combining two of my developments, lithography is now easier to use than traditional methods. The most direct approach is to apply the toner to the pl... (more)
In traditional grease/water lithography, the use of water has been a problem to the commercial printing industry. Known as the fountain solution, it c... (more)
The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (1040 Moss Street), in conjunction with the Community-University Research Alliance of the University of Victoria a... (more)
When rolling up a plate in traditional lithography, it is done on the press bed. The roller covers the plate, going over the edges and unto the press... (more)
The British Museum has the finest collection of Egyptian antiquities outside Egypt. Back in London they are in the midst of a building renovation and,... (more)
After trying a number of water based inks for lithography, I am convinced at this time that oil based ink produce a much better print. The big problem... (more)
Let’s start with a picture called Country Road, which shows a wayside cross. Not an antique cross outside a quaint Britanny village, but one of those... (more)
Since printers chops are expensive, most printers don't have one. On a recent collaboration in Hong Kong I had not taken mine as weight was a concern.... (more)
T-bar and needle are some of the more used methods of registration in hand lithography. Amongst all the systems I have tried, the punched hole and reg... (more)
Digital art can cause much discussion amongst dedicated printmakers who are absorbed in any of the four major print media. I have my own opinions, bu... (more)
For years screen printers had to put up with the solvents in ink made for commercial sign painters. Because editions released a large amount of the to... (more)
In today's mass produced society, handmade objects have become a much appreciated commodity for some people. To separate oneself from the "maddening... (more)
An exhibition of about 120 pieces by Wayne Ngan, of Hornby Island, is presented at the gallery in shiny new plexi cases under fine halogen lights. The... (more)
Since its' invention in 1798 by Alois Senefelder, lithography has replaced most of the commercial printing methods practiced all over the world. Rely... (more)
It had been an hour since I arrived, and Alex interrupted to confirm some events on Bateman’s calendar. Thirty visitors were due to arrive from a tiny... (more)
Nitric acid is a dangerous chemical, but has been the main mordant used by etchers for centuries. There are many mordants with acids being the main i... (more)
There was no mistaking him. With sandy hair and piercing blue eyes, he looked much younger than his 74 years. On an overcast Saltspring Island morning... (more)
Electric current has been used for both depositing and removing metal. Plating is a common industrial procedure used on household and many other artic... (more)
Unlike painting and drawing, printmaking can be considered a long dragged out method of producing artists images. It usually requires expensive equipm... (more)
Originally Posted Oct 2002Selling fine art is John Webster’s business but it doesn’t take long to discover that there’s more on John’s mind... (more)
Bolt is an accomplished glass blower and he sand-casts glass as well. Simplistically, his creations could be called “glass castings with paperweights... (more)
Until his recent death in an airplane mishap, Toni Onley was perhaps the most public artist in this province. Everyone here recognizes his name and mo... (more)
Originally posted 2002-12-20Ontario-based ceramist Keith Campbell has staked his career on a thorough exploration of the possibilities of p... (more)
“I see the painting and the subject matter as a sort of dance,” Gordaneer continues. “I work back and forth.” Every painterly element is at work in hi... (more)
There is a gentleman who is 91 years of age living quietly outside Duncan. He paints picturesque landscapes of places one can easily drive to, around... (more)
The most contrived and meaningless part of an artist’s career is the artist’s statement. It is antithetical to creativity and is often used like the E... (more)
Grant Leier and Nixie Barton are married, and each is a popular and successful artist. They have turned their acreage near Yellow Point into a wonderl... (more)
Here's the scenario. You take an established gallery in Saskatoon, the Darrell Bell Gallery, and they invite the Susan Whitney Gallery from Regina to... (more)
My neighbour works at a care home, a long term care residence for seniors and others. He asked if I would consider meeting with some of the residents... (more)
In this final part, I will try to provide information for anyone interested in participating in the 2005, Florence Biennale. As a reminder, participat... (more)
So, what is it like to exhibit in an international art show? As with all very large productions, there are pros and there are cons. (more)
The Florence Biennale is just one amongst this proliferation of biennales for art, poetry, stamps, engraving, architecture, film, music, etc. The word... (more)
The childhood game of laying on the ground and looking for the shapes of familiar things (animals, people, etc.) in cloud formations comes in adult si... (more)
I was invited to Legends Comics (636 Johnson Street, 388-3696) to see the current show of original ink drawings by UVic visual arts student Amy Cheng.... (more)
The principle reason I started collecting Chinese 20th century watercolour paintings was that it seemed to me that a great flowering was taking place... (more)
As one of Canada’s most popular artists, Blackwood has found his Newfoundland heritage to be an inexhaustible mine of inspiration. Born in 1941 , he g... (more)
Canadian Printmaker Goes to ChinaIn late 2003, six printmakers met in Hong Kong to exchange ideas and methods of working. The collaboratio... (more)
Ken Campbell is known as a top illustator and graphic designer here in Victoria. His book covers for Kids Can Press, Orca Books and Stoddard Publisher... (more)
Silver is the title, and it relates to the “silver screen”, the field upon which a new modern reality is played out. Or is it a fantasy? However we in... (more)
If you are thinking of having a print made of your original work hope this article helps clear up the differences in these two processes. These two me... (more)
Recently, I was contacted by Tom Evert, the son of Silvia Evert, a fine watercolourist from Toronto. He like many others over the past year, have aske... (more)