Photo Assisted Printmaking Processes with Neil Wallace
Photo based images have long. been known to influence the path of artistic output starting from the middle European art with the use of the ”Camera Obscura” with the lens projection works of Canaletto for correct landscape building prospective and vanishing point prospective , developments that defined the development of western painting and continued on particularly with the early portable lens camera and its use by Impressionistists such as Toulouse Lautrec and Degas with his dancer monoprints and large dancer paintings where he used reversed images of the same dancer.
The 1960's in the USA ushered in a new intake of photo influences on printmaking practice made most famous by Warhol and his suites of some of the most defining and important images of Pop culture using photo silk screen whilst British pop artists like Richard Hamilton used photo etching and photo litho to expand POP on the other side of the continent.
Rauschenberg used photo litho and Photo Image transfer, and Lichtenstein made famous the blown up of Benday dots of his comic book series art works in both printmaking and paintings. Chuck Close has always been at the forefront of all of the photo based processes both etching as well as litho throughout the 60,s with his influence of photo imaging
For David Hockney, fascination of the photo image is evident in his artistic career, and continues to flow through the art press and TV right up to today's world exhibits.
Here in Australia these is no better example of photo Imaging in printmaking than our own Keith Howard who progresses from sensitised gelatine photo imaging of silk screen and photo etching right through to his development of the “IMAGON “ process for which he wrote several best selling text books and sold out world wide printmaking workshops. The American Dan Welden favoured the Japanese Letterpress water wash up printing plates loosely known as solar plates. Keith and Dan presented Photo process workshops all over USA and Europe over the next 20 years.
These series of workshops of mine are made as a dedication to Keith and his input to Australia's photo process knowledge. Sadly Keith passed away in 2015 whilst acting as professor of art at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York state , also in charge of the printmaking department. l was lucky to assist Keith in 1985 when he did his Melbourne workshops and he stayed at my house during that time of this ground-breaking series of lectures and demonstrations that would eventually tour the world and open everyone's eyes to the potential of photo etching as a new non toxic way of image-making without acids or solvents.
Other Australian leaders of photo printmaking processes are Pauline Muir, Dianne Longley and Silva Glattauer
Workshop ONE: October 29 2017 1pm to 5pm
Introduction to photo Imaging
This 4 hour afternoon workshop covers the very start of photo imaging using a photo sensitive plate to produce an image on watercolour paper via a photo image and progresses to simple photo transfer to paper or canvas as in Rauchenberg early work and then moves on finally to explore the world of simplified photo silk screen using non toxic simple Azo photo-sensitised acrylic emulsions onto silk screen frames. Ink is transferred to paper or canvas using a simple square or roller. Imaging making via a film positive is discussed together with the making of a halftone from continuous tone photos via the computer
Workshop TWO: November 12, 2017 1pm to 5pm
This 4 hour afternoon workshop covers the use of the sun plate or solar plate using Japanese letterpress water wash-up photo sensitive plates for either etching or relief printing processes. The workshop covers the techniques of developing either a 35 mm film negative or digital JPEG image using Photoshop on the computer to optimize the image and for the processing of the optimised Half tone film. The resulting images will be used to make a plate and print the plate on the press with etching ink and cotton printmaking paper. l will also demonstrate using similar halftones to print off a photo Litho plate and print it on a press using stiff with inks and a hot pressed printmaking paper.
Workshop THREE: November 26, 2017 1pm to 5pm
The 4 hour afternoon will embrace the printing of an image starting in full colour and producing 4 separate zinc etching plates to finally print off a 4-colour Photo Gravure image. (Yellow- Magenta- Blue and Black)
Time will be spent showing the making of the 4 separate images for the four ink colours via Photoshop using techniques to optimise best dot structure adjusting both contrast and adjustment of mid tones and shadow detail.
The 4 separate films will be made by printing out individually and subsequently, “burning in “ on the 4 separate Photo Zinc plates with a UV light unit.
After exposure the Zinc photo plates will be first tray developed in a mild alkaline solution and then hardened before being etched in copper sulphate finally inking up and printing in registered sequence.
Inks from the can will be individually modified with extender and printed a a special sequence in registration to complete the final edition full colour gravure image.
Each workshop will be $100 or $250 for the three. There will be a maximum of 6 students. Enrol here
The 1960's in the USA ushered in a new intake of photo influences on printmaking practice made most famous by Warhol and his suites of some of the most defining and important images of Pop culture using photo silk screen whilst British pop artists like Richard Hamilton used photo etching and photo litho to expand POP on the other side of the continent.
Rauschenberg used photo litho and Photo Image transfer, and Lichtenstein made famous the blown up of Benday dots of his comic book series art works in both printmaking and paintings. Chuck Close has always been at the forefront of all of the photo based processes both etching as well as litho throughout the 60,s with his influence of photo imaging
For David Hockney, fascination of the photo image is evident in his artistic career, and continues to flow through the art press and TV right up to today's world exhibits.
Here in Australia these is no better example of photo Imaging in printmaking than our own Keith Howard who progresses from sensitised gelatine photo imaging of silk screen and photo etching right through to his development of the “IMAGON “ process for which he wrote several best selling text books and sold out world wide printmaking workshops. The American Dan Welden favoured the Japanese Letterpress water wash up printing plates loosely known as solar plates. Keith and Dan presented Photo process workshops all over USA and Europe over the next 20 years.
These series of workshops of mine are made as a dedication to Keith and his input to Australia's photo process knowledge. Sadly Keith passed away in 2015 whilst acting as professor of art at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York state , also in charge of the printmaking department. l was lucky to assist Keith in 1985 when he did his Melbourne workshops and he stayed at my house during that time of this ground-breaking series of lectures and demonstrations that would eventually tour the world and open everyone's eyes to the potential of photo etching as a new non toxic way of image-making without acids or solvents.
Other Australian leaders of photo printmaking processes are Pauline Muir, Dianne Longley and Silva Glattauer
Workshop ONE: October 29 2017 1pm to 5pm
Introduction to photo Imaging
This 4 hour afternoon workshop covers the very start of photo imaging using a photo sensitive plate to produce an image on watercolour paper via a photo image and progresses to simple photo transfer to paper or canvas as in Rauchenberg early work and then moves on finally to explore the world of simplified photo silk screen using non toxic simple Azo photo-sensitised acrylic emulsions onto silk screen frames. Ink is transferred to paper or canvas using a simple square or roller. Imaging making via a film positive is discussed together with the making of a halftone from continuous tone photos via the computer
Workshop TWO: November 12, 2017 1pm to 5pm
This 4 hour afternoon workshop covers the use of the sun plate or solar plate using Japanese letterpress water wash-up photo sensitive plates for either etching or relief printing processes. The workshop covers the techniques of developing either a 35 mm film negative or digital JPEG image using Photoshop on the computer to optimize the image and for the processing of the optimised Half tone film. The resulting images will be used to make a plate and print the plate on the press with etching ink and cotton printmaking paper. l will also demonstrate using similar halftones to print off a photo Litho plate and print it on a press using stiff with inks and a hot pressed printmaking paper.
Workshop THREE: November 26, 2017 1pm to 5pm
The 4 hour afternoon will embrace the printing of an image starting in full colour and producing 4 separate zinc etching plates to finally print off a 4-colour Photo Gravure image. (Yellow- Magenta- Blue and Black)
Time will be spent showing the making of the 4 separate images for the four ink colours via Photoshop using techniques to optimise best dot structure adjusting both contrast and adjustment of mid tones and shadow detail.
The 4 separate films will be made by printing out individually and subsequently, “burning in “ on the 4 separate Photo Zinc plates with a UV light unit.
After exposure the Zinc photo plates will be first tray developed in a mild alkaline solution and then hardened before being etched in copper sulphate finally inking up and printing in registered sequence.
Inks from the can will be individually modified with extender and printed a a special sequence in registration to complete the final edition full colour gravure image.
Each workshop will be $100 or $250 for the three. There will be a maximum of 6 students. Enrol here