Better late than never. I just finished my offering for the Screens N’ Suds Charity Event scheduled to coincide with the Grateful Dead’s Fare Thee Well shows over the 4th of July Weekend. My print is a two color hand drawn, cut and printed linoleum block print. The print measures 12.5 x 15 and is printed on French Specktone Paper. The Print is signed and numbered edition of 30 and will be available at Screen N Suds event Ale thee Well on Sunday July 5th from 12- 4 pm at Galerie F located at 2381 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, Il.
Category Archives: The Process
Phish Storage Jam
A while back I was approached by a group of collectors who asked me if I would be interested in creating a print based on a particular musical event within an even larger music event. The folks who wanted to hire me had attended Phish’s Superball IX Festival in Watkin’s Glen, NY in July of 2011. Long after the main concert field had cleared the band set up inside a “storage unit” erected on site and played some of the most trippy, psychedelic music they have ever played. Funny thing, you could not really see the band inside the nit, only their shadows working away. I was immediately interested. We agreed on one multi-colored print with a glow element. The more i watched and listened to the storage jam , the more I became convinced that the best way to depict this event was with four prints, each print focusing on a different band member. I went back to the group and asked permission to change the scope of our engagement. I received and enthusiastic YES, and I began to draw, cut and print. Each print measures 12 x 12, glows in the dark, and is embossed with the show information date, location, etc.
American Master Printmaker: Jim Pollock
At the beginning of the year I moved my studio to a much bigger space. More room for everything, more light, more horizontal space, a ventilation system (of sorts) and did I mention more space.
The first thing I did in the new space was to print the last project that had been designed in my old space. It went well. I had more than enough space to print and dry the 120 piece project with plenty of room to spare. While printing I began thinking of what was next. Turns out what was next was a project that had been on my mind for about a year. I wanted to create a print to honor my favorite block printer on the planet, Jim Pollock. Jim single-handedly revitalized the music gig poster industry. The industry in its’ current state literally erupted around him. He brought the art back to gig posters, which for too long were merely poorly designed graphic art, a far cry from the high poster art that we saw in the 1960’s. His now iconic hand printed posters created for Phish are some of the most coveted posters of all time. And he did all of this while remaining a nice guy.
At one point I changed from poster collector to poster maker and I attribute all of that to Jim Pollock. His work made me curious about block printing and some of the first things I attempted to print were his old Phish posters. Printmaking has unlocked an unknown joy in my life and for that I will always be grateful. I could go on and on but I think you get the point. Check out the slideshow below to see how this print came together.
These prints are available for purchase at my webstore: http://marcguertincreative.bigcartel.com/
and the long road…
My last post focused on what you could do in a short amount of time. This post is the opposite of that. For the past two weeks I labored over this poster for Phish’s Halloween Run in Las Vegas. Comprised of 5 separate blocks, seven colors, two of which glow in the dark, The Bride of Fishman was a marathon, not a quick sprint. Aside from the cutting time, I printed 50 of these in 2 batches of 25. Each batch of 25 took approximately 12 hours of continuous printing to complete. Enjoy the slide show of my progress from sketch to completed project. This print is available for purchase in my web store: http://marcguertincreative.bigcartel.com/product/phish-halloween-2014-las-vegas-the-bride-of-fishman
A lot can happen in 16 hours
Over the weekend, my wife and son went to Upstate New York to visit her sister. I was left alone to my own devices. I spent most of my time in the printmaking studio. I had one print job that had to be done…paying client. When I finished with the paying gig I had another print in me. So on Saturday morning around 11am, I started drawing. I was able to create, sketch, cut and print three blocks worth of color onto a pretty nice Phish Fall Tour Poster, all before 3am on Sunday. Print measures 9 x 22, printed on Polar White 90lb Stonehenge, with a double deckle edge. Edition Size 50. Prints will be available my webstore: http://marcguertincreative.bigcartel.com/product/phish-fall-tour-2014-phuego
Anatomy of a Linoleum Block Printed Poster
Recently, I was approached with an interesting project. A fan of the best touring band in the world, Phish, was getting ready to head out on the road for their fall tour. He wanted me to make a poster for him to give away to friends he stays with and people he meets along the way. What a cool idea, I thought. I spent the better part of a week drawing, carving and printing this poster. I decided to photograph my progress along the way, enjoy the photo gallery.
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Marc Guertin Creative 