Christmas Spirit Artist Trading Cards

Holly and Ivy Design for Christmas Cards
Phillip Hoyle 2017

As soon as Halloween was done I started to work on--the thinking part of artwork--a Christmas design I could use on a card. I decided I'd again do a Holly and Ivy design after the old song but one that would contrast with another one I'd done years ago and contrast with the kind of printing I have done the past two years. I returned to relief printing and looked at leaves I have collected and pressed and consulted Google. Eventually drew and decided to cut it on a soft tile.

I needed at least forty cards and decided also to make a few other prints. So around the preparations for Thanksgiving I cut and began to print. I also made quite a few Artist Trading Cards from the design, able to get two cards from each printing. 

Christmas Cards 2017

I'm looking through assorted frames for me other prints on contrasting backgrounds. 

Print on previously prepared bubble print
Phillip Hoyle, 2017

Merry art making for a merry Christmas.

Predator Artist Trading Cards

Birds of Prey after a Wyoming group of Petroglyphs
Prints by Phillip Hoyle 2017

Just as I was feeling relief at ending the creepy images of Halloween, I saw our next theme was Predators. The images continue! I knew I needed to get away from aggressive spiders so made a list of animals that are categorized as predators. I narrowed the list to North American animals and decided to cut blocks and print more Native American inspired petroglyphs. Somehow the petroglyph seems more friendly to me than the tooth and claw images of grizzlies catching salmon or lions running down and breaking the necks of their prey.

More Predator ATCs for the trade. Phillip Hoyle, 2017

I printed on commercial papers that I then mounted on card stock. Many Thai papers take the prints easily. I used soft, easy-to-carve blocks available at art and craft supply outlets. The emphasis is on design, its easy transfer, the careful cutting, and the colors of the ground that will be the color of the carved figure. I like that the paint (I used Golden OPEN) application is like the weathering of the rocks like most of the petroglyphs on sandstone in Western American deserts. 

Enjoy these benign predator images that probably symbolized personal power or valor in hunting societies. Maybe there is a bear in you. 

Art Intentions

Getting Ready! 

For several weeks I've felt like I am caught in an artistic slump. At such times I think about old arguments contrasting artistic process with artistic output. I believe the origins of the discussion is really educational theory, and it is a good way to look at my situation. 

For me, artistic process includes any number of activities. The only thing that has slowed down is my work in the visual arts. When this happens I recall years ago when I was making collages from magazine pieces and was always suspicious of my color selections, I'd lay out the pieces I was planning to use and look at them for several days or even weeks. I wanted to give my eye time to really see the interactions of the colors before I committed myself to glue. I'm sure I just couldn't get the gumption gathered to engage in the sometimes tedious act of gluing. BUT I'm not making excuses, simply describing.

My current stalled project includes lino block printing on a variety of prepared papers. I've messed with it over several months and finally selected some colors, maps, brushes, inks, on and on. I'm not quite sure my block cut is finished. Hopefully I'll have some finished piece to show next week. I remain hopeful and while my mind keeps at solving visual projects, I keep writing stories. And telling them.

Denver, 2016

Art Prints of Old Figures

Small prints, Phillip Hoyle 2016

You may remember these figures from past posts on this blog. I’ve used them several times. The other day I had printing fever and started grabbing more and more partly used or long rejected papers to print on. They worked! In one afternoon I made over twenty successful prints. I don’t always have enough presence of mind or stamina to do so, but I had set things up ahead of time and had set out papers for a set of Artist Trading Cards. 

Small prints, Phillip Hoyle 2016

I printed the small prints shown here while I was in my frenzy. These old designs of Native North American petroglyphs and the ancient Chinese yin and yang magical symbol brought me the deepest joy. The figures are small but the impact seemed large to me. Hope you enjoy them too.

Denver, 2016