Baren Digest Saturday, 2 August 2003 Volume 24 : Number 2325 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: FurryPressII#aol.com Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 13:57:05 EDT Subject: [Baren 22397] first influence Just wondering who was everybody first artist influence in relief printing. Mine was Lynd Ward's "God's Man" Later Eichenberg and Baskin were influences, please note these were all wood engravers later I came to plank grain wood cuts when I studied the formschnieder woodcuts of Albrecht Durer, Hans Holbein the Elder, Hans Baldung Grien, and Lucas Cranach and Lucas van Leyden. At the same time I enjoyed studying bank note engravers. But the major difference is in my printing almost like Durer & Grien meet Munakata. Im my printing esp when I am not doing an edition I get into a very loose "Zen" like frame of mind which was hard for me to understand until I read the book The Woodblock and the Artist The Life and Work of Shiko Munakata. Our printmaking is a collection of history both public and private faces so to speak. Some we understand and some we don't. Some things influence us and we never even know it. john "furrypress" center ------------------------------ From: Aqua4tis#aol.com Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 14:00:55 EDT Subject: [Baren 22399] Re: hello just wondering which artist was your first infl... when i was 13 i fell in love with giacometti georga ------------------------------ From: Aqua4tis#aol.com Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 14:02:25 EDT Subject: [Baren 22400] Re: first influence oops i didnt see the part about the relief printing kathe kollwitz was my influence georga ------------------------------ From: Barbara Mason Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 18:05:00 -0700 (PDT) Subject: [Baren 22401] favorite influence John, Great question. I have to say that without question my first and favorite was Gertrude Hermes, an English printmaker who studied under a guy named Blair Stanton.( I will go to the studio and find his name for sure) She was prolific in the 30's and 40's and did some wonderful work. The older she got the bolder and more energetic her work became, she used lots of different types of marks in her work. I think she did quite a bit of illustration. She also did sculpture...I find it hard to think in 3-D but she pulled it off very well. As for color work, I have always like Baumann, although a lot of people would say his work was pretty provincial. His color landscapes are great, a lot of energy and good use of overlapped colors to make a third color. There are so many good printmakers it is hard to say what influenced us the most. Maybe we should compile a list of printmakers...wouldn't that be interesting? Some fairly good ones have little written about them. I like Francis Gearhart, she was a California printmaker in the 40's but not much information. I like the idea of two colors making three and am always looking for artists that do this successfully. I think a lot of moku hanga work uses this tactic, it is pretty easy when you are using transparent ink. The problem is you have to think ahead...not my strong suit. Gorga, I too loved Giacommetti's work from a very early age.... Best to all, Barbara ------------------------------ From: "MPereira" Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 22:26:14 -0300 Subject: [Baren 22402] Re: favorite influence Yes, Giacometti is marvelous!!!!!! ------------------------------ From: Chromoxylo#aol.com Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 23:12:16 EDT Subject: [Baren 22403] Re: first influence Although I had seen wood-engravings in books and had admired them from the age of 10 or 11 I didn't understand what they were until fifteen years later when I found a copy of E. Gordon Craig's "Woodcuts and Some Words". Finding the biography of Timothy Cole changed my life nearly as much. My influences today are far too numerous to mention, but the wise advice of John DePol, Richard Horton and Barry Moser kept a beginner - such as I was - in touch with the craft. Much later I discovered that two prints I had grown up with on my parent's walls were by Yoshida Hiroshi. He and his cutters and printers reached a level of technical and creative sophistication which may never again be attained. But we can keep trying... Paul Ritscher ------------------------------ From: Sharri LaPierre Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 22:18:48 -0700 Subject: [Baren 22404] Re: Baren Digest V24 #2324 "One picture is worth more than a thousand words," is an ancient Chinese Proverb - we don't know who said it first. She was pretty smart, whoever she was. :-) Sharri ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V24 #2325 *****************************