Hello everyone! It’s been a good summer here in New England! I was able to do some shows, and some were actually very good! I have a lot of pictures from around spring and summer to show! I also have several block prints and illustrations I did over the last few months too, including my biggest block print yet a 16x20 inch woodblock!

May

In May I had my first show. It was outdoors but still had some covid protocols. It ended up being pretty cold and windy for two days and perfect weather for the last day. Overall, I was happy to be out again, but it was still a little slow with people just starting to get vaccinated. May also brought out spring and with that spring flowers! It’s my second spring here in New England and I took full advantage! I went to two botanic gardens and took lots of pictures. I also went on lots of little hikes. On the art side, I completed two reduction block prints: a three layer reduction print of a puffin and a two layer reduction print of a rooster. I learned a lot making these prints and will take that into my next multi layered print. The biggest things I took away from this was how layering colors on top of each other effects your final color and registration. I also did three mini prints. I’ve really enjoyed making these mini prints. They are pretty quick and fun to make. I did a chirping sparrow, fox, and a bunny.

June

In June I got some inspiration to do a really big block print. I had been working on a sketch since mother’s day, and I finally got it to where I liked it. I had a big show the first of July and I wanted to show it off for that. I went to Home Depot and bought a piece of MDF board and cut it down to my size, 16x20 inches. This is my biggest block print to date! With less than one month to carve and print, It was a very busy time, but the end result really paid off. The scale really shows and it is a great piece to draw people into my booth. The idea for this print was to capture an idealistic New England scene, with a big tree of course! I was also in a juried gallery exhibit in Wayland. My piece “If they’re going to make a shadow out of me” was apart of the Renewal show for June!

July

In July I had my first big show in the Berkshires’s over July 4th. It was a show I was really looking forward to. I believe it was one of the coldest July 4th weekends I have ever experienced. It was pretty rainy, but despite all the bad weather, it ended up being a really great show! I met a lot of wonderful people and had many people appreciate my art and the labor of printmaking! A few days after the show, all of my family came up to visit. It was the first time we were all together in 18 months due to covid. It was so great to see everyone! We went down to Cape Cod for a few days and spent a day out on Martha’s Vineyard. For me it didn’t slow down. After saying goodbye, I got ready for another show in Syracuse, NY! It was my first time going to that part of NY, and I was excited to see the area. The show was a success, just not a great one. However, I did win first place and an award for my printmaking! It was really exciting to be honored and my art recognized amongst so many talented artists!

In the summer months, I did seven new block prints, did several shows, and got to continue to explore the New England area. I will have a dedicated blog post to the making of my big 16x20 woodcut in September. For now I have some pictures of all my summer explorations and prints below!
Thanks for reading and be safe.

Bryan.