original prints are the original art

Morning Fog Impression - digital painting for original art prints - Dan Beck 2007

I had the pleasure of seeing an artist’s linocuts over the weekend - both prints and the grooved linoleum itself. In his case - the plate is the reverse of the black and white he prints.

You can see where it is going, but it isn’t unveiled until it is printed. I have always liked that aspect of art - batik or masked sections of a painting getting removed, and all types of printing or firing (ceramics).

In a sense, there is an unveiling here as well. When I look at my finished digital painting - all the information is there - full detail and texture, but the monitor image is not the same as the printed image.

I am rarely disappointed - the printed image is like the unveiling.

The above piece hasn’t been printed and therefore isn’t even finished. And though it is the original art - (at least my version which was not saved for the web) it isn’t the original art until it becomes the original print.

See Also

• Santa Lucia Impression - one can see I am drawn to this fogged in phenomenon
• Linocuts by Sherrie York - not work I have ever seen before today - liked her simple explanation and her black and white pieces in particular
• More Linocuts - prints with a very different feeling to above - a pretty fun and versatile medium really