I started taking a polyester lithography class at Tigerlily Press. So for the class I drew this scene inspired by our Yosemite wedding many years ago:

The drawing was made with Sharpie on a polyester plate — the marker will attract ink while the wet polyester will not accept ink during the printing process.

Ugh, so I did some test prints and I think I was in a crabby mood. I started messing up, got in the weeds and went home to sulk. First print was okay, second some ghost fingerprints emerged, then the third print was really bad (I used a gel toothpaste to clean the plate and worried I messed up the image).

Chris Breeden from Arnold's Bar & Grill reached out last summer and invited me to be part of a Wu Tang Clan themed art show at Frameshop.

For the past year I have been very intrigued with portraiture. I've always felt that I have not truly learned how to draw the human form well, and the artist side of my head feels that landscape art and portraiture are these classic subject matters that I should explore in my work to gain commissions someday.

My first focus was Method Man and I began approaching the project with the perspective of a Graphic Designer. I wanted to incorporate borders, and type, and be inspired by traditional printmaking techniques to add small graphic details. As I got into the project, I visited the Cincinnati Art Museum's "Van Gogh: Into the Undergrowth" and it inspired my original thought of the details and turned the Wu Tang logo into a halftone pattern. The sky behind Method Man glitters with dots inspired by Pisarro and Van Gogh's Starry Night.

I took the W from the Wu Tang Clan logo and used it to facet Method Man's face. This was inspired by a bit of Art Deco, and perhaps some of the African sculptures I used to collect where the human form is broken down into geometric simplicity.

My major critique is in my abstraction I lost a lot of Method Man's actual likeness in the work.

At some point, things were looking really bad with the progress of Method Man. So in only a few hours I was able to illustrate a portrait of Rza by hand. Using ProCreate on the iPad I was able to draw Rza from composite photos, and create a background pattern inspired by Japanese prints (referring back to Shaolin culture and Kung Fu movies that inspired the Wu Tang Clan).

I created a black and white portrait of Rza, and isolate the background pattern in gold. In some ways this approach was partially inspired by the work of Kehinde Wiley as well as those 19th century Japanese print makers. 

Once in the studio, I painted the skin tones of Rza with watercolor inks on the screen, and created a small series of 3 monoprints. You can see the process of making the prints here: Path to process video on Vimeo

This was an experiment to see how I could capture the human form in a unique way, but also possibly how to create work for commission some day. The Method Man is more unique, but took an entire week of time to produce. Rza is more gestural and actually captures the likliness better, and only took two days to create. The price would estimatedly be $1600 versus $4000 for a patron in the future.

At the end, it felt wrong to take money as an artist using the image of another person I don't know personally without permission. So, it felt best to donate 100% of my profits to Elementz, a Cincinnati-based non-profit created to foster Hip Hop Culture for future generations.

Working on a new project where I am carving artwork that could be potentially used on a letterpress printer later.

It looks like it is best to used 3/8" mahogany, poplar, ash, birch, apple or cherry plywood with an AA grade. Softer woods like pine and cypress could also work, but will break down over time.

https://letterpresscommons.com/wood-cut/

http://www.briarpress.org/25767

Finding some tips for printing at home! http://www.stencilrevolution.com/tutorials/how-to-make-relief-prints/ http://weareoca.com/fine_art/relief-printing-at-home-hints-and-tips/

 I've been very busy producing a lot of work. Printmaking and illustrating, inspired by all my outdoor interests. My work will be at Park + Vine through May 25.

  My Artist Statement: I am a lifelong Cincinnatian who was reared on family camping trips into the Great Outdoors. I cherished these trips into Nature where life was simpler and more elemental. But as a city slicker there is a divide between my everyday life and the mystery of the Natural world.

Over the past several years I find myself often spending time outside and have reconnected with Nature. Through hiking, cycling, running and rowing I observe plants and animals. With child-like wonder I take in these new experiences compelled to unravel these mysteries — I find myself inspired. 

Along my bike commutes I see the sun rise over our majestic Ohio River valley and glow golden as it sets in the west. The light sparkes and dances along our hillsides. I can’t capture these moments with a camera so I replicate their beauty in my landscapes.

 As a boy I was captivated by the work of Charley Harper, I found his style based upon elementary forms delightful and inventive. As I have gotten older the work of Harper, along with John Ruthven and John James Audubon have inspired me as a designer and illustrator and this new collection of animal artwork that I have observed in nature.

Between our City Parks, the nature preserves and our great river ecosystems we are blessed with an abundance of Nature around us. I want my work to inspire all of us to appreciate these Natural resources and for us to celebrate conservation on this 45th anniversary of Earth Day.

My favorite places to visit:
Cincinnati City Parks: Ault Park, Burnett Woods, Caldwell Nature Preserve Eden Park, French Park, Mount Airy Forest and Otto Armleter Park.
Cincinnati Nature Center
South 80 Trails
Valley View Nature Preserve Little Miami Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy’s Red Bird Hollow


Creative Pursuits: James Billiter—Naturally Cincy by Adam Sievering
As an outdoor enthusiast who has spent the last decade sharing his talent at LPK, Senior Designer James Billiter experiences the duality of city life and the great outdoors on a daily basis. His upcoming art exhibit, Naturally Cincy, explores the symbiotic relationship between his work and time spent outside, illuminating nature’s extraordinary ability to feed creativity and nurture the imagination—right here in Cincinnati.

James’ connection to nature stems from camping trips during childhood. “I cherished these trips into nature where life was simpler and more elemental,” he says. “But as a city slicker, there’s a divide between my everyday life and the mystery of the natural world.”

He helps bring these two worlds together by riding his bike to work, channeling daily inspiration from natural surroundings in the Ohio River valley. When he’s not commuting or intimately involved with Creative Suite at his desk, it’s a safe bet he’s spending his time outdoors.

“Through hiking, cycling, running and rowing, I can reconnect with nature,” he says. “I observe animals and sometimes wonder what really distinguishes their daily lives from my own. I take in these new experiences, compelled to unravel these mysteries. I find myself inspired.”

In addition to drawing inspiration from nature, James highlights its therapeutic value.

“I’m kind of a workaholic, so when I’m outside it helps me cleanse and detox. It’s like a retreat from my daily stresses. Instead of multitasking, I find myself focused on nothing but what I’m experiencing in that moment. It’s a form of active meditation,” he says.

Naturally Cincy is a culmination of these experiences, celebrating the beauty of Cincinnati’s parks, nature preserves and river ecosystems with a range of illustrative styles inspired by the works of Charley Harper, John Ruthven and John James Audubon.

“The exhibit is a combination of realistic portraits and playful illustrations,” he explains. “I wanted it to be accessible to anyone.”

“Even more so,” he adds, “I want my work to inspire all of us to appreciate the abundance of nature around us and celebrate conservation on the 45th anniversary of Earth Day.”

Naturally Cincy opens Saturday, April 26th and runs until Sunday, May 25th at Park + Vine (1202 Main St, Cincinnati, OH 45202).

2011.4/52 Winter Sunsets

I was walking my dog in the woods and I was really inspired by the stark contrast of the bare branches and the progressing sun setting on the horizon. I took a photo and extracted the branches — intending to make a silkscreen plate from this. This one plate with a dark brown or black ink could be printed over various skies made by smearing ink and/or printmaking.

I would see this as a continual scene (tryptich) or one cropped scene printed over a series of skies. This silkscreen plate would also be cool if I traced the photograph in ink — giving the branches and trees a rougher impression.