N.Rice Art: November 2011

"The Connoisseuse" Woodcut by N. Rice 2011

My most recent finished piece was a woodcut entitled "The Connoisseuse." It was displayed in the "Chatter" printmaking show at Bad Dog Gallery on October 20, 2011, along with work by my fellow Relief & Intaglio classmates. My "Ribbed for Her Pleasure" woodcut was also in the show.

It features a woman contemplating a piece by Piet Mondrian ("Composition with Black, Red, Gray, Yellow, and Blue" from 1920). I thought Mondrian's work would be interesting to use as a subject because its flatness and precision contrasts to the imperfect nature of a reductive woodcut. The title is based on a Norman Rockwell painting, called "The Connoisseur" from 1962, in which a man is shown contemplating a work by Jackson Pollock.

The process used 4 different blocks: a key block + 3 other blocks which were each reduced one time.

Proofs of my key image


Key image transferred onto all 4 blocks

Block 1, Color 1

Block 2, Color 2

Block 3, Color 3

Block 2, Colors 4 & 5 (split color roll)

Block 3, Color 6

Block 1, Color 7

Key Block, Final Image

Finally, here are some photos of the artwork at the "Chatter" show, which was a fantastic evening. We gave away a limited number of free 4 x 6" woodcut prints to the earliest guests. Those are pictured below, along with the rest of the work in the show.