About "Bessie and Pa"

The Inspiration

We have had a vintage photograph of my in-laws, standing in front of a shed built by my father-in-law in Fredericktown, PA. Probably taken in the ‘70s. An American Gothic pose. My father-in-law had put his hat up on the roof. I’ve always found this picture engaging. And, I have had the notion that some day the photograph would be an interesting source for a silk screenprint. I began this project in June 2009 and finished a year later. This being my first screen project, I had a lot to learn.

The Print

I used Photoshop CS4 to develop color separations which were the basis for the screenprint. There were originally 12 colors. Adjustments required after these were printed led to 4 additional plates. All the prints were made on Arches 88 and Canson Bright White. The images are 10½” x 10½” on 21” x 18” sheets. The edition size is 10. The project was completed in June 2010.

Progression Series

To create the silk screen image of the photograph, I used Photoshop CS4 to develop color separations, each one being a separate layer of color. In all, there were 16 plates: Cream, Light Flesh, Dark Flesh, Light Turquoise, Dark Turquoise, Red, Yellow Green, Dark Green, Yellow Brown, Light Brown, Brown, Red Overlay, Yellow Green Overlay, Dark Green Overlay, Brown Highlights, and Dark Brown. Prints were made on Arches 88 and Canson Editions Bright White paper.

Following are pictures of selected plates showing the progression of the screenprinting process.

About “Bessie and Pa”

Plates 1-5

Plates 1-9

Plates 1-12

Plates 1-15

Plates 1-16