Yo

from the Christmas Past series: 2003 Photoshop illustration based on 1993 linoprint.

2003. Looking through some older holiday artworks that fall in search of inspiration for a holiday card that year, I rediscovered a linoprint made from a linoleum block that I had cut and printed cards from a decade before. After scanning the image, I manipulated it extensively in Photoshop, which was great fun, as well as affording an opportunity to hone my Photoshop skills.

Painting with pixels is almost like air brushing, but without the physical fuss of using the real article; plus providing freedom from the various drawbacks that haunt airbrushing, like running out of ink in the middle of a grand pass, or an even worse nightmare, ink which accumulates on the tip of the brush, then suddenly splatters a big blob of ink all over that nice smooth gradation of color that you’ve spent the last half hour painting. ARRGH! Anyway, it was a gratifying experience transforming a 6″ x 8″ piece originally printed in white monochrome on colored stock, into a multi-colored artwork sparkling with vibrant color. The other significant change was altering the “Behold” of the original to “Yo” in the revised version. Have I been living in Philadelphia too long, or what?