About “DC Blossoms”

 
The Inspiration To date, my screenprints have been based on travels to locales away from home. As time has passed, I decided that I wanted to make prints celebrating the beauty and life of Washington, my hometown. This print is the first. Cherry blossoms throughout the city are a sign of renewal each Spring. ‘Though the blossoms on the tidal basin are a national treasure, to me, they are a quintessential part of the beauty of the city of Washington itself. Thus, “DC Blossoms.” The image is based on a photograph taken in the Spring of 2011 on a visit to the tidal basin. The day was sunny and bright. In creating this picture, I chose to re-set the clock and portray the blossoms at dusk. The cherry blossoms themselves are printed in a Japanesque motif. This is an acknowledgement that the cherry trees on the tidal basin were a gift to the United States by Japan in 1912. The print also draws inspiration from the work of Katsushika Hokusai, the 19th century Japanese master woodblock printer. News About “DC Blossoms” “DC Blossoms” was selected to be exhibited at the 2013 Pyramid Atlantic’s Members Exhibition, April 6-25, 2013. ”DC Blossoms” was selected as one of 50 original artist-pulled prints out of more than 450 entries to be exhibited at the Washington Printmakers Gallery’s 16th Annual National Small Works Exhibition from July 31-August 25, 2013. The National Small Works Exhibition is an annual juried exhibition hosted by the Washington Printmakers Gallery since 1997. The Print “DC Blossoms” is a 30 color print. The prints were made on Arches 88 paper. Images are 10¾” x 14¼” on 15” x 22½” sheets. Speedball Acrylic Screen Printing Inks were used. Adobe Photoshop was used for developing the screenprinting plates. Eleven prints are included in the edition. The project was completed in August 2012. In transforming this print into an evening scene, changes in colors and lighting, some of which I didn’t first realize, were necessary. Instead of a bright, sunny sky, light pink and light purple were used in the first layer as a split font to capture the evening sky. The lighting on the Washington Monument needed to be changed from that of an eastern rising sun to a western setting sun. My initial printing put the shadows on what would be the wrong side for a setting sun. Consequently, eight additional screens were printed, as I re-printed the monument as well as its reflections in the tidal basin to be consistent with a setting sun in the west. Progression Series The print progression showing the development of “DC Blossoms” is shown here in a series of six figures.
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