All posts by James L. Mcelhinney

SANTA FE ROAD TRIP. SUPPORTERS RECEIVE LIVE ONLINE UPDATES

Hello Friends! I have accepted an invitation from master printer Michael Costello, owner of Hand Graphics, to participate in MONOTHON SANTA FE 2023 —a “printmaking marathon” that benefits local print studios, galleries, and youth arts programs. Loyal patrons have sponsored my MONOTHON print sessions, and now that I am close to underwriting my travel costs from Montreal to Santa Fe, by way of Denver, I will be expanding my mission to include daily blog posts and recurring ZOOM meetings to allow my supporters to participate in my travels online. Funds are need to underwrite related tech costs—especially if we hope to be able to live-stream from the print studio, my book talk, and in the field. Receive access to Zoom links and passwords. The long-range plan is to create an edited video of the raw footage. By lending your support, you can be there as it happens. CLICK the logo below:
Along with participating in the MONOTHON, I will be doing a book talk at Travel Bug Bookshop, 839 Paseo de Peralta, at 5 pm on April 1, 2023. The talk will focus on Sketchbook Traveler Southwest; my exploration of the Rio Grande Valley, Monument Valley, and the Mojave Desert. Daily dispatches and images will be posted throughout the trip. Regular live ZOOM meetings will let friends and supporters follow my activities. Become part of the adventure! Many thanks. I am deeply grateful for your support! —James

FOR COLLECORS ONLY:

LEARN how you can become a subscriber, and receive a monoprint produced by Hand Graphics at a low pre-publication price. Click on the link below.
Disclaimer: The GoFundMe campaign is a separate fundraising effort—apart from the collectors’ subscription offer described above. Funds raised by the GoFundMe campaign cannot be applied toward subscribers’ purchase of monoprints, or any other material incentive.

MONOTHON ROAD TRIP: Santa Fe and The Southern Rockies. March 28-April 12, 2023

On March 28, 2023 I will be heading to Santa Fe, New Mexico—to participate in the 2023 MONOTHON—a printmaking marathon happening  from April 1—8, 2023).  Thanks to my loyal patrons who generously underwrote the print sessions!

BE PART OF THE ADVENTURE

During my travels, friends will be able to follow me through daily updates and regular live ZOOM meetings from on the road, in the field, and at work in the studio.

SUBSCRIBE. Collectors an opportunity to acquire new monoprints at a significant discount before they enter the retail market.

DONATE via GoFundMe.

WATCH this six-minute video of master printer Michael Costello, owner of  Hand Graphics in Santa Fe since. 1987.

 

 

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COLLECTORS’ EXCLUSIVE: 

 

James Lancel McElhinney is represented by Gerald Peters Gallery in Santa Fe. For information contact Maria Hajic at mhajic@gpgallery.com

Disclaimer: The GoFundMe campaign is a separate fundraising effort—apart from the collectors’ subscription offer described above. Funds raised by the GoFundMe campaign cannot be applied toward subscribers’ purchase of monoprints, or any other material incentive.

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SANTA FE “MONOTHON” ROAD TRIP: Be Part of The Adventure.

Note: March 3, 2023. I am heading to Santa Fe, to participate in the 2023 MONOTHON—a printmaking marathon taking place from April 1—8, 2023).  Follow me with daily updates and regular live ZOOM meetings from on the road, in the field, and at work in the studio. Here are ways to get involved:

SUBSCRIBE. Pre-production offer. Subscribers acquire new monoprints at  significant discounts, before they enter the retail market.

DONATE via GoFundMe.

WATCH watch this six-minute video for more about the monoprinting process.

 


DONATE: Click the Logo

 

COLLECTORS’ EXCLUSIVE:

Disclaimer: The GoFundMe campaign is a separate fundraising effort—apart from the collectors’ subscription offer described above. Funds raised by the GoFundMe campaign cannot be applied toward subscribers’ purchase of monoprints, or any other material incentives.

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New Video: MONOPRINTING @ HAND GRAPHICS SANTA FE

In 2019, my travels took me to the upper reaches of the Rio Grande. Over the course of three western sojourns that year, I followed the river from southern Colorado down into New Mexico. Through a mutual friend I met master printer Michael Costello, who since 1987 has owned and operated Hand Graphics; a fine art print studio in Santa Fe.

Over the years Michael has worked with artists such as Carol Anthony, John T. Biggers, Robert Colescott, Luis Jimenez, Forrest Moses, Nathan Olivera, and Emmi Whitehorse. Upon seeing my field-books, Michael suggested that we try a couple of sessions to explore transforming some of the images into monoprints.
What’s a monoprint? Instead of working on canvas or panel, one paints a reversed image onto a plate, then runs it through an etching-press. The result is a painting on paper. Michael and I booked four days in May, and three days in October. Many of our prints used a technique known as Chine-collé—literally “China paste.”
A thin piece of Japanese washi (rice paper) is sandwiched between the plate and the paper with a dusting of powdered adhesive, such as wheat starch. When the print is pulled, the ink sits on this barrier-material, which also contrasts with the whiteness of the sheet. To explore added tension between line and color, I produced several drawings in orange ink, which were scanned and printed onto the Kitakata paper we used in the Chine-collé process. This six-minute video offers a look into our process.

Michael Costello and I will be working together again in April, as part of the MONOTHON SANTA FE 2023; a week-long monoprint marathon, which benefits local print shops, galleries, and youth arts programs.

Monoprints and other works of art are available in Santa Fe at Gerald Peters Gallery, 1005 Paseo de Peralta. Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501. Contact Maria Hajic at mhajic@gpgallery.com, or call +1 (505) 954-5769

Santa Fe Monothon or Bust! Be Part of The Adventure


One of my winter projects is the development of a series of nocturnes—a subject with deep poetic resonance that expands the direct-painting practice of on-the-spot fieldwork. Night scenes invite us to imagine the world in a state of suspension. Just as winter represents the passage from the dying of autumn of the rebirth of spring, the dark hours between twilight and dawn welcome sleep, summon dreams and stir the imagination.
Apart from a few youthful experiments with the subject, I had not produced night-scapes for many years prior to working with Michael Costello at Hand Graphics in Santa Fe in May & October of 2019. Those sessions produced a number of monoprints, including several nocturnes. These struck me in such a way that I feel compelled to revisit this subject, when I participate in the 2023 Print Santa Fe Monoprint Monothon during the first week of April. Watch a short (6-minute) video about the monoprint process.:

While I have found sponsors for my Monothon printing sessions, I seek backers for my travel expenses to and from Santa Fe from the Champlain Valley.  The trip will involve a flight from Montreal to Denver, then overland travel through the southern Rockies to the San Luis Valley, Taos, the Rio Grande Gorge, and on to Santa Fe.  I will keep a written and visual  journal of my travels, and welcome supporters to join me for regular ZOOM meetings to get receive updates. CLICk the GoFundMe logo below to donate.  Thanks for your support!

Among those monoprints produced with Michael Costello in 2019, which have been on exhibition at Gerald Peters Gallery, some which resonated most with me were scenes of White Rock Canyon, and Confluence of Rio Pueblo de Taos and Rio Grande, just upstream from Taos Junction Bridge on NM highway 567. Nicknamed “The Land of Enchantment,” New Mexico possesses a certain quality of terrain that never fails to remind me that we are living on a gigantic space-rock. Its raw geology and wide-open spaces deliver breathtaking vistas that can stretch a hundred miles. Factual accuracy and pictorial verisimilitude are never enough to convey the sense of awe, at being consumed by the wondrous, terrible, and unforgiving power of nature. In 2019, I produced a series of monoprints with master-printer Michael Costello of Hand Graphics in Santa Fe. Here are a few of those images:

Moonrise over White Rock Canyon. Image size 14.5 x 19 inches. Sheet size 22 x 30 inches. Monoprint Somerset on Somerset etching paper, with digital Chine-collé on Kitakata-washi

Moonrise over the Confluence of Rio Pueblo de Taos and Rio Grande del Norte. Image size 14.5 x 19 inches. Sheet size 22 x 30 inches. Monoprint Somerset on Somerset etching paper, with digital Chine-collé on Kitakata-washi

Cloudburst: White Rock Canyon. Image size 14.5 x 19 inches. Sheet size 22 x 30 inches. Monoprint Somerset on Somerset etching paper, with digital Chine-collé on Kitakata-washi

Print Santa Fe has organized a monoprint Monothon Print Week, running from April 1-7, 2023.  Michael Costello of Hand Graphics has invited me to participate in the event, during which we will  work together for two days. One print from each session, from all of the participating prints-shops, will be exhibited at the Santa Fe Community Gallery from April 22-May 4, 2023. Proceeds from sales will benefit local print shops, the Community Gallery of Santa Fe, and the nonprofit Partners in Education youth arts programs. I will be updating my blog with daily posts, to report on my activities in Santa Fe, as well as my travels to and from New Mexico. Become a supporter. Receive daily updates. Enjoy access to travel updates and live ZOOM meetings, and other opportunities. Click on the logo below:

 


Following the success of Sketchbook Traveler: Hudson Valley, Volume 2 in the series  explores the American Southwest from New Mexico to the Mojave Desert in journal-paintings and field notes by the author. Conceived as a hybrid between a backpacker’s field-guide and coffee-table art book, this compact volume includes lessons in print; a “why-to” guide to expanding one’s wilderness journals , travel diaries, and plein-air painting practice. Blank pages scattered with inspirational quotes are provided for keeping one’s own traveler-sketchbook. Order here: LINK. Read more about Sketchbook Traveler Southwest, in the March 2023 issue of Western Art Collector magazine:

COMING SOON: SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: NEW ENGLAND. August 28, 2023

NEW AND NOTEWORTHYOrder your copy of the book here: LINK

For information about Needlewatcher Editions, write to editions@needlewatcher.com
Needlewatcher Editions. PO Box 233. Essex, New York. 12936-0233. (347) 266-5652

DECEMBER 30, 2022. Monoprint just placed by Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe

This monoprint was just placed in a fine collection by Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe:

“. . . McElhinney’s paintings and monotypes subtly convey a sense of the changes wrought by time and human activity. Faint lines surround elements of his compositions. These are traces of rocky outcroppings, vegetation, and in some cases, houses. In White Rock Moonrise, for instance, the ghost of a house can be seen along the side of the river, which snakes through the canyon and reflects the silvery white of moonlight. The outline is not colored in, or rendered in any detail. The house may have existed there, or it could be an artistic embellishment. Either way; his landscapes suggest how the landscape may have looked, as opposed to how it looks now. It’s as though McElhinney is combining two views of the landscape into a confluence of past and present.”

“Natural Beauty and the Human Presence: A Fresh Look at New Mexico Landscapes.” Pasatiempo magazine. July 26, 2019 . Review of Reimagining New Mexico” at Gerald Peters Gallery, Santa Fe.

“White Rock Canyon Moonrise”. Monoprint produced in collaboration with Michael Costello @ Hand Graphics Santa Fe, with Kitakata digital Chine-colle produced by Thomas Park, Orion Studios Santa Fe. Sheet size 22 x 30 inches. Image size: 14.5 x 19 inches. Unique image. Signed, dated, with hand-inscribed title; Hand Graphics blind-stamp.

For information about the Grand River series, or to inquire about other works on hand, please contact Maria Hajic, Director. Gerald Peters Gallery. 1005 Paseo de Peralta. Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501. mhajic@gpgallery.com or call +1(505) 954-5769

Sketchbook Traveler. DISPATCH #119: Paul Kane, Canadian Frontier Artist

Encampment River Winnipeg. Watercolor. 1846

Paul Kane (1810-1871) was born at Mallow, County Cork, Ireland, and emigrated with his family to York (Toronto) in Upper Canada (Ontario) in 1819. Paul displayed artistic talent at an early age. Trained as a sign-painter and furniture-decorator, he received some formal training from a local professor. In 1836 he moved to Detroit, from whence he embarked on a career as an itinerant portrait-painter; traveling through the Midwest and into the Deep South. In 1841, he sailed from New Orleans to Marseilles to commence a walking-tour of Europe that led to Naples, Rome, Bolzano, Paris and London, where he may have met George Catlin—whose Indian Gallery was then on view at Piccadilly. In 1843, Kane returned to The States, where he resumed his portrait business in Mobile, Alabama. He returned to Canada the following year.


Kane’s exposure to Catlin’s work and ideas about Indians as a “vanishing race” grew into an ambitious project of his own; to travel amongst the First Nations of Canada’s western territories, as Catlin had done south of the border. Like the Group of Seven more than sixty years later, Kane began by exploring the wild margins of the Great Lakes in 1845. With support from the Hudson’s Bay Company the following year, he traveled from Toronto to Fort Vancouver, located in present-day Washington State. The Oregon Treaty of 1846 established the boundary between Canada and the U.S. along the 49th parallel north of the equator. Kane was present during the transition period that spanned several years. In 1848, he returned to Toronto. An exhibition of his works was met with great acclaim. Apart from a stint as an expeditionary artist in 1849, Kane spent the remainder of his life in Toronto; raising a family and elaborating his fieldwork into finished paintings.

(Encampment, Foot of the Rocky Mountains. Journal-painting by Paul Kane, ca. 1846-48)

Like Thomas Davies in the 18th century, or Tom Thomson and The Group of Seven at the beginning of the 20th century, Kane’s work is rooted in expeditionary practice. As a traveler-artist, he has been described as the first Canadian tourist. Apart from inspiring eponymous parks, schools, and postage-stamps, Kane’s legacy contributed to the national policies concerning cultural resources. In the late 1950s a cache of Kane’s sketches, watercolors and paintings were put on the market by a member of his family. When the Canadian government passed on the offer, the lot was purchased by Texan art collectors Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark. These works now reside in the Stark Museum of Western Art in Orange, Texas (opened in 1978). Taking heat for allowing these works to slip through its grasp, the Ottawa government enacted laws prohibiting the possession of artworks deemed national treasures, by foreign owners outside of Canada.

(Jasper House. Journal-painting by Paul Kane. 1847)

Recorded Online Book Launch of SKETCHBOOK TRAVELER: SOUTHWEST

Click on the image to watch

Praise for Sketchbook Traveler Southwest:

“James Lancel McElhinney has crafted a beautiful work of devotion to the American Southwest. . . featuring the landscape of our wide-open spaces. . . the book has suggestions for photographers and artists who seek to commune with the desert in a way that makes use of math to render its majesty – creating one’s own “golden mean.”

—Deanne Stillman, Author of Blood Brothers: The Story of the Strange Friendship between Sitting Bull and Buffalo Bill, winner of the 2018 Ohloana Prize for Nonfiction

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