Purchasing

Contemporary print artist Jenny Robinson was interviewed by Eastside Editions printer David Avery:

David Avery – Perhaps the first thing to ask, given your background, is what drew you to printmaking, why did you decide to become a printmaker?

Jenny Robinson –When I did my foundation course in England, it was just printmaking, printmaking is what captured me, you know, because when you’re in foundation you do so many techniques, and we did quite a big block in printmaking. It was just the one thing that I found, that and photography, that I really found that I was creative. I enjoyed it and I really enjoyed sort of the detail orientation of printmaking.

DA – Given that you chose that, how do you select and develop your images? How did you get into the urban landscape image?

JR – Well, when I went to college I did a lot of traveling. And I took my watercolor sketchbook with me and I found that I was drawn to architecture and the way the light fell, especially in places like India. The light’s very strong there. And although the work I was doing then was a bit over romantic, I suppose, maybe not romantic, but it was more color orientated and detail orientated because although I was doing sketches I was also taking back-up photographs. And then when I got back to England and I would do the work, I would get too bogged down in details from the photographs.

• Read the full interview here

Contemporary print artist Cleo Wilkinson was recently awarded the 2008 Jurors Award – 1st Biennial Footprint International at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking – Norwalk CT (USA)

Seattle P-I’s Art Blog, Art To Go, featured Davidson Contemporary artist Samantha Scherer and her new body of work, These Are Their Stories:

Attracted by [Law & Order]‘s focus on morbid crimes, I am almost powerless to ignore the endless reruns on cable and often find myself watching episodes that I may have already seen more than once. This has amounted to hours and hours of seeing vaguely recognizable character actors assaulted and murdered on a regular basis.

To think of her time as something other than wasted, she began a visual catalog of the show’s fallen.

Scherer will show the series in July at Davidson Contemporary.

• Read the full post here

July 5 – August 2, 2008
Opening Reception with the Artists: “First Thursday”, July 3, 6-8 pm
Closed July 4th

Paintings & Books by Ian Boyden

Habitations. Collaborative artist book with Sam Hamill. Crab Quill Press, 2008. 31 x 11-1/2 x 1-1/4 inches.

Davidson Contemporary is proud to release the newest Crab Quill Press publication, Habitations. This unique artist book of original paintings represents a collaboration of the artist Ian Boyden and the poet Sam Hamill (founding editor of Copper Canyon Press and Poets Against War). The artist sees this work as a major extension of ideas central to the “Northwest School”. The pigments used in the paintings contain fossilized whale ear bone, fossilized shark tooth, fossilized cave bear tooth, cuttlefish ink, freshwater pearl, opal, loess, basalt, granite, lava, and petrified wood. The words and images are deeply grounded in our region on multiple levels.

Samantha Scherer These Are Their Stories

04-070, 2008

Samantha Scherer’s 3’ x 6’ watercolor grid, drawn from her on-going series “These Are Their Stories”, is based on the victims of the TV show “Law and Order”. They represent her response to our information age …”sorting through limitless data to find personal truths.” “Here she has combed through multiple seasons, collecting video stills of various victims post-crime, rendering them in black watercolor on small squares of lightly tinted paper.”

Julie Alexander Works on Paper

Left Palm, 2008

Seattle artist Julie Alexander draws with graphite or watercolor for a cumulative effect. “I am interested in the repetitive line accumulating significance – the single gesture repeated into a flow of energy. Each gesture or line is the imperfect individual that accumulates to make up the group.”

Richard Nicol Rational Drawings

Rational Drawing #7, 2008

Richard Nicol’s color images show a related minimalist exploration of drawn lines in simple patterns transformed by varying the pencil color and the proximity of one line to another. Consequently, the same basic shape, in altering the color sequence the artist can dramatically transform the image, causing it to recede rather than to advance.

Mark Meyer Works on Paper

Lil Metro, 2007

For most of his life Mark Meyer has been involved with both art and science. His artwork shares with science an interest in experimentation, to explore, to imagine the question and then to find a visual solution.

David Stein Long Way From Home

The Birthday Party, 2008

“Long Way From Home” is Portland painter David Stein’s most recent journey into his imagination. These small, bizarre landscapes, inhabited by strangely clad characters, suggest narratives. The color, context, creatures and meaning are Stein’s own invention but the ambiguity of possible meanings allow for multiple interpretations.

Contemporary Print & Drawing Center

July 5 – August 2, 2008
Opening reception with the artists: “First Thursday”, July 3, 6-8 P.M.
Closed July 4th

Print Now!

Highlights of Contemporary Printmaking Techniques

Karen Kunc. System, 2007. Woodcut. 14 x 14 inches. Edition of 9.

Print Now! is an exhibition showcasing local, national and international artists employing a variety of contemporary printmaking techniques. In Seattle alone there are many printmaking studios, cooperatives and institutions offering printmaking classes. Techniques included in this survey include etching, drypoint, mezzotint, woodcut, linocut, lithography, collagraph, monotype and digital. Of the exhibiting artists, some are mid-career while others are at the beginning. Works by these artists exemplify the vitality of printmaking today.

Upcoming Exhibitions and Events*
August 7 – 30 Jean Gumpper and Hiroki Morinoue
August 8 – 9 Reduction Woodcut Workshop with Jean Gumpper at Sev Shoon Art Center.
Co-sponsored by Davidson Galleries and Seattle Print Arts

Antique Print Department

Continuing through August 2, 2008
Closed July 4th

Visions of Venice

Original Etchings, Lithographs & Woodcuts

William Douglas Macleod (British, 1892-1963) Traghetti. Etching. 7-1/2 x 14-1/8 in.

Spanning over one hundred islands along Italy’s Adriatic shore, the city of Venice is one of the most picturesque locations in Europe. An early center of printing and a perennial art world capital, Venice has long attracted the eyes of artists eager to pay homage to its moonlit canals and unique architecture. Through July, the Antique Print Department presents a group of original etchings, lithographs and woodcuts around the theme of Venice. Artists represented include André Masson, John Taylor Arms, Joseph Pennell, Nelson Dawson, David Young Cameron, and Carl Thiemann.

• View the exhibit online

Washington Lawyers for the Arts presents Estate Planning for Artists at 911 Media Arts Center, July 10th from 12-2pm.

Estate planning for an artist is a very important consideration, and involves more than just writing a will.  It will involve the process of organizing and categorizing your works, choosing an executor, selecting such professionals as an attorney and an accountant, and spelling out what should be done with your work to ensure that your art will continue to be presented or managed as you wish.  You will need to decide if you want your work to be exhibited, and under what conditions.  You will need to decide if you want your work given to family members, or donated to a gallery or nonprofit organization. Or if it should be sold, or licensed for reproduction.  Attorney Jeffrey M. Grieff will discuss these and other basic estate planning issues and will answer your questions.

FEE:  In advance: $35 Attorneys and Paralegals; $10 Artists and Students. At the door: $40 Attorneys and Paralegals; $15 Artists and Students

REGISTRATION:  To register, visit Brown Paper Tickets or phone 24/7 at 800 838.3006. To pay at the door, RSVP to Washington Lawyers for the Arts at 206 328.7053. Please note that the event is subject to cancellation; visit thewla.org or call 206 328.7053 for more information.