Welcome back, printmaking nerds! I have been able to meet so many new folks these past few weeks thanks to my Instagram Live collaboration with Speedball! I appreciate you all for your energy and support as we learn and grow together through this amazing art form. I’d like to extend a warm welcome to the 29 new folks who joined our Inkplate community!

In this week's issue:

• Recap of the Week 3 - Printing (Speedball Instagram Live Class)

• My Online Store Relaunch (danielvillaart.com)

• Stockton Art League Exhibit

Let’s dive in!

Recap of Week 3:

In case you missed the third class last Saturday, you can watch the recap here as well as by searching @Speedball_Art on Instagram!

Week 3 was longer than usual but every single minute was worth it. Our conversation was packed with tips, new languages, and more! Here is the executive recap:

• We started going over how to set up a drying line with some parachute string, clothes pins, and some nails.

• Having a simple drying line takes less space and it's cheaper than buying a traditional metal drying rack.

• We then used some cardboard to cut out a registration jig. I also cut a piece of cardboard 11x14in, then placed a finished block in the middle, drew the contour of the block and cut it out. In essence, we made a little frame for the linoleum block.

• Next, we pulled out a glass palate to roll out ink. If you do not have a piece of glass you can also roll out ink on plastic, plexiglass, acrylic, or any smooth non-porous surface.

• When you pull ink out of your tin, make sure you do not gouge into the ink, but simply scrape from the top with a spatula. This prevents the ink from getting oxidized. Oil-based inks dries via oxidation so the less contact it comes with oxygen the better.

• We added a small amount of ink to the top of our inking plate to use as a reservoir and rolled the ink on the plate making sure not to oversaturate the brayer.

• We discussed the drying period being around 5 days for oil-based inks, and about an hour for water-based inks.

• We reviewed in detail the cleaning process for Speedball’s Professional Relief Ink. Simply soap and water but making sure all surfaces were completely clean so that we can return to print again!

• Finally, we used four types of paper, Speedball Printmaking Paper, Speedball Mulberry, Arnhem 1618 and Rives BFK.

  • Mulberry: Very light weight, almost transparent, but sturdy and easy to print by hand.

  • Speedball: Middle grade student paper, absorbent. Requires medium pressure.

  • Arnhem 1618: Professional quality paper, with heavy weight and a smooth surface.

  • Rives BFK: Professional quality paper. Can be used both dry and lightly damped. Consisting of a gravy weight paper will require more pressure to transfer ink.

Next week, Saturday, March 4th, 2023, will be the last session in this four-week beginners course where we will cover the process of signing prints, playing with mixed media and having a final Q&A! Brandon and I will be taking a short break from classes after next Saturday, but classes will resume for the latter part of our class series on Saturday, March 18th, 2023, with a brand new four session course! You’re going to love it!

In this new course we will explore reduction linocut and how to make a multicolor print. Once again, we will work through every aspect of the creative process from design, set-up, carving and printing.

Having just wrapped up the third class of my Speedball Instagram collaboration, I must say that it has been such a great experience learning from you and connecting with other printmakers. At the end of last week’s class, I asked for your feedback regarding future topics and I heard you loud and clear! If you have not filled out the class survey, please take a moment to do so here! Your input will help us bring you classes you want!

So far you have let me know this:

These are some of the things we will make sure to cover too!

My Website Store Relaunch

I am happy to finally have everything up and running on the new danielvillaart.com! To celebrate the relaunch of the webstore, I am having a Midwinter Sale!

Enjoy 25% off any piece with code: RELAUNCH at checkout.

This sale will end on Sunday, March 5, 2023, at 11:59 pm!

Stockton Art League Exhibit

I was invited to exhibit some of my prints by the Stockton Art League this March at the Elise May Goodwin Gallery. I will be featured as their “Artist of the Month.”

The gallery will be hosting a reception on Saturday, March 11th, 2023, from 4:00 - 6:00 pm PST. If you are a local and are able to come, please come by! This would be a good time to get to see a chunk of my work in one place at the same time! Refreshments will be available.

Gallery Address: 1902 Pacific Avenue, Stockton, CA 95204

Before You Go,

• Want to be part of the ‘Artist Highlight’ or know of someone who might be, fill out this interest form!

• Do you have a printmaking or artist-related question you want me to answer? Reply to this email and let me know here!