Psalm 10

This Psalm came to me quite easily actually. Once I read through the Psalm, the idea and imagery just popped into my head and off I went.

The model is actually an attorney that worked in the same building as I did. A very nice guy and a good person, but I knew I could draw out the "tone" I was looking for, but it took a lot of photos to finally get him annoyed enough to get the expression I needed.

The background imagery fit well, but looking back with the current events I could have probably thrown in more financial institutions other than just the street sign. Here is the final image:


As you can see, I made some changes on the final image.

I changed the oil rigs from the drawing, I felt like it was too much in the middle and distracted from "flow".

It also gave me the chance to include the Psalm title, by making it into a tie clip.

Once again, I really tried to "weight" the lines, by carving some thick and some thin. I think it helps to give me a "gray" somewhat.

O.K., here are the decorative inital and illumination. The scan is not the greatest, as the tan is actually gold and the green is more of a warm color.










Here is the completed image. Once again, a long Psalm, but at least I got it to fit without doing anything odd or fancy. Comments are welcome!

Jumping Ahead; Feeling Crazy

O.K., maybe I'm just crazy, but I am really having a blast carving Psalm 14. Loosely based on a Durer print. Using an old lino block. Oh yeah, image size is 6.5" x 8".

Psalm 9: Pushing the medium

How thin can I carve a lino block?



















I'll admit, once I had the idea for this image, I kinda got lost in the execution of the image more than the image itself, which for some reason bothered me for awhile. I really was trying to create an image that got across the idea of praising before the throne while the "enemies" of God are being crushed under the throne itself. Instead, it became, how do I make the sheet music look more it is in the background, but when it intersects with the throne, the musical notes become stronger, as if the throne was increasing and strengthening the sound. I finally found some solace in the fact that we were created to create, and to create well, excellently in fact. So, I found some peace (although before I print this again, I am going to see if I can fix up the number "9" somehow, it does not look right).
Here is the decorative initial :

As you can see, I decided to follow along with the musical
theme.

I decided to go with a more fluid look to the decorative initial
image, because the print was so linear, I felt like the illumination
needed to be a tad more curvy.

That and the fact that I seem to have some facsination with musical
with musical notes and such, maybe because of my Mom. She was fluent
in so many instruments, but when I was a child, she used to play the pipe
organ in a big Catholic Church. I fell asleep every night listening to her
practice and at times she would also play classical music, so even to this
day I will hear a classical piano piece and recognize it as one that my Mom used to play. OK, enough with the Pop Psychology. Here is the illumination:
As you may notice, the words of the Psalm intersect with the illumination. You will see why in a moment. This was so far the most difficult Psalm to to layout as a complete image: print, illumination, text and decorative initial, due to the fact that it is such a long Psalm.
I usually only print 2 or 3 "finished" prints on the larger Goyu paper (trying to save money). Well, I ruined the first finished print by not planning well, the second image by a major mistake in spelling, so I only had ONE print left. So, I spent some time laying this one out, and found that I had to fill some "white zones".
Here is the final image, let me know what you think.

Psalm 8: Finished

Finally!
I actually complete these over time, but it costs sooooo much to scan them, I wait until I have 5 or more done before I get them scanned and uploaded.
*NOTE: Major props to FedEx/Kinko's on Dale Mabry and Fowler in Tampa, they are awesome!
So, this image took a long time to decide on. Not because of the image itself, but how do you show God's magnificence in creation? What to imagine; man? animals? universe? landscape? sunrise?
I decided I had to make a decision, and this is what I decided upon:

To me at least, a sunrise is the best way to display God's glory.
Just to remind those following this, these prints are
roughly 6.5" x 8" printed on paper (Goyu) that is roughly 15" x 21".
I only print two or three final copies on the large size paper, usually tossing about 5 or 6 proofs till I feel that the block is printing right.
On this one, I think I only did a few "correction" proofs until I felt I had it right.
For all my relief print friends, I'll go ahead and tell you that this was done on a Speedball 9 x 12 lino block.
Tried to see how thin I could get some lines (wait till you see Psalm 9, the pinnacle I think of my lino carving, if I do say so myself).
The image itself is a combination of some pictures I have snapped over the years.

O.K., on to the graphic folks.
Here is the Decorative Initial and Illumination.

I really like the color combination (click on the images for a
larger and clearer image).









I have been trying very hard to get these even minor details right, imagining myself as a monk sitting in a bare cell, attempting to please God by giving my best.
Here is the final image, love to hear any comments or ideas for future posts.
Stay tuned......