Author: Ken

As an artist, I find wonder in almost everything around me. This can be both good and bad. Inspiration is easy. Focus and concentration, a bit more of a challenge. Especially in the age of always being connected to the internet.

Linocut printmaking is extremely low-tech, and has been my escape from the constantly distracting world of technology.

I have been working on a series of squirrels (there are 9 so far!) and they are FINALLY dry enough to offer on my website’s gallery. (I used oil based inks, which dry slow)

Here are a few examples from the series:

If you’d like to support my work and projects, consider giving one of these prints as a gift, or adding one to your art collection.

New Block Prints – and Gallery update

I have been doing a lot of experimenting in my printmaking studio over the last couple of months. In the past, I have used thick, cotton rag papers, but I am now experimenting with a thin (but remarkably strong) mulberry paper. It is made from the inner bark of the Mulberry tree, and it does not hurt the tree to remove the bark. The handling is a little bit different from heavy paper, but I really enjoy the crisp details it gives.

i have also been experimenting with different colored inks. The linocut above is made with a a light blue/grey ink. The grey really changes the art. Instead of a strong, graphic black and white-this color feels a little softer, and I love the mood it gives this scene of the Johnson Creek in Robertson County.

I’m not doing any more shows between now and Christmas, but you can still support my projects and give my work as a gift (or add one to your collection!).  I just updated my website’s printmaking gallery to include many of these new prints, so please give my website a visit.

I am shipping quick (within a few days), and for free in the USA!
Thanks!

This weekend, we celebrated Frontier Christmas in Old Washington. As always, I open my home/studio to the public, and give a printmaking activity. Both days were filled with friends (long – time and new) the whole weekend. I was so busy covered in ink and making prints, i didn’t get a chance to take any  photos (ok, i did take this selfie!)

Lucky for me, a lot of my friends who visited are ALSO artists, and THEY took photos, and gave me permission to share. You can click any of the photos to visit their websites/social media/email for more information about them and their work.

Thanks everyone for making this year’s Frontier Christmas a special one. I love it when other artists visit and enjoy our historic little village. It’s especially wonderful when we get the chance to see our neighborhood through the lens of their cameras. Thanks again everyone for sharing your photos…and folks, don’t forget to click the photos to learn more about the people who took them

For the month of November, I have been exploring, sketching, zine-making and printmaking around Lewis county. I am interested in teachers and our education system, and was excited to learn about and sketch this old schoolhouse in Clarksburg, a small community outside of Vanceburg, KY.

I moved things around a little bit, the schoolhouse is now a residence, but I feel like the print still captures the feeling of the place.

Before you get to Vanceburg, the highway goes over a mountain. When you turn the corner, there is a great view of the road and the mountains. To me, this is when the Kentucky hills have grown into mountains.

These prints are a little bit different from my work in the past, because I have printed them on Mulberry paper. It comes from the inside fibers of the tree’s bark, and is harvested without hurting the tree. The paper is extremely thin, almost transparent…but it’s also very strong. The paper requires a little bit different handling from the cotton rag paper I am used to. However, the paper does a great job of picking up all the details of the carving.

These prints are in a limited edition of 16. They are signed and numbered. They are also for sale, for $60 unframed, or $120 framed. You can click on either of the prints, or visit the printmaking section of my gallery for more information.

Next week, I am meeting a group of artists in Vanceburg, Ky for an art project; so I recently took a few sketching trips throughout Lewis County.

Lewis county is where the Kentucky hills along the Ohio River start to grow into mountains. Beautiful country!  I stopped by this farm scene to do a little bit of sketching.

I like this scene so much, I decided to carve it into a linoleum block print. I decided to replace the haybales with cows, but feel like I captured the feeling of the scene.

I’m offering it as a limited edition (only 16), if you are interested, click the image for more information.

A few people have asked me for more information about how I am framing my latest prints. Here’s some more information with photos.

My latest prints are in a panoramic profile: the carving is 4 1/2″ x 12″. I print on a 10″ x 16″ acid-free, cotton paper.

I make one kind of frame. It’s made from wood, and I use a 100% rag matt to keep the paper from the glass.

The frames have a simple, flat profile. I cover them with 3 coats of paint, and then give them a distressed effect, which brings out some of the natural aspects (like grain and occasional knots) of the wood.

I take a lot of pride in my frames, and sign them: handmade frame by Ken Swinson, just like I would the actual artwork.