New Etching Press Demonstration

I sold this press to an old friend of mine, Kim Christensen, who has a photography studio in Auckland.

Photography having moved on from film to computer Kim is bored with his trade's lack of creativity and excitement and decided to try photo gravure print making.

Googling etching presses for sale he found me and came to visit and selected his press from the variety of styles I have available and evnentually I completed and delivered this press to his Auckland studio.

After making some progress on my current mural commission I made the time to bring to his studio some print making gear and various plates and wood cuts of mine and gave him a brief tutorial so he could get the feel, literally, of the press pressures and use and see the process of cleaning and inking plates, soaking the print making paper and running them through the press and study the wonderful and subtle variety of results in a finished print.

The process of photo gravure plate making is not my field but Kim will sort that out, my main concern was to give him confidence in the use of the press particularly as this model press has no springs to give it any give under extreme pressure and it is possible to do it some harm so strong is it's frame and powerful it's gearing.

We had fun doing this and may just get a print making weekend tutorial happening in Kim's studio some time as he is located in the heart of the city and has a great space to work in and, of course, an etching press available.

New Waihi Mural, Waihi Junction Stores, est. 1909

Work begins on a new mural to be painted on the old Blue Dairy store front and verandah on S.H.25, East Waihi. There has been a store here since 1909.

Of the original 1909 store only the verandah remains, rebuilt and relocated. It is very handy for me, nice shade and rain shelter..

 

 

I made a study of shop architecture and layout from 1900 - 1920 and designed my own grocery store circa 1909 architectural design and 1925 colours.. 

In Opotiki 3 hours drive away across the Bay of Plenty I found a Grocery Store Museum and was able to photograph all the products from a bygone era in glorious living colour in their original packets, boxes and tins.  With these I shall stock the  store and I have already photographed friends of mine who modeled for me in Vintage mid 20's clothes that I hired for the purpose, to be the store owner and customers.

So far it has been an exercise in research and perspective drawing and seemingly endless preparation.

The real mural is about to begin..

There are only two ways to get to the vast and wonderful Coromandel Peninsular tourist playground, one is through Thames and the other is through Waihi, past this mural. The mural will be seen by tens of thousands of people and as the store front and verandah will be fully sign written many a traveler will be fooled and pull up to buy something and curse me.

My name will live in infamy like the Pearl Harbour attack fleet.

A strange juxtaposition that last sentence but I will leave it in just because...

Building Classic Etching Presses

 

This etching press is already sold before it was finished. All the metalwork is finished and painted

and ready for final assembly and the fitting of the woodwork. Not much left to do now and work

has been resumed on several other presses of different styles as well.

It has been a busy time with also planning and designing a large mural, no time for days off. 

Designing A Mural

I have a new mural commission and designing it is done at the kitchen table. Not in the studio. The kitchen table just seems friendlier somehow.

The mural is to be painted on a walled over shop front and this will be transformed into a 1920's Grocery Store. More on this soon. Painting the wall begins next Tuesday.

Drawing Horses; Blue, the Beautiful Old Bearded Lady

Blue the 24 year old Clydesdale out at Ruthies Animal Farm is dying, she's got tumours and is listless, in pain and losing weight.  She will be put down next week and buried in the front paddock near the farmhouse.

She is not looking good health-wise but is still so beautiful.

We took a bag of carrots and spent some time with Blue and took a bunch of photos of her.

She enjoyed the visit and we shared some moments which was nice. She likes me. I'm gonna miss her.

Murals, Etching Presses and Duck Refugee Camps

I have been commissioned to paint a mural on a boarded up shop in Waihi. The original shop was built in 1909, was moved and rebuilt in the 40's and all that remains of the original shop is the 1909 cast iron framed verandah over the pavement.
The mural is to be a 1909 grocery with all authentic period architecture and stock and signage on the verandah.
All done with artistic cunning to amuse the passersby. It's a history painting and the research for it has led me many places: to the Waihi Library, to the Alexander Turnbull library in Wellington whose vast photographic resources are available on line, to various local identities who have lived a lifetime in Waihi and finally to an antique Grocery Museum in Opotiki, three hours drive away across the Bay of Plenty. I must go there to photograph in glorious living colour, all the original period cans and boxes and sacks and jars of an Edwardian Antipodean small town Grocery.
The concept drawing I made for this job has passed muster and it's all go on the final working drawing and the painting of the mural. Good money too and me a poor artist sorely in need of a few bob at the moment..
AT THE SAME TIME.. I have sold one of my beautiful etching presses to an old friend of mine, he has paid a deposit after visiting and making his choice of the variety of styles of etching presses I have available.
There remains only a week or so of work to do on this press before it is ready to be picked up and fully paid for. More money for the artist sorely in need etc. etc.
The press comes first and after a couple of days on the concept drawing for the mural I was happily working on the press when down comes the rain.
Two storms in a row, a regular monsoon with the odd gale force wind thrown in and upsetting the delicate process of painting the component parts of the etching press in my rudimentary, breezy, press workshop.
 So I have been doing research on the mural and working on the press when ever it is fine and getting behind on both jobs and stressed out, both jobs being extremely complicated and my poor brain being only as big as it is, normally quite adequate for my purposes but just a tad overloaded right now and all that money (sorely needed, poor artist etc. etc.) located somewhere in the future.
My understanding of Quantum Physics and the many and various Spiritual views of human existence leads me to believe that there is no such thing as the future, nor the past and that there is only now, always has been now and always will be now. Holding that belief and pondering the future has put me in the land of paradox, a great concept to discuss with good friends together with slightly immodest doses of Celtic lubricant but not a good place for a mere human being to live in. Stress comes along together with the Monsoon-like weather.
So this morning, being a rare and unexpected sunny day after a day and night of torrential rain, the dog and I went for a walk down by the river and it is in full and raging flood with all that rain and there on the higher reaches of the river banks I saw all the ducks in scattered groups mourning the loss of their homes and looking like refugees in a crisis.
Fuck paradox and stress! At least I am not a homeless duck and I have a way cool mural to paint and another etching press sold.
And fuck money too, I have enjoyed writing this. :)

Aquatint

An Aquatint etching done the old school way with rosin dust instead of spray paint. Eight tones and hours of work; learning learning...

Making Etching Presses

After the family reunion down at Havelock North and all the Christmas and New Year stuff and a weeks work helping my son out on a big job in Auckland it is back to the etching press business.
I got the lathe going and oh my it is SO dangerous!! Exciting and engrossing!! I wonder is it the obvious danger of hanging around a beast like this or is it just the novelty?
Four more press rollers made on the lathe and it's paid for itself and I shall probably be bored
with it though I hope never complacent; I can plainly see several different and devious ways this machine could whip off a finger or two..
Well driving the car is like in Catch 22: I've done way more than my 25 missions and the odds of my survival... Sorry- just a little gallows humour.
I like to ponder death, it helps me enjoy life.
I can just see my guardian angel or some such creature glaring and saying "John! You been pondering death again?!!"
"Mate! Do I look like the sort of person who would stoop to pondering? Get over yourself you uppity spiritual imaginary creature- lighten up would ya? S'fiction I'm writing here"

Violin Players Live Drawings

Every one of these drawings were aided by Guinness, single malts and, of course, the music.

Mulvay Family Reunion 10 December 2011

To celebrate the twin's 60th birthday Roger and Graham are hosting a gathering of the clan at Roger's place in Havelock North tomorrow.
I have been poring over all the old photos of our Fathers, Mothers, Aunts and Uncles, all of them the Grandchildren of Peter Mulvay who got out of the remains of the Great Famine in County Clare and took ship to New Zealand in 1861.
These photos date from the 30's and 40's. Only my Father went to the war, 4 wasted years he called it, In Egypt and Italy.
What these men didn't know about hunting and fishing you could write on the head of a pin.
'Course if they didn't bring home a trout or a pig or a deer in the years of the Great Depression they didn't get much to eat...

The family farm, my Dad took this photo to the war.