Dry Point |
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Title: Hidden Just out of View
Size: 20 cm x 15 cm (8 in x 5.75 in) Medium: Dry point on watercolor paper Completion: September 29th, 2017 Hidden Just out of View expresses the creativity of storytelling as well as the fear of the unknown and the security people cling onto. The person featured holds the torch in the darkness as the creatures hug the darkness hidden just out of view. The story could be led by the viewer’s imagination. The inspired style was off John D. Batten, whose illustrations have brought visuals to literature from many different stories and intrigue the viewer with fantasy and mystery.
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Critical Investigation Research:
The illustrator, John D. Batten, was the influence for creating my Dry point.
John Dickson Batten was born in Plymouth on October 8, 1860 and died on August 5, 1932. He is well-known for creating illustrations for various fairy-tale books. At first, Batten went to college at Cambridge's Trinity to study law but realized he had more skill in art so he switched his career. He then went off to Slade University to study art. Batten's most favored subject in art was creating mythological motifs which he displayed at multiple of his galleries. The books Batten would illustrate were English fairytale books that were compiled and written by Joseph Jacobs. Some of the books were: "Celtic Fairy Tales" (1892), "Indian Fairy Tales" (1912), and Europa's Fairy Book" (1916). By the end of his life, he began to revive the art of painting using egg tempera which was used in classical paintings and other historical art.
John Dickson Batten was born in Plymouth on October 8, 1860 and died on August 5, 1932. He is well-known for creating illustrations for various fairy-tale books. At first, Batten went to college at Cambridge's Trinity to study law but realized he had more skill in art so he switched his career. He then went off to Slade University to study art. Batten's most favored subject in art was creating mythological motifs which he displayed at multiple of his galleries. The books Batten would illustrate were English fairytale books that were compiled and written by Joseph Jacobs. Some of the books were: "Celtic Fairy Tales" (1892), "Indian Fairy Tales" (1912), and Europa's Fairy Book" (1916). By the end of his life, he began to revive the art of painting using egg tempera which was used in classical paintings and other historical art.
John D. Batten Book Illustration:
Page 1 from Europa’s Fairy Book (1916) by John D. Batten.
Long, Cynthia June. "Hear ye, Hear ye: Now Presenting John D. Batten." cynthiajunelong. WordPress.com, February 26, 2015. https://cynthiajunelong.wordpress.com/2015/02/26/hear-ye-hear-ye-now-presenting-john-d-batten/. |
Example of Egg Tempera Art:
Maesta (1308) by Duccio di Buoninsegna.
Duccio, "The central section of Duccio’s Maesta." Toni Watts Art Studio.Elegant Themes, WordPress.com, https://toniwattsartstudio.com/art-techniques/egg-tempera/. |
Inspiration:
"Now I have caught you, Molly Whuppie." (1916)
Illustration from, "The Book of Wonder Voyages." (1919) |
I discovered John D. Batten through a fairy tale book. I was very intrigued by his illustrations and the history of printmaking so when I heard of the Dry Point project, I turned to seek inspiration from them. His printed illustrations were made using a technique similar to the Dry Point which made it easier for me to use his techniques and elements of art and design in my piece. Like in Batten's artwork, the theme of my Dry Point was a fairy tale. I used mythological creatures and medieval, fairy-tale-like garments on the man and also middle age technology which would be a torch.
Experimenting: As I was carving my Dry Point, I learned that if I pressed harder using the stippling tool, the darker that line I carved would be darker. |
“Now I have caught you, Molly Whuppie.” Robbins Library Digital Projects. University of Rochester. Web. 29 Sept 2017. http://d.lib.rochester.edu/cinderella/image/now-i-caught-you-molly-whuppie
”File:The book of wonder voyages - page 200 inset.png.”Wikimedia Commons. MediaWiki. 25 December 2015 Web. 29 Sept 2017. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_book_of_wonder_voyages_-_page_200_inset.png
Detail: ”File:The book of wonder voyages - page 200 inset.png.”Wikimedia Commons. MediaWiki. 25 December 2015 Web. 29 Sept 2017. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_book_of_wonder_voyages_-_page_200_inset.png
”File:The book of wonder voyages - page 200 inset.png.”Wikimedia Commons. MediaWiki. 25 December 2015 Web. 29 Sept 2017. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_book_of_wonder_voyages_-_page_200_inset.png
Detail: ”File:The book of wonder voyages - page 200 inset.png.”Wikimedia Commons. MediaWiki. 25 December 2015 Web. 29 Sept 2017. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_book_of_wonder_voyages_-_page_200_inset.png
Planning:
Sketching: My original idea was to create a landscape. I was thinking of using different colored ink or painting over the watercolor paper so my Dry Point would be colorful. Then, I thought of having my piece be fairy tale themed. I created another sketch of a landscape with a fairy tale like mood within it. After I looked over these two, I decided to draw one more sketch to see which out of the three I liked the most.
So, I drew my third sketch. This one was different from the other two since it had no landscape and it features humanoid figures with no detailed scenery. Originally, I was planning to add woods in the background, but I decided not to; whatever's in the background can be lead by the viewer's imagination. I chose this sketch since I thought a landscape would be difficult to make as a Dry Point and would be a little boring in a way. To me, the Dry Point medium gives off a mystifying mood due to the black and white gradation.
I also chose this one because I like the way the creatures were illuminated by the torch light and I thought it looked very mystifying. Since it's fairy tale themed, I gave the creature very weird features: long ears, a tail and very skinny. I had them in fear of the light, but in their own way. Some of the creatures are wincing or avoiding the torch light while others are curiously looking at it. I also thought that this technique would be perfect when creating a dark scene because of the way the ink is applied during the process.
I also chose this one because I like the way the creatures were illuminated by the torch light and I thought it looked very mystifying. Since it's fairy tale themed, I gave the creature very weird features: long ears, a tail and very skinny. I had them in fear of the light, but in their own way. Some of the creatures are wincing or avoiding the torch light while others are curiously looking at it. I also thought that this technique would be perfect when creating a dark scene because of the way the ink is applied during the process.
Process:
Carving:
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Alphonse Mucha "Zodiac" (1896)
Mucha, Alphonse. "Zodiaque." The French Jewelry Post. THE FRENCH JEWELRY POST. April 3, 2017. https://thefrenchjewelrypost.com/en/invite/bijoux-art-nouveau-de-mucha/ |
The man in my dry point, even though I was going for the torch light to dictate the darkness of a form. I want for him to appear lighter by the torch and and darker away from the torch, but it turned out to be light a dark outlined for the man's shape, which reminds me of Alphonse Mucha's Art Nouveau Pieces; figures dark outline with detail inside.
Also, along with crosshatching, I used stippling to create the contrast of torch light to darkness. This took a very long time so I didn't continue it after I filled enough detail. First, I needed a blending knife, a clean area to work, newsprint, and oil based ink.
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- As I was on this stage of the process, I was also soaking square sheets of watercolor paper in a bucket full of water (to loosen the fibers in the paper in order to transfer all of the detail from the plexiglass carving). This was pretty challenging because the bucket was very narrow and the papers didn't fit exactly all the way. And also, all of the art students had to share the bucket, so multiple sheets were soaking at one time.
- When I pulled a sheet out after about 3-5 minutes, it was soaking wet. I quickly put it down on a sheet of newsprint and went to grab two towels to press it dry, but not too dry. I kept it a little damp so the carving in the plexiglass would show up detailed on the water color paper.
- Then, after slightly drying the paper and wiping off the specks that came off the towel, I carefully flipped my inked carving face down onto the wet watercolor paper and held printer paper on top of the carving. From there, I brought it over to the compressor. It was challenging to complete this process however, since I had to make sure the boards stayed centered as they went though the compressor.
- I opened the top flap and placed the carving and watercolor paper beneath it and began to crank. When it came out the other side, I opened the flap and pulled out the paper. Peeling the plexiglass and paper apart, I've finally made a print!
Reflection:
Experimenting: I realized after my first print, that I wiped off too much ink. So for my second print, I made sure not to wipe as much off. That print came out better than the first one. The ink showed up dark around the corners like I wanted; even though it looks muddy.
The reason I didn't chose the second print as my final one was because of the way the creature imps showed up on the left and the smudges in the lighter areas. Also, I did not rinse all of the ink of the plexiglass in between prints, so the lines became thicker and less refined. Before the fourth print, I used paint remover to rinse the ink of the plexiglass. Technique: For my last print, I changed the way I wiped the ink off the plexiglass; I would rub in a circular movement with a flat, folded piece of brown paper towel and press harder in areas where it was lighter and softer in areas in the dark. |
Inspiration: I think I succeed in incorporating some of John D. Batten's techniques into my dry point. I used line to express shading and texture and also had very negative spaces along with positive areas of detail.
If I were to do this again, I would pay closer attention to detail and the affect the carving tool has on the plexiglass and also thoroughly clean my glass after every print.
If I were to do this again, I would pay closer attention to detail and the affect the carving tool has on the plexiglass and also thoroughly clean my glass after every print.
ACT Questions:
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
My inspiration's element of line showed up in my artwork as I used line to create form and texture.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors of the websites I visited to research John D. Batten gave a description of his career life and interests including a media of art called egg tempera.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I concluded as I researched about the fairy tale illustrator, John D. Batten, that during his time, people were trying to revive the art of story telling fairy tales and preserving art history with literature.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My theme was creativity and fairy tales. The art of mythological creatures and storytelling through fairy tales.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I inferred people during Batten's time were trying to preserve the old art technique of egg tempera.
My inspiration's element of line showed up in my artwork as I used line to create form and texture.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors of the websites I visited to research John D. Batten gave a description of his career life and interests including a media of art called egg tempera.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I concluded as I researched about the fairy tale illustrator, John D. Batten, that during his time, people were trying to revive the art of story telling fairy tales and preserving art history with literature.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My theme was creativity and fairy tales. The art of mythological creatures and storytelling through fairy tales.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I inferred people during Batten's time were trying to preserve the old art technique of egg tempera.