About “No Parking”

 

The Inspiration

In July 2009, Janet and I went on a family reunion in Pittsburgh. While there, we along with Phil and Judy took a side trip to Fredericktown, PA where Janet and Judy first lived and grew up until they left for college at the University of Pittsburgh. For old times sake, we took photographs of the old house as well as the town. One of those photographs was the basis for the “No Parking” screenprint.

Comments about “No Parking”

“‘No Parking’ exemplifies no less than a Zen master’s discipline in precisely navigating forty-one layers of color that elevate an everyday scene to the sublime.” --- Kelly O’Brien, Juror, 2012 Pyramid Atlantic’s Members Exhibition ================ “[You] can ‘read’ between the lines (or the signs) to know that all that surrounds the seemingly well-maintained curb on parking is a world that is decaying and abandoned. The “cleaner’s” shop looks empty. There are no cars in front, so traffic does not look to be the problem, but rather the lack of parkers. The details are intriguing: the leaning telephone pole, the intriguing cardboard sign behind...[The sign] centered...in the middle of the empty road. What irony. ================ “[The print] is an incredible , meticulous image. I love how you have taken the ordinary --- a parking sign, no less, and helped the viewer see it in a new way. Normally, when looking at such a sign, we are reading it with some apprehension, wondering if we can possibly park near the sign, what our chances might be of receiving a ticket, exactly where the white lines fall, etc. This time, we are left to admire the image alone, without being burdened with extraneous thoughts. It is a terrific piece of artwork.” =============== “[The print] captures the feel of a small American town with big town rules.”

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The Print

The Progression Series

I used Photoshop CS4 to create color separations which were the basis for the screenprint. This was accomplished by analzying the photograph and selecting colors. The analysis and definition of color plates began with the background, first the sky and then the trees. In the final production, 41 colors were printed. All the prints were made on Arches 88 paper. The images are 10½” x 14” on 15” x 22½” sheets. The edition is 15. The project was completed in April 2011. Picture below shows the color test strips.
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The progression series is comprised of six prints. The first in the series shows the first four plates, various shades of blue capturing the sky and background shadows of the trees. The second print shows the first nine plates --- five different shades of green for the trees in the background as well as the sky. The third progression print (1-16) adds the cleaner’s and detail on the right hand side of the print, 16 layers. The fourth print in the series (1-23) captures some of the detail on the left hand side of the print. The fifth print in the progression series (1-32) completes the detail in the background. The sixth and final print in the progression series adds the “No Parking” signs, the telephone pole details, the utility lines in the background, and the foreground gas station paving. This image includes all 41 layers, essentially the final print.

Plates 1-4

Plates 1-9

Plates 1-16

Plates 1-23

Plates 1-32

Plates 1-41

News about “No Parking”

“No Parking” was selected as one of 35 prints out of 200 entries exhibited at the 2012 Pyramid Atlantic’s Members Exhibition, April 9-26, 2012. The print was awarded 2nd Place - Best of Show. ”No Parking” was selected as one of 50 original artist-pulled prints out of 548 entries exhibited at the Washington Printmakers Gallery’s National Small Works Exhibition which ran from August 3-28, 2011. The National Small Works Exhibition is an annual juried exhibition hosted by the Washington Printmakers Gallery since 1997.