About “NATS CLINCH!”

 
The Inspiration

I have been a baseball fan for a long time.  But, being a fan in Washington, DC has not been a joy for almost my entire life.  Going to the ballpark on a summer’s night has always been about peanuts, cold beer, and, most importantly, good friends.  A good ball game, a win, when it happened, was a bonus.  Until last year.  In 2012, the Washington Nationals played great baseball.  They won 98 games, the most in major league baseball.  They were a winning team.  A championship team.

Janet and I were at Nationals Park on the night of September 20, 2012 to see the Nationals play the LA Dodgers.  The Nationals won that game and for the first time in 79 years advanced to the post-season.   Around the stadium, the billboards were emblazoned with the message, “NATS CLINCH”.  The crowd cheered. “NATS CLINCH!” celebrates that night and the National’s success. 
   
The Print

“NATS CLINCH!” is a 13 color print.  The prints were made on Arches 88 paper.  Images are 10” x 16¾” on 15” x 22½” sheets. Speedball Acrylic Screen Printing Inks were used.  Adobe Photoshop was used for developing the screenprinting plates.  Twelve prints are included in the edition.  The project was completed in January 2013.

Progression Series

The print progression showing the development of “NATS CLINCH!” is shown here in a series of six figures. The top left shows the first layer, red, which was used to capture the billboards as well as National’s fans scattered around the stadium.  This first plate does not look like much though the signs are clearly recognizable.  Subsequent layers in the print work similarly with random marks on the paper but little that is readily recognizable.  The top right print shows the first four layers, the red plus yellow, blue green, and brown. These layers began to fill in some of the features of the ballpark, including the right field foul pole, some walls, and the base paths.  The middle left print shows one additional layer, the infield and outfield grass. The print to its right shows the first ten layers.  Dark green was used for some shadows.  Two shades of blue were used to create the Lite beer sign as well as to include a few Dodger’s fans scattered about the stands.  There was also a dark red plate used for the “Nationals Park” sign. The bottom left print to captures two additional layers, a light grey green and a light yellow which showed some of the stadium superstructure as well as highlight the lights.  With these layers, the image begins to emerge.  The final image in the progression series is a black layer.  The whole picture simply pops out with the addition of this layer.
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Plate 1

Plates 1-4

Plates 1-5

Plates 1-10

Plates 1-12

Plates 1-13