Since the advent of the digital age, artists have continued to discover new opportunities, techniques and audiences for their art. In this article we will visit my studio as well as those of my fellow artists Dorothy Simpson Krause and Karin Schminke. We are known collaboratively as the Digital Atelier.
Here we will share some recent projects to illustrate how fine artists benefit from the integration of digital imaging into their workflow. The first project is one I created for a one-person exhibit using a UV-curing flatbed printer. In the next one we’ll show how Dorothy employed the advantages of digital printing to create a unique artist book. And finally we’ll look at how Karin worked with an out-of-state client and art consultant to develop a custom image for an installation.
FINE ART AND THE FLATBED
Nearly a year ago, I began planning on an art exhibition called “Natural Order,” which opened in November, 2007, at Walker Fine Art in Denver. For the exhibit I envisioned using white ink to expand on work I’d done on UV-curing flatbed printers over the past two years. I visited Ability Plastics, in Justice, Ill., to use the company’s Durst Rho Pictor UV-curing flatbed printer, equipped with white ink.
I worked with the firm’s owner, Mike Nuzzo, who said the project “provided an opportunity to learn and experience the finer side of flatbed digital printing,” adding that “Printing fine art on the flatbed is to digital printing what a symphony orchestra is to music.”
Because printing art requires a number of special time consuming procedures, like assembling tiled images at the location, I arranged a daily fee with Ability rather than payment by the square foot. This arrangement allowed me to take whatever time was needed to align substrates, test colors and set densities to optimize each image.
I spent four months creating the images and making substrates for each piece. Sample substrates included irregular laser cut puzzle-shaped pieces, copper cloth, etched acrylic, Dibond brushed aluminum, and acrylic tiles. To create a substrate for “Organic Floral,” (seen on the cover of this issue), I stretched pieces of copper cloth, then soaked them in acid, salts and ammonia, and sealed them in plastic to let natural organic pigments form a patina on the faux canvas surface. After unwrapping the metal canvas, it oxidized further to create natural abstract patterns.
This canvas was then photographed so a digital image could be mapped over the natural pattern. Because white ink could be used to cover some areas, I was able to digitally recreate the colors and print additions to the image to make it appear as though my additions were formed naturally.
I also created a free-hanging tapestry series, “Random Repetition,” by drilling and cutting 6" x 6" tile pieces on a router. I designed the tiles to be assembled with antiqued brass straps. To print the image, a grid was first printed on a sheet of PVC. Then the tiles were taped to the grid for alignment and the image was printed onto the tiles.
The most complex work for the exhibit used shapes laser cut from glass green-edge acrylic. One reason I chose the Pictor to create the works for this show is that it is one of the few UV-curing printers I’ve used with inks that adhere well to acrylic.
A white channel consisting of a circular gradient was used under the image that was printed onto the tiles. A variation of the same file was imaged a second time onto 36" x 72" brushed aluminum Dibond panels. The metallic surface of the Dibond reflects from under the stack of acrylic pieces.
To assemble the piece, I used Lord brand adhesive 406-19 to glue the acrylic to the Dibond. A 1" x 3" wooden frame was bonded to the back with a French cleat at the top for hanging the panels flat on the wall.
I worked for three days to produce 24 pieces totaling approximately 335 square feet of images. Many were printed on both sides of ¼" acrylic to create a sense of depth. As a result of the success of this collaborative experience, Ability Plastics plans to continue working with artists.
CASE STUDY: “CLIMATE CHANGE”
Although some of today’s greatest museum treasures are early books – hieroglyphics on papyrus, illuminated manuscripts on vellum, and oriental scrolls – the idea of defining books by artists as unique works of art only dates back to the 1960’s. Interest in book arts continues to grow, largely due to the fact that it can encompass virtually any other art form, providing the opportunity to create added meaning in an intimate structure.
In this case study, Dorothy Simpson Krause created the pages for an artist’s book by printing landscape photographs over acrylic paste under-paintings.
Acrylic paste paint is thick in texture, rich in color, varying in opacity and makes a wonderful surface for book pages. A mixture of wheat paste (see recipe below) and acrylic paint, it is quick to make, keeps well in the refrigerator, and is an effective under-painting for printing.
Krause covered a large sheet of paper with acrylic paste paint in colors related to her book. Because her book is landscape based, she painted in horizontal bands across the grain of the paper and drew strokes of marsh grass into the heavy-bodied paint. The large painting was torn into double page spreads by folding the sheet in half horizontally, then separating into two pieces 22" x 15" each, then into four 11" x 15" pieces, then into eight 11" x 7.5" pieces.
Each double page spread was coated with inkAID Type II clear pre-coat to help the ink adhere to the acrylic painting. The painted pages were scanned into Photoshop and combined with landscape photographs using layers and various adjustment options. Krause placed each deckle edge page on a carrier sheet of white paper leaving a margin on the leading edge and the side. She sized her images to print over the deckle using an Epson 3800 printer equipped with K3 pigment inks.
Although the landscape photographs could have been put into a grid in Photoshop and printed onto the full-size painted sheets on a large-format printer, the project was done as a demonstration for book artists who would, most likely, have only a desktop printer.
Another option, if the artist wanted additional copies of the book, would be to scan the final printed pages, put them into a grid and have a service bureau print the large sheets. This would be a simple and relatively inexpensive way to create an edition. “Climate Change” is one of more than 20 examples covered in Krause book to be published by North Light. With a working title, Book + Art: for artists who want to make books, it will include chapters on substrates, images, words, structures, covers and other presentations.
Recipe for Wheat Paste
Mix 3 tablespoons wheat flour with cold water to make it wet and liquid enough to pour.
Bring 1 cup of water to a boil.
Pour the cold wheat flour mixture slowly into the hot water, stirring constantly.
Bring to a boil. Cook until thick.
Allow the paste to cool before using. Store in refrigerator.
CUSTOM COMMISSION
Seattle artist Karin Schminke was invited by art consultant Diane Deboer, of Monroe Fine Art, to submit a proposal for a project in Grand Rapids, Mich. Deboer had used Schminke’s art for other projects and felt it might be a good match for the JW Marriott Grand Rapids, for which she was providing consultation services.
The luxury hotel, which opened in September, 2007, needed modern and contemporary imagery to honor the five sister cities of Grand Rapids: Omihachiman, Japan; Bielsko-Biala, Poland; Perugia, Italy; Zapopan, Mexico; and Ga District, Ghana.
Schminke’s proposal to use a nature-based theme to create five 78" x 32" panels on canvas was accepted by the Marriott. Next, Schminke e-mailed several rounds of rough sketches for Deboer to present to her client. In the accepted proposal, each panel pays homage to one of the natural features of particular importance to a sister city’s region for social, economic and/or spiritual reasons.
When Schminke’s concept was approved, Deboer e-mailed her color scheme samples to demonstrate the extremely bright colors to be used in the ballroom lobby where the art would be hung as well as adjacent areas. These were sampled by Schminke in Photoshop and used to help create harmonious and bright colors to work with the interior design of the lobby.
Small black and white paintings on paper were scanned to provide the basic forms for the artwork and to help unify the five panels. Other textures, and all colors, were added in Photoshop. Schminke worked at the final scale during development of the images in order to assure that any sketches sent for approval would match the final art. As the images neared completion, Schminke provided Deboer with samples at 1/6 scale printed on the final canvas material for approval.
The artwork for each panel was created with an extra 3" of image on every side to allow for stretching around the edges of the canvas, making the printed size 84" x 38".
Because bright colors were very important to the client, the HP Z3100 inkjet printer was used to produce this project.
“The saturation of color was easy to achieve and control with the Z3100 combined with their HP Professional Matte Canvas,” says Schminke.
Schminke mailed the printed canvases to Michigan, where they were professionally stretched and installed under Deboer’s direction.
Whether collaborating on projects long-distance, exploring new hybrid processes for artists, or exploiting the potential of high-end imaging tools, many fine artists have come to rely upon digital imaging for much of what they do.
Beyond just simple prints to paper or canvas, the trend is toward ever-larger projects and more complex combinations of techniques. Long distance collaborations between artists, clients and production sites open up new business opportunities for all.
The artists’ Web sites are available at: www.Lhotka.com, www.dotkrause.com, and www.schminke.com.
