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We transferred the sky drawing/carving from our 1st "OVERLOOK" blue block to the 2nd "OVERLOOK" blue block and then drew in some more sky details. The overall effect will (probably) compare to the sky in the "DESERT ISLAND" woodcut but with all mid-day blue tones.
(Carving is almost done, too! Forgive us for being behind in posting & documenting a bit...we're about to bring another tugboateer into our little Pittsburgh family! Baby 2 any day!)
Because of the wide range of greens & natural tones we want to color the "OVERLOOK" woodcut, we're making 2 woodblocks for blue (each will print a slightly different ink tone). Here, we're almost done drawing in the detail on the 2nd blue block--when this is done, we'll be carving night-and-day until it's done!
The "OVERLOOK" woodcut is a 5 block, 46" x 30" color woodcut print-in-progress. This giant & intricate print and all of the blocks that make it are completely handmade using no computer or digital technologies (aside from the photos we take to record the making of it). It has taken us over 2 years to make the key (in black) and all of the 4 color blocks, so you can imagine the growing excitement as we wrap up the last steps of the making and prepare to enter production on this massive project!
Accomplishing the "OVERLOOK" woodcut will start a new chapter at Tugboat Printshop.
"OVERLOOK" color blocks have taken over our entire basement workspace! Almost done drawing in the sky on the light blue block & then we'll transfer this to the others & make more sky magic happen! First proof will be along shortly after these are carved, the fire burns in our bellies to get this print done!
The blue block is drawn in and we're already fast at the carving of it and the others, so excited & eager to finish so we can start proofing the "OVERLOOK"!
Getting there! This is the most intense of all of the color blocks (1 of 4 total) for the "OVERLOOK" woodcut. Once this block drawing is finished, we'll begin carving all four color blocks. Hoping to start proofing & printing this March (2015)!
Coloring in the blue block for the "OVERLOOK" woodcut print in progress. Each of our wood blocks is hand-drawn before being hand-carved in low relief for printing. This print is sure to be unlike anything we've ever made before! We have been working on it alongside many of our other projects for the past 2 years.
Hoping to be printing by March!
After years of planning and drawing and months of carving, the "OVERLOOK" key block is now carved in full! We will be pulling a couple B&W proofs in the next week as we transfer this image to color blocks (printing the block to newsprint, then printing the still inky newsprint onto new wood). And then the process of building color begins!
The "OVERLOOK" landscape will start to take on more dimension as we are able to sculpt the key drawing with shadow and color and light. We are very excited! This has been a momentous project, showing us new ways of working together (even after 7 years of collaboration) and really allowing us to stretch our conceptions of what it is possible for us to make.
This print will have 4 color blocks. As the natural world is rich with vibrant color at its most glorious vantages, so we hope to affect the "OVERLOOK". Forests, trees, leaves in ranges of rich green; fields of golden flecked grasses; the gentle fade to pastel that happens as one looks out across a great expanse. Oh, the wonderment of diverse & beautiful living systems at work in the outdoors!
There is much still to do until the print is officially completed, but we wanted to remind you all again that the "OVERLOOK" has just a few more days of earlybird pre-order!
The price on "OVERLOOK" will be going up soon, so please place an order if you'd like to secure a copy for your collection. This will be a limited edition print. Payment plans are now available, last chance to lock in at the current rate!
>>> SEE ALL THE NEW BIG PHOTOS!
"WOODEN CHAIRS" & "FROND", a nice autumn pairing of woodsy woodcuts on Natural Kitakata paper.
It's been a long process, 2 whole years in the making! And the "OVERLOOK" drawing is now complete! Well, we still have some photos to take to really show you how the block wrapped up...but here's a sneak peek of the last few days spent penning in fields, mountains and trees, trees, trees.
More about this new work in progress HERE>>>
The new 8" x 8" "CRYSTAL SKULL" woodcut edition is printed and ready to go!
On Natural Kitakata paper, edition of 100 prints. Get a copy of your very own HERE.
A jewel encrusted relic, perhaps bestowed with mystical, supernatural powers - perhaps not. Surely a wonderment! A "CRYSTAL SKULL."
The "CRYSTAL SKULL" is printed in a prism-y fade from purple/pink to grey, from one woodblock onto Natural Kitakata Paper. 8" x 8", Edition of 100.
Available here!
Hello, friends of print! We have posted the in-progress "MOTH" woodcut as a pre-order on our site this week. It will not remain a pre-order for long! We have plans to wrap up production within the next 2-3 weeks (along with the "DESERT ISLAND") and so the intro pre-ordering deal will expire pretty quickly. Act fast to secure a copy of your very own! "MOTH" pre-orders can be placed HERE.
Undulating patterns hypnotically sweep across the feathery, petal-like wings of the new "MOTH" woodcut. The delicate, powdery chalkiness of the insect's dusty pigment will come forward in color choices that are earthy and milky (probably not black, as above on the block, that's just the pen color we used to draw the image). A nocturnal creature, but a symbol of hope & newness nonetheless. A soft and fluttering presence, a meticulous and complex emblem of the building blocks that shape our natural world. The "MOTH" woodcut will be printed from 2 blocks in 2 colors on Okawara paper. Final size will likely be 18" x 25".
Be in touch if you have any questions!
Happy to welcome a new print to the shop today, the charmingly curio sized "TREE SWING" woodcut! Printed from 2 blocks onto Natural Japanese Kitakata Paper. Final size is an adorably petitie 6" x 5.75".
Blending dusty rose & weathered brown, "TREE SWING" imagines a favorite place, a meet-up spot, a carefree zone. A special little somewhere thoughts can swoosh in & out with the breeze. Edition of 100, now available HERE!
Another new color woodcut print in the works here at Tugboat, "ROBIN & JUNIPER". Stay tuned!
"Nestled"4" x 4" Archival Pen Drawing on PaperValerie Lueth, 2008.
"Starburst"4" x 4" Archival Pen Drawing on PaperValerie Lueth, 2008.
"Finish Line"
4" x 4" Archival Pen Drawing on Paper
Valerie Lueth, 2008.
Just finished this wild etching :) It'll be on display for the first time for Roar Shock @ Swanson Reed Contemporary in Louisville. The show is curated by our dear friend Thea--all work relates to or is inspired by the poetry of Adam Day. Exhibition opens November 16th. -vl
"Lady in Love"11" x 11" Etching, Edition of 15Valerie Lueth, 2007.
