WAVES OF GRAIN

Project Goal:

Create a watercolor silk screen print in relation to the theme of "the American Farmer."

Silk Screen Printing:

The technique of creating a picture or pattern by forcing ink or metal on to a surface through a screen of fine material.

Process:

For this piece I started with the simple shapes and colors of our farm ground around our home place. I was particularly interested in the slight color variants and the shapes created with the waterways. I wanted to create something that was representational of our ground, but yet still abstract.

INSPIRATION

My inspiration stems from the shapes and graphic images that I stumbled across that I wanted to simplify an aerial view of Nebraska fields. I was drawn to the simple color scheme with plain shapes and lines.

PROCESS

Attempt 1

For my first attempt using a screen, it wasn't too bad. I played around with all types of watercolor, texture, and explored a variety of layers.

The addition of wet vs. dry was a little challenging with trying to get certain parts to not bleed together, even after waiting for them to be completely dry. The wet media still seemed to reactivate everything below and around it. I ended up not LOVING this color scheme. I feel that the textures were successful and I was very happy with that. I definitely made adjustments moving forward.

Attempt 2

For my second attempt at a screen print, it was a lot more successful in my eyes. I feel like I not only had a better grasp at what I was doing, but I was able to create more of a meaningful piece. However, I did experience some drawbacks. My first challenge was using the watercolor crayons. I LOVE the texture and quality of this media, however it took FOREVER to color in all the areas for this to only come out as one print. I would have loved to replicate this design.

Attempt 3

For this piece I ended up loving the process of just simply using watercolor. I felt more meaning within this piece since it resembles and replicates the land surrounding our home farm. I would like to integrate something more into this project, I am just unsure of what.