Work in Progress - August 2006

The summer prints

"Between Acts" Drypoint engraving on copper, printed on on Arches White Paper (August 2006)

Based upon sketches and other images I made while sitting around the dressing room for the UTEP Ballet's Nutcracker, 2005.

One pleasure of working in art is being able to return a gift to the model - in this case, my friend Melissa, who is the dancer seated at her dressing-room table in the "Between Acts" drypoint. Here she is with her presentation proof, the plate's third pull off my press. I have been drawing Melissa for something over ten years now, first when we were in the ballet here in El Paso in the mid-1990s, and then when she was getting her first degree in San Antonio while I was working there in the late 1990s. It was great performing in the Nutcracker with her again in December 2005 - she as a soloist, I in my usual "Grandpa" bit part.
By the way, for those people who are interested in such things, the composition of "Between Acts" is an intentional juxtaposition of "arrow shapes" or intersecting vertices. It is fun to point them out to people who don't immediately see them. Most of my compositions are built on one or another geometric form - a spiral, a play on vertices (as in this case), or implied lines. I guess it makes designing the image more fun, or maybe it is just a result of my years working in science.

"Sylphide" Drypoint engraving on copper, printed on Arches buff paper (August 2006).

This image is based upon drawings and photos I made in the late 1980s, backstage at a Ballet of the Americas performance of Les Sylphides. The dancer is onstage, marking and internalizing her role, shortly before the curtain goes up. In this quick sketch I wanted to capture the chiaroscuro moodiness of the lighting of the barely-lit stage. The engraved image is 12 by 18 inches in size, printed onto an 18 by 24 inch paper. I decided to use a combination of black and umber inks in the print to emphasize the psychological effect of the dark and somber mood.

Link to the previous January 2006 Work in Progress Page

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