About “Key Bridge”

 
The Inspiration “Key Bridge” is the third picture in my series of screenprints depicting sights in Washington, DC. This screenprint shows Key Bridge heading into Georgetown as seen from the western side of Roosevelt Island in the Fall of 2011. In the background above the bridge sit Georgetown University’s Healy Hall and the Car Barn, which was headquarters for DC Transit years ago but is now also part of the university. In the foreground are the Potomac River and, on the right, some branches of a tree on Roosevelt Island. Not quite an iconic DC picture but a readily recognizable Georgetown scene. As I developed the concept for this print, at some point I decided to create the image with a halftone effect inspired by Roy Lichtenstein’s style if not the comic nature of his work. So, “Key Bridge” is printed in halftone, a dot pattern covering the image. The Print “Key Bridge” is a 26 color print. The prints were made on Arches 88 paper. Images are 12¾” x 16¾” on 18” x 22½” sheets. Speedball Acrylic Screen Printing Inks were used. Adobe Photoshop was used for developing the halftone screenprinting plates. Nine prints are included in the edition. The project was completed in May 2013. Progression Series The print progression showing the development of “Key Bridge” can be seen in a series of five figures. The figure at the top on the left shows the first seven layers: the sky, the medium grey reflection in the river, the river, and the cloud, which required only one halftone screen as I used the white of the paper as its base. The figure on the right shows the first 14 layers, adding two shades of tan and two of brown. The light tan above the bridge was printed without halftone because the plate involved relatively small elements in the picture. The buildings above the bridge and the first elements of the bridge structure appear in this progress print. The figure on the left in the next row shows the first 19 layers. The added colors were the greens, one of which was not printed halftone. The structure of the bridge begins to emerge. The figure on the right shows all the layers, 25, but the last. Added here were more tans for the bridge as well as red for roofs on the Car Barn and other buildings above the bridge. The figure at the bottom shows the final image, all 26 layers, the final one being black which picks up and highlights all the detail in the image.
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