"Transparency"

($40.00.....mounted on a 1/8" depth clayboard panel)

"Transparency is an amazing quality that describes some types of glass as well as people with integrity." This is a close up shot of a chandelier in an antique store. The contrast between the iron and glass was stunning and the whole image brought this quote to my mind. It also has a historic look and sparkle of Christmas.

The first layer of this image created the "wow" factor. I did a monoprint on Arches Text Wove, using ink instead of Walnut Ink. It is Caran d'Ache Caribbean Sea, diluted with a bit of water and monoprinted on very wet paper. The actual photograph shows the glass as clear with little or no color. It will give you quite the adrenalin rush to experiment with these intense inks so you might want to peruse through your photos and look for some transparent glass. I suppose you could accomplish this look in Photoshop, but you would not have the "random" placement of the blue.

Just in case you may not know how to do a monoprint, let me explain. Pour or mix a bit of color, using any water media, onto a hard surface creating a puddle. Spray a piece of watercolor paper (or leave dry) and lay the paper over the puddle and press over the back with your hand. Lift and there's your monoprint. You can even do it several times until you're satisfied with the print. Dry and print your photo.

There is also a lot of gradation going on in this piece...not only in the image, but in the lettering. Gradation in lettering can happen two ways. You can either change the value of the medium as you write or you can use one value to write with and letter over several different values in the image. Either way will achieve a gradated effect. (Some viewers will hate this if it is more difficult to read, but it does achieve a nice "fading out" effect.) I will say that this quote is very readable if you are holding the original in your hand. Just a few more things to try or think about.

Please contact me personally to inquire about this piece.