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
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