Tree, Chaguaramas 5

Mary Adam, Tree, Chaguaramas

Not how I envisioned it but this is how the final print looks (but no two are identical). I cut a new block for the grey because the previous one had thrown off the registration. Unlike a reduction cut I still have the blocks and may try it again with variations in the colour, this isn't quite what I was after.

Enlightenment

It's such a wrench to sell books but it must be done,  Having a quick re-read of some sold books before they go on their way, this passage from Immanuel Kant (1724--1804) strikes me as fresh and direct and relevant  -- must be something wrong with me.

"Enlightenment is man's release from his self-incurred tutelage. Tutelage is man's inability to make use of his understanding without direction from another. Self-incurred is this tutelage when its cause lies not in lack of reason but in lack of resolution and courage to use it without direction from another."

(In The Art of Art History: A Critical Anthology, ed. Donald Preziosi, 1998, OUP).

Plate drawing

Mary Adam, Bread and plate, coloured pencil

The reason for doing this was to keep on drawing and to make the plate sit down flat on the cloth, so it's not very exciting. I used coloured pencils, my least favourite medium. I don't have a big selection, just a box of twelve from the supermarket and a set of five from the art shop that I've had for ages. Even with that I used very few colours, maybe five or six overall. The main place I couldn't get the colour right was the inside of the bread. I'm definitely not a colour pencil-ist but they're nice to have, it's a different kind of experience, slow and measured. I was surprised to find that they can be erased as long as the mark doesn't make a dent in the paper.

Art books for sale 1

Frameworks for Modern Art, ed. Jason Gaiger, 2003, Yale Univ Press in association with the Open University. ISBN 0300102283 Paperback, good condition -- US$ 12.00 SOLD

The Shock of the New, Robert Hughes, Alfred A Knopf, New York, 2002.  Paperback, good condition.  ISBN 0679 728767. US$ 12.00

Keys to Drawing, Bert Dodson. North Light Books. ISBN 0891 343377. Paperback, good condition. US$ 10.00

Drawing Essentials, Deborah Rockman. Oxford University Press, 2009. ISBN 9780 195314328. Paperback, good condition. US $ 10.00

A Foundation Course in Drawing, Peter Stanyer & Terry Rosenberg. Watson-Guptill, New York, 2003. ISBN 08230 18687. Paperback, good condition. US$ 10.00

Complete art foundation course, Drawing, watercolour, oils and acrylics, Curtis Tappenden, Anna Taylor, Paul Thomas, Nick Tidnam. 2006, Cassell Illustrated. ISBN 1-84403-4879. Hardcover, like new. US $ 12.00

Collins Artist's Manual, ed. Angela Gair. 1995. HarperCollins Publishers. "The complete guide to painting and drawing materials and their use". ISBN 13: 9780 00 4133638. Paperback, like new. US $ 10.00

Experimental Drawing, Robert Kaupelis, 1992. Watson-Guptill Publications, New York. ISBN 08230-16226. Paperback, fair condition, US$ 10.00 

Clement Greenberg, Art and Culture: Critical Essays, 1961. Beacon Press, Boston. ISBN 08070 66818 paperback. Very good condition, includes “Avant Garde and Kitsch”. US$ 12.00; weight: 0.5 Kg, 1 lb. SOLD

Clement Greenberg, The Collected Essays & Criticism, Vol. 2, Arrogant Purpose, 1945-1949: ed. John O’Brian. The University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226306224, paperback. Good condition. US $ 14.00; Wt >1 lb, .5 kg. SOLD

Malcolm Andrews, Landscape and Western Art, 1999, Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780 192842336, paperback, used, good condition. US $ 12.00.

David Sylvester, Interviews with Francis Bacon. 2007, Thames and Hudson. ISBN 9780 500274750, paperback, good condition. US$ 15.00 (wt .51 kg.) 

Donald Preziosi, ed. The Art of Art History: A Critical Anthology, 1998, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0192842420, paperback, good condition.  US $ 12.00. Wt over 3 lbs, 1.5 kg SOLD

Luigi Ficacci, Bacon. 2006, Taschen. ISBN 9783 8228 21985. Paperback, good condition. US$ 8.00 (wt 1 lb, 0.5 kg.

Added Wednesday July 13, 2011:

Drawing: Seeing and Observation, Ian Simpson. A & C Black, London, 1992. ISBN 07136 68784. Paperback, good condition. US $ 10.00 

Creative Paint Workshop for Mixed Media Artists, Ann Baldwin. Experimental techniques for composition, layering, texture, imagery and encaustic. Quarry Books, 2009, ISBN 13: 9781-592534562. Hardcover, like new. US$ 12.00 

If you are interested in any of these please email me on folio12@gmail.com.

Gummed paper tape

I've been thrilled to discover a way to make gummed paper tape when you need it. This could be useful in our climate where the humidity dampens those very expensive rolls of gummed tape enough to stick them together and ruin them before you've used a fraction of the roll. The way to do it yourself is to cut some strips of ordinary brown paper, a heavyish weight, brush on gum arabic and allow to dry. When you're ready to use the tape dampen the glued side with a sponge and apply.

What's it good for? It's good for stretching watercolour paper (on a board that's bigger all round), and easy to remove afterwards by dampening it because gum arabic remains water-soluble.

It's also great for sealing the edges of a screen for art screenprinting. After it has dried give the tape a double coat of polyurethane varnish.

See also Testing the gummed paper tape

Tree, Chaguaramas -- Update

After printing a few sheets of the third colour I've decided to abandon this print for now because the registration of the yellow is way off. I didn't realise it was so bad until the third color went on. Luckily each colour is on a separate block so starting again is no problem except I'm out of paper and will have to wait for more to arrive before going ahead. Expecting to resume in a week or ten days.