Hurricane Waves

I'm working on a mixed-media project and it needs some hurricane waves.

I have never seen a hurricane with my own eyes, so I used a reference and drew a baseline sketch (on the left). I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the first draft, so I transferred it to an 8 X 10 linoleum block and began carving.

It took 3 or 4 hours over a couple of days and then the carving was done and ready for inking. I had Murder She Wrote on in the background for company; there's nothing quite like an old murder mystery show you've seen a dozen times for accompanying something you need to concentrate on.

Once it was ready for inking, I had to decide; blue or black printing ink? After going back and forth and even considering mixing the two for a midnight color (which I've never done, never heard of, and may not work, but I don't let mere bagatelles like that stop me), I ultimately chose black. I'm glad I did, I really like the way it looks. I made four prints, in case I screwed something up.

Then it was time to paint it. Hurricanes churn up dark waters, so I mixed my acrylic paints - Ultramarine, a dark green color flash paint, black, and white - to create four different shades of green/gray.

I was initially going to glue it to the canvas once finished, but am now considering making an image transfer out of it and gluing that to the canvas instead. Like the skulls a few weeks back, I would print it out on a machine that uses toner, not ink, cover the front with packing tape, and put it - something this size - in a cookie sheet filled with water and submerge it.

After a half hour or so, gently and carefully, I'd use a sponge to remove the paper from the tape, leaving the design permanently on the tape. Once the tape is dry, the stickiness comes back and you can trim it and use it as a sticker.

As the project goes on, I will continue posting. I'm going on a brief trip next week and will be taking the camera bag and sketch bag along; there's something there along the water that I'll need a photo of - or maybe just a sketch.

Why Not: find an image you like in a magazine or book, copy it (with a machine that uses toner!) and trying making an image transfer sticker of it for a notebook cover?