Articles .....
Holland Carving
I went to Holland to sell rubber stamps, but came home with six new ones!
Three Windmolens
In April of 2007 at the ArtSpecially Event in Nuland, Holland, I created the six images used here by first drawing, and then block carving them in my booth at the show. I found inspiration for these images in the things I saw on my trip. For example, De Valk (The Falcon) was a chimney-top ornament in a neighborhood in Nuland. The face on De Dak Valk (The Roof Falcon) came from an ornament on a building in 's-Hertogenbosch, and all of the Molens (windmills) are after ones I saw in an art museum there.
Ravenmolen
In three of my stamped pieces I chose to work with bright, primary and secondary colors to reflect the impact of what I saw after the images were all carved - namely the Keukenhof. Our visit took place on a blazingly bright and sunny day -- the colors, from the grass to the sky, were just brilliant. In the "De Vak Valk" stamped piece I chose darker colors to fit with the more mysterious imagery, plus I added a few things peeking up from behind the wall.
De Valk, Rivermolen and Salmonmolen
On the larger stamped piece, I challenged myself to use all six images in a single composition. Five of the images have bold, boxy borders, making them a bit difficult to use interactively. Using masks, I made a collage-like arrangement, almost like a scrapbook page about my trip. I like to add complexity by stamping each image repeatedly until the ink is all gone, and sometimes even re-inking in another color for added depth, but always making sure the "main" one stands out from the rest. Within the large Windmolen image, I applied color without the use of masks, resulting in hues that blur and blend together, giving it a dreamy quality. This image also has a "broken border" (where the blades go right off the edge). I took advantage of that by matching the blades up with the blades in two of the smaller images, for an interesting visual effect. To tie it all together, I gave the whole page a thick, black border.
De Dak Valk
My stamping techniques are nothing special, just very simple masking and three or four colors applied with shaving brushes. All of these pieces were stamped with the original hand-carved blocks. I do intend to make each of them into rubber stamps that can be purchased, however the sizes may change a bit from the originals.
Windmolen Composition
More articles to come...
Subscribe to the newsletter and you will be apprised.
Read more Articles.
