Blog

From the earliest age, I was interested in portraying the world visually. Writing assignments in grammar school were always elaborately illustrated. As a young college student, I applied for a semester abroad program in France so that I could visit the Louvre. I vividly remember the exhilaration of experiencing so many paintings in the original that I had only seen as book or poster reproductions until then.

La Jolla Tide Pools, oil pastel by Julianne Ricksecker
La Jolla Tide Pools, oil pastel by Julianne Ricksecker

Although my early inspiration to be an artist was mostly from oil paintings, I have never really enjoyed painting in oil!  At least not oil on canvas!

My favorite subject matter is realistic landscape in a variety of media.  Some pieces are worked in direct methods, such as watercolor or pastel, but my original prints are indirect, created first on plates, which are then inked and transferred to paper on an etching press. My creative process involves experiencing a place, hiking and taking photographs and making sketches. Then I return to the studio to create the final work.

Rag wiping an intaglio plate for printing
Rag wiping an intaglio plate for printing

 

 

When etching plates are inked and wiped, it is a messy business!  The tacky oil-based ink gets all over my gloved hands and then ends up all over the back of the printmaking plate.  After the etching is printed and the plate is lifted from the press bed, sometimes there is ink left on the surface of the bed.  This accidental transfer of ink sometimes suggests an image, in the same way that you might see images in clouds.

Rodney, Monotype by Julianne Ricksecker
Rodney, Monotype by Julianne Ricksecker

The image can be manipulated with rags and brushes, even additions of more ink, and then printed onto paper, creating a one-of-a-kind print known as a monotype.

After playing with this accidental residue of ink to create spontaneous monotypes a few times, I began to explore the possibilities of monotype for it’s own sake, using a blank plexiglass plate and a planned approach.  Initially I used oil paint to create these images, but found the transparent colors I desired required too much oil and thinner to be viable for printing on paper.  About this time, oil paint appeared in art stores in a water-soluble form. The paper is normally damp when passing through etching press, so the new oils seemed like a perfect solution for monotype.

With a little experimentation, I found this new paint to be a very satisfying and versatile medium for my landscape work.

St Mary River, Monotype by Julianne Ricksecker
St Mary River, Monotype by Julianne Ricksecker

 

Because the ink is water soluble, it can be thinned with water for very transparent washes. This seemed ideally matched to my fascination with imagery of water and waterfalls.

There are many ways that artists approach monotype printmaking, sometimes called “painterly printmakng”. Think about Degas’ ballerinas (monotype, sometimes with the addition of pastel) or Henri Matisse’s white lines on a rich black field, or Georges Rouault’s loose, fluid brushwork as in “Clown with Monkey”.

Cascade Falls, Tetons, Monotype by Julianne Ricksecker

My approach is to use a full palette to develop a realistic landscape. Through the use of additive mediums, I can emphasize the brush stoke or minimize it to create soft passages of color.  I may use rollers to apply a solid field of color, or rubber tipped sticks or very fine brushes to remove color.  I may also press paper towels or bits of lace into the paint to remove color in a textured patterns.

The resulting images truly live up to the name “painterly print”.

My original prints and paintings have been exhibited in Regional, National and International competitions. I was awarded the 2nd Place Award for my miniature prints in the 8th Biennial International Mini-Print competition at the Center for Contemporary Printmaking in Connecticut in 2011. My work is regularly on exhibit in the greater San Diego area.

I have been invited to present my work in a solo exhibition in Phoenix, Arizona fromSeptember 7 to November 11, 2012 at the University Club of Phoenix.  If you are in the area, I hope you can join me!

Moose Falls, Monotype by Julianne Ricksecker
Moose Falls, Monotype by Julianne Ricksecker

 

Artist Reception
September 7 from 5:30 – 7:30.
Hors D’oeuvres – No Host-Bar
Please RSVP to uclubphx@qwestoffice.com
(602) 254-5408

University Club of Phoenix

I am often asked why I choose a particular medium when creating new work.  It’s an interesting question for an artist who works in many media instead of specializing in only one.  There are actually a number of answers to the question, often influenced by what exhibitions I am getting ready for.

One answer is: I may need work in specific media for an upcoming exhibition.  Another answer is, the image has been in my mind a while and a way to treat it in a certain medium suggests itself.  Or, I may find myself longing to work in a certain medium just because I haven’t used it in a while.

After the Rain, Oil Pastel by Julianne Ricksecker
After the Rain, Oil Pastel by Julianne Ricksecker

Sometimes, I know immediately when I see something inspiring which medium I prefer for the image. “After the Rain” is an example – I knew as soon as I saw this rain-drenched rose  that I wanted to paint it in oil pastel. I wanted to work through the challenge of painting the water droplets on the petals and the stems.

I usually have a number of images that I am mulling over, knowing I want to portray a certain scene or a particular flower but not knowing which technique I want to use.  It may come to me, while thinking about what imagery to create for an all-print exhibition, that a specific image will lend itself nicely to treatment in etching.  During this process I may consider another image and decide on a different medium for that composition – and postpone that work for a while.

In this way, I often have several images in mind, including possible technical treatments, while I am working on another piece. Some pieces stay in this mulling mode for months or even years before they are finally realized.

Timelines, etching by Julianne Ricksecker

Monotype presents itself as an attractive option when I am preparing for an exhibition of original print techniques and I am running short on time to come up with the requisite number of new pieces. Under the deadline pressure, I may cast around in my group of potential images for one or several that would work well in monotype. Monotype is also the medium that demands the most spontaneity, so it becomes an appealing option after completion of several etchings with long, meticulous plate development processes, such as “Timelines” (above) which took three and a half months to complete.

Illilouette Falls, Monotype
Illilouette Falls, Monotype by Julianne Ricksecker

Monotypes are one-of-a-kind prints. I use water-soluble oil-based paint on a blank sheet of plexiglass.  Once I begin to paint, I need to print within 4 – 6 hours.  This forces me into a totally different working mindset from any other medium that I use. There is always the possibility that the days’ work will be lost – not every monotype is successful on first attempt. Some go on to become mixed media work, by enhancing the print with pastel, color pencil or watercolor.  For others, I repeat the experiment until the monotype idea is fully realized.

Some of the joy of creating in different media is that they handle differently, and I feel like I am always learning.  Working in one medium, I feel inspired with an idea of how to use a different medium in a new way.

 

Cactus skeleton sketch
Sketch from hike in Anza Borrego

For many years, I had a sketchbook with me all of the time. If I had a moment, I was sketching. Taking visual notes of anything and everything. Laundry baskets. Children sleeping on the floor at a folk festival. People in a meeting. House plants. People in restaurants. The puppy. The dog. The dog and the kids. The tree in the back yard. The mailbox across the street from the flute teacher’s house. Animals in the zoo.

 

 

Coyote Canyon, etching, black and white proof
Coyote Canyon, etching, black and white proof
Coyote Canyon, etching by Julianne Ricksecker
Coyote Canyon, etching by Julianne Rickseck

 

Many of these sketches have found their way into pieces of art over the years, either as the whole subject, or as a snippet incorporated into a larger image.

 

thistle sketch with notes
thistle sketch with notes

Sketchbooks also serve as a place to make verbal notes – thoughts on my first view of Grand Canyon. Notes about colors or atmospheric impression of a place. Ideas for new work or a new way to use techniques.  These notes are relatively few as this book is not intended to be a written journal, but they sometimes capture something about the inspiration for a new piece.

When I went to work full-time in alternate career, I stopped carrying a sketchbook everywhere with me – it wasn’t appropriate.  While I continued to make art on the weekends, gradually, I found I only carried a sketchbook on vacations, or on special occasions, like on a hike in the mountains.  I still referred back to old sketchbooks regularly when working in the studio, but it was no longer a daily habit to carry it around, open it up, and draw.  Whereas I used to fill up several sketchbooks a year, I was now carrying the same book for years on end.

Thistle, etching by Julianne Ricksecker
Thistle, etching by Julianne Ricksecker

Last summer, during a trip to the East Coast, I remember using my sketchbook on the plane and tucking it into the seat pocket. After returning home, a few weeks went by before I looked for it and I could not find it anywhere. I have never lost a sketchbook before! I did an exhaustive search over a two-week period without success. I could not remember seeing it after that plane ride.  I felt like I had lost a friend. I finally reported it lost to the airline, but by this time, I didn’t have much hope. I resigned myself to the loss and put my contact information in the front of a brand new sketchbook.

Imagine my joy when it turned up unexpectedly last week! It was here all along, inside a re-usable shopping bag in the garage.  Welcome back.

Cuyamaca Sycamore, Watercolor
Cuyamaca Sycamore, Watercolor, © 2012 by Julianne Ricksecker (in private collection)

It has taken me a long time to decide that blogging is something I should be doing as an artist!   Now that the page is built on my website, and I am looking at the blank page, my feelings are a little like they were, years ago, when construction was complete on my studio and I sat in the new room for the first time with no more excuses for not beginning new work.

Lots of questions go through my mind: will I have enough interesting things to say that people will want to read my blog?  Will anything I have to say matter to anyone but me?  Will my inspiration desert me after a day, a week, a month?

In those days, I had some experience with showing and selling art, so there was at least some historical evidence to support the idea that I deserved this wonderful new work space, and that I could sustain production of art to justify the expense.  I have no such historical evidence with creating blog posts!

Since that time, I have produced hundreds of pieces of art, many of them winning prizes in local, regional and even international art competition. I suspect the “blank page” syndrome that is still occasionally difficult to overcome in the creation of new art may be similar in the creation of new blogs.  Perhaps I will overcome it in much the same way:

Go in to the studio (or WordPress) and play today.  No one has to see what I am doing unless I decide to let them.  Learn from each attempt, even if I don’t end up with a piece worth signing and showing to the world. One day, I will feel more confident that what I have to say about my art and other topics will interest a few people. Until then, I can play with words and see where it leads!