Art I'm Looking At: Color prints at the Legion of Honor

After seeing the Manet & Morrison show at the Legion of honor earlier this week, I looked into the side gallery on the first floor always used for small shows of prints and book arts from the collection of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, this one called 'Printing Color: Chiaroscuro to Screen print'. 

As the title suggests, it's a survey of color printmaking. Here are a couple of pieces I particularly liked. These shows are easy to miss but almost always worthwhile.

From top to bottom: Erich Heckel. 'Portrait of a Man,' 1919. Color woodcut with monotype printing on paper; Jasper Johns. 'Bushbaby,' 2004. Color spit-bite aquatint and soft ground etching on paper; Loretta Bennett. 'Forever (for Old Lady Sally), 2006. Color soft ground etching and spit-bite aquatint on paper; Wayne Thiebaud. 'Paint Cans,' 1990. Color lithograph with lithographic crayon and colored pencil; Alex Katz. 'The Green Cap,' 1985. Color woodcut printed on handmade Tosa Kozo paper

Art I'm Making: Art Trails 2021

It's almost that time of year again—time for Art Trails, Sonoma County's premier open studio event. Moved up a month this year, studios will be open on two weekends in September (September 18, 19 and 25, 26) from 10:00AM to 5:00PM on each of the four days. Come see some of my recent work in person. Come for the art or just come by to say hello. I'm looking forward to it. 

 

For more of my abstract monotype collage work, visit my website. https://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site  

 

Art I'm Making: Art Trails 2018

Art I'm Making: Art Trails 2016--Opening Reception Tonight at the Sebastopol Center For the Arts (September 23, 2016)

If you're local to the San Francisco Bay Area, you can see my work in person during the upcoming Sonoma County Art Trails Open Studios event, October 8, 9 and October 15, and 16. I'm studio No. 141 this year.

OPENING RECEPTION for the preview show at The Sebastopol Center for the Arts is tonight, September 23, 6:00PM to 8:00PM. http://sonomacountyarttrails.org for more information.

To see more of my work, visit my website at http://ctalcroft.wixsite.com/collage-site

Art I'm Making: Sonoma County Art Trails 2015

Sonoma County Art Trails Open Studios 2015

Two weekends in October, every year, more than 160 artists open their studios (October 10–11 and October 17–18, 2015, 10:00AM to 5:00PM). This year, I'm studio no. 63, at 973 Stone Castle Lane, Santa Rosa, CA 95405.

In case you don't already know, I' m a self-taught artist active in a range of media, including drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, and photography. I began making photographs at the age of eight and began drawing at an even younger age. In the realm of abstract art, I've recently focused on photography and on creating collages from monoprinted paper elements. This year at the Art Trails open studio event I'll be showing new collage work and new work from my "Museum Shadow Series" of photographs as well as older woodblock prints, etchings, and other photography, including nudes. My work is in private collections in the US and Japan and has been shown in galleries in cities around the world including San Francisco and Tokyo. I am the creator of Serendipitous Art, a blog that celebrates the unintended art all around us. Additionally, I curate shows on The Art Wall at Shige Sushi, in Cotati, CA. I spent much of my adult life in Tokyo, but I've lived and worked in Santa Rosa since the year 2000. If you visited my studio last year, please come again and see how busy I've been since you were here. If you've never visited, please come and have a look at how I work and at the art I make.

See more at my website (http://ctalcroft.wix.com/collage-site/)
More than 50 new pieces since last year

Art I'm Making: Art at the Source Open Studios Event (June 6-7 and June 13-14 2015)

Art at the Source--Open Studios. Tomorrow, June 6 and Sunday June 7. Then again the following weekend June 13 and June 14. Showing photography, printmaking, and abstract monoprint collage at Studio No.48, in Sebastopol. 10:00AM to 5:00PM

Art I'm Looking At: Seiko Tachibana on the Art Wall at Shige Sushi, Cotati (June 2 through August 2, 2015)

In my role as a curator, I'll next be showing the work of Oakland-based artist Seiko Tachibana on the Art Wall at Shige Sushi in Cotati. The show opens this coming Tuesday, June 2 and will run through August 2. Artist reception Monday, June 8.

Seiko Tachibana completed her Master of Art Education degree at Kobe University, Japan. She received an MFA from San Francisco Art Institute and has since received many awards for the body of her work. She has had many solo and group exhibitions internationally. Her distinctive art balances Asian tradition with minimalist modernity. Her work shows an interest in a wide range of media, including drawing, painting, mixed media, and printmaking. Among printmaking techniques, she is a master of intaglio processes, particularly aquatint. Tachibana’s prints are in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum, The Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, and the Portland Museum of Art, among others. She is widely collected in the US, Europe, and Japan. In the Bay Area, Tachibana is represented by the Ren Brown Collection, in Bodega Bay.

Shows on the Art Wall at Shige Sushi are curated by me, Colin Talcroft. For information about artwork or artists, about purchasing art, or about showing art on the Art Wall, contact Colin at Shigecurator@yahoo.com. For more information, visit http://ctalcroft.wix.com/artwallatshige/

This week is the last week to see the current show: Suzanne Jacquot: Abstract Painting. For more information about what's going on on the Art Wall, visit http://ctalcroft.wix.com/artwallatshige/

Art I'm Looking At: Teaching Printmaking

Today was the last day of what ended up being a six-week course in printmaking I taught at the Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. I hope the kids (fifth graders) enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed teaching it (they seemed to). I was extremely impressed by the work these first-time printmakers did. We covered a variety of printmaking methods including etching, styrofoam "etching," collography with found objects, block printing, and linoleum block printing. The kids learned the basics of each technique; how to roll out ink and ink plates/blocks (which went reasonably well despite the cheap tools and inks the school was forced to use because of lack of a budget for anything better); how to print and title, number, and sign an edition; and matting.

Today, the last day, the students critiqued their work. The top photo shows the work of a single child using the styrofoam "etching" technique, a linocut, and a found object collograph in two colors. The second photo shows one of the most interesting linocuts the kids did. Entitled "Cat to Sun, Dog to Moon," this is by an 11-year-old printmaker that had had no prior experience. It's easy to underestimate what it takes to create a narrative work like this or the dexterity required to cut so intricate a design at this age. Very cool indeed.

Art I'm Looking At: Teaching Printmaking

During the past six weeks or so, I've been helping the art teacher at the Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts teach printmaking to the 5th graders. We've looked at techniques ranging from etching to collograph printing to woodblock, to styrofoam and linoleum block printing.

The mini-course is finishing up now, but I've been very impressed with some of the work of these first-time printermakers. It's been a pleasure to watch them become comfortable using cutting tools (only one cut finger so far!) and become expert at rolling out ink and applying it to blocks and plates for printing. They've learned to use the Japanese baren for applying pressure (or at least a cheap plastic version of the baren). They've learned to print, sign, and number an edition, choosing the best impressions for inclusion. I think we may have bred a printmaker or two.... They've been having a lot of fun, and so have I.