Grass 2.2 large woodblock print
I ran a second edition of four sheets from the sixteen blocks used in Grass 2. I was curious to see the effect of transitioning from pale greens into blues into blacks (rather than the simple blues into blacks of the first edition). Also, I'd run into registration problems which affected five of the eight sheets I printed in the first edition -- I thought I understood how that had occurred and wanted a test to be certain. The solution worked very well and was quite simple -- use a baren to lightly fix each sheet to the block prior ...
Grass-2 large woodblock print 22.5 x 72 inches from 16 blocks
My lawn seems a near-perfect subject for drawings and woodblock prints. Grass-1 was a drawing (not yet completed). Grass-2 is a woodblock print -- sixteen blocks cut two blocks to a sheet of 4x8 foot quarter-inch cherry plywood. Grass-3 is another drawing under construction at the moment. This format allows me to ink and print a block all from one side of my 5 x 10 foot stationary bed pinch-roller press. Images like this one lend themselves very well to my pr0cess. The staccato rhythm of the many transitions from lightest to darkest works so nicely (so long as registration ...
Chandler – 84 x 45 inches pen and ink drawing
Chandler is an old high school friend of my children. Last year I ran into Chandler and was struck by his great head and asked if he'd model for a portrait. He agreed and I phoned and emailed him more than once or twice in an effort to schedule him into my studio. He never replied and I eventually sorta gave up. I saw him again at our son Andy's wedding and, with a couple of martini's under my belt, gave him a pretty hard time about never having replied. So a few days later he called and we set ...
Rousseau – 75 x 45 inch pen and ink drawing
Our good friends Ed and DJ were having dinner with us at a nice Westport restaurant and Rousseau served us (she later recalled that we were a 'good' table). She was so pleasant and with such a mobile expression and well defined features and that wonderful tuxedo-esqu blouse... I wanted to use her for a portrait right away... DJ asked me if there was something wrong -- she said I kept staring at our waitress -- and honestly, I couldn't tear my eyes away. I introduced myself and asked if she'd model for me. She was flattered, said yes right ...
Daum Museum – Virtual Media: Computer-aided Art from the Collection
Daum exhibit shows the computer's versatile role in modern art June 23, 2010 5:19 PM John Hansen The Sedalia Democrat An artist using a computer to create art is nothing new, yet they are always using it to push boundaries. At the Daum Museum’s “Virtual Media: Computer-aided Art from the Collection,” visitors can marvel at pieces that were obviously made digitally and others that seem traditional if you don’t know the story behind it. [nggallery id=156] “One of the things that makes this show interesting is some pieces you look at it and say, ‘That must’ve ...
Michael – 74 x 44 inches large pen and ink drawing
Octoer, 2009, Michael Rees was one of 15 artists invited to Kansas City by the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art for their 15th Anniversary Celebration. Michael is a great guy, established artist, extroverted, outspoken, and a bit larger than life. We'd made a date for him to visit my studio and shoot sources for a portrait while he was here, and I thoroughly enjoyed him! After the shoot I went to a huge breakfast with Michael, his wife Mary Ann Strandell, and Chris Brown (another guest artist in town for the event) at YJ's, the cozy cafe next door to Birdies ...
16 Views of Peregrine Bunny 128 inch pen and ink drawing
An unusual edition of three original pen and ink drawings plus two proofs -- drawing began in late April and finished up in late May. Can drawings be prints? These are not at all printerly, but there ARE three identical (in the sense of an edition of prints) original drawings, each one measuring 18 x 128 inches of very fine black ink pen drawn on heavy hot-press watercolor paper. They were completed around May 20, 2010. Also two proofs with some variations which were accordion folded in anticipation of making them into books. One of those is being ...
An Upholstered Bench with Eccentric Turned Legs
This month I built a bench for our living room. It's 18 inches high, 55 inches long, 19 inches deep and is the only upholstered furniture I've designed. Linda and I picked out the fabric in advance and I intended my six legs to reflect the ovals design of the fabric. The six eccentric turnings which are the legs were VERY fun to carve! I used a ridiculously sharp one inch skew chisel to accomplish the turnings -- what a satisfying activity! Because I repeatedly switched the centers of each workpiece, the knife was only in contact with the wood through ...
Peregrine 90 x 38.5 inch painting in acrylic and sumi on gilded paper
Today I completed a LOOOOONG project -- the painting of fellow artist Peregrine Honig in black and white acrylics over sumi-painted and gilded paper. It's somewhat larger than life. I first painted the paper black with sumi ink. Then I gilded the clothing area in silver leaf. My plan was to paint black on the silver leaf in order to define her clothing and to build white acrylic in layers to define her skin. After completing my plan, I dug back into the darker areas of her skin with black acrylic and then repainted with the white. It improved! Now I'm very ...
Drawing
Chandler – 84 x 45 inches pen and ink drawing
Chandler is an old high school friend of my children. Last year I ran into Chandler...
Rousseau – 75 x 45 inch pen and ink drawing
Our good friends Ed and DJ were having dinner with us at a nice Westport restaurant...
Michael – 74 x 44 inches large pen and ink drawing
Octoer, 2009, Michael Rees was one of 15 artists invited to Kansas City by the...
Jennifer – large pen and ink drawing 85 x 43 inches
'Jennifer', June 13, 2010, 85 x 43 inches, pen and ink...
16 Views of Peregrine Bunny 128 inch pen and ink drawing
An unusual edition of three original pen and ink drawings plus two proofs —...
Woodblock
Grass 2.2 large woodblock print
I ran a second edition of four sheets from the sixteen blocks used in Grass 2. ...
Grass-2 large woodblock print 22.5 x 72 inches from 16 blocks
My lawn seems a near-perfect subject for drawings and woodblock prints. Grass-1...
“Sara” 42×77 inch woodcut from 17 blocks
The large (42 x 77 inch) prints of “Sara” reclining on her messy bed...
Framed prints and drawings arrived today…
What a wonderful surprise when John O’Brien called from Dolphin Gallery to...
Aspen Grove 77×42 inch woodcut plus pigment application video
You asked about how I mix and apply pigment… When printing very pale colors,...
Exhibitions
Daum Museum – Virtual Media: Computer-aided Art from the Collection
Daum exhibit shows the computer’s versatile role in modern art June 23, 2010 5:19 PM John Hansen The Sedalia Democrat An artist using a computer to create art is nothing new, yet they are always using it to push boundaries. At the Daum Museum’s “Virtual Media: Computer-aided Art from the Collection,” visitors can marvel at pieces that...
Drury University: Pool Art Center Gallery Exhibit
Rebecca Miller (director of the Pool Art Center Gallery) and I first met about twenty years ago while she was a student at the Kansas City Art Institute. I was teaching karate twice a week there and she was one of my better students. During the several years she practiced with me, we became good friends and have remained in occasional touch,...
Artist’s works inspired by Japanese prints, mechanics
K-State Collegian Published: Wednesday, July 1, 2009 By Hannah Blick The emotion in Mike Lyon’s artwork is inspired by old Japanese prints. The shapes are determined by the contours of the faces of his closest friends, friendly strangers, and the outcome hinges on the mechanics of his latest digital tools. “Figuring it out: Prints and drawings by...
Road Trip to Beach Museum and Cafe Beautiful
Sandy and Christine Kemper of The Collectors Fund organized a select group to make a road trip to see my exhibition at the Beach Museum in Manhattan, Kansas and then dine together at Cafe Beautiful in Lawrence. We gathered at 1pm at the Collectors Fund offices in Kansas City, boarded our van, and started out on what turned out to be a VERY short two-hour...
Figuring it Out at the Beach Musuem of Art
Figuring it Out: Mike Lyon Drawings and Prints at the Beach Museum of Art, Manhattan, Kansas opened April 14 and runs through July 19, 2009. Exhibition CATALOG PDF download also see the Beach Museum’s web site blurb from the Beach Museum of Art web site: Figuring it Out: Prints and Drawings by Mike Lyon April 14, 2009 -- July 18, 2009 Donna...