‘Joanne’ painting 35×21 inches on tinted paper
Today I completed this (little bit scary) portrait of my Mom (Joanne) painting in white and black Golden Liquid Acrylics over paper tinted blue-gray using dilute sumi and prussian blue applied to the paper by wiping with a sponge. [singlepic id=402 w=588] This and the previous painting of 'Lee' completed a few days ago are experiments in the sort of light and dark over mid-value drawings which were popular in Europe 400 years ago. I've selected two examples from the Goldman Collection of Italian drawings. I was lucky to see the exhibition of this wonderful collection at the Chicago Art Institute last ...
‘Lee’ painting 35 x 21 inches
This was a 'quickie' test of painting on paper using a Paasche Flow Pencil and Golden liquid acrylic paints. I first toned the paper using dilute sumi and a bit of prussian blue pigment, applying it quickly with a sponge until the paper seemed about mid-value. Then I applied white paint over the paper, then black paint and... VOILA! Seems to have worked pretty well during this small test... About 14 hours of actual painting plus several days of preparation to figure out all the gazillion lines! OH! And this is an image of my Father! httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWWuUOdYOZ0 [nggallery id=24]
Jessica Paper Doll
Late last year, the Beach Museum of Art commissioned me to produce an edition of 30 prints in connection with the exhibition of my work there (which opened April 14, 2009). The prints were to be no larger than 10x15 inches and 'suitable for family viewing.' Bill North and I had some interesting discussions about 'what is a print' in connection with this edition. Initially I'd intended to print each sheet in colors, then draw on top in register. In the end, I chose to draw in red, blue, and black inks to produce what is to my ...
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 httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27jBIlBDtfg from the Beach Museum of Art web site: Figuring it Out: Prints and Drawings by Mike Lyon April 14, 2009 - July 18, 2009 Donna Lindsey Vanier Gallery Kansas City-based artist Mike Lyon is the 2009 Friends of the Beach Museum of Art gift print artist. This exhibition features a selection of the artist's recent prints and drawings, as well as examples from his extensive collection of Japanese ...
SGC Panel: Printmaking with Extreme Technology
Erik Brunvand invited me to join him, Steve Hoskins, and Ed Bateman on a panel during Southern Graphics Council's Chicago convention called Printmaking with Extreme Technology. Each of us spoke for approximately 15 minutes. Printmaking with Extreme Technology (Erik Brunvand, Chair with Edward Bateman, Stephen Hoskins, and Mike Lyon) 10-11:30am Friday, March 27 at Columbia College, Hokin Lecture Hall, 623 S. Wabash Ave, room 109 Printmaking is an art form that celebrates and embraces new technology in a way that other media do not. This panel gathers an international group of artists that are using extreme technology to make works that can ...
“Linda” 77×46 inch pen and ink drawing in spiral
Today, after 11 days non-stop drawing, I completed a large pen and ink drawing of Linda which sorta ‘marries’ my long interest in tiles and spirals with the squiggly cross-hatched drawings of recent years. I think it’s pretty successful and depicts my angelic wife (who doesn’t much mind my long hours in studio) with a vast halo – inspired mostly by Claude Mellan’s 1649 ‘Sudarium’ engraving (thanks to Jerry Vegder for showing it to me), to Ken Knowlton whose ca 1966 line-printed nude blew me away in the computer lab at the U of PA when I first saw it ...
“Annette” 70 x 45 inch watercolor with pen and ink drawing
I don't know that I so much completed this drawing today as simply called it 'done'. Either way, I'm moving on! "Annette" is my mother-in-law and she does NOT appreciate this portrait at all -- she thinks it makes her look too old and wrinkly (she's only eighty-one years old, after all) and just hates it! But _I_ love this image of her even though I had trouble with the drawing from beginning to end! I composed the image during two and a half weeks in December and began actually drawing and painting it January 2, 2008. I stopped work ...
Crosby pen and ink drawing with watercolor 90 x 45 inches
When my "Sarah" drawing was first exhibited at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, the founder's wife appreciated it and invited me to create a similar life-size portrait of her husband, Crosby, a giant of a man and huge patron of the arts. They loved this portrait and it was later purchased by the museum for their permanent collection. [singlepic id=559 w=588] Here's a 'revisit' to an approach I was very interested in a decade or more ago -- black line over color -- inspired by Hiroshige and other ukiyo-e artists (and the comic books I loved during my childhood)... [singlepic id=564 ...
“Jim” Collaboration with Lawrence Lithography Workshop
"Jim", 2008, 43.25 x 30 inches, lithograph from seven plates on BFK Tan paper is available for $1,800 from Lawrence Lithography Workshop edition of 26 (or place your ON-LINE ORDER HERE). Collections: Springfield Museum of Art, Beach Museum of Art, The Collectors Fund [singlepic id=448 w=588] [singlepic id=425 w=588] [singlepic id=533 w=588] At the opening of the Kemper Museum "Backstage Pass" show last month, master printer Mike Sims of Lawrence Lithography Workshop invited me to design some images for him to publish. I made half a dozen designs for him and he selected "Jim", a litho using six plates, three of various transparency ...
Drawing
‘Joanne’ painting 35×21 inches on tinted paper
Today I completed this (little bit scary) portrait of my Mom (Joanne) painting in...
‘Lee’ painting 35 x 21 inches
This was a ‘quickie’ test of painting on paper using a Paasche Flow Pencil...
Jessica Paper Doll
Late last year, the Beach Museum of Art commissioned me to produce an edition of...
“Linda” 77×46 inch pen and ink drawing in spiral
Today, after 11 days non-stop drawing, I completed a large pen and ink drawing of...
“Annette” 70 x 45 inch watercolor with pen and ink drawing
I don’t know that I so much completed this drawing today as simply called it...
Woodblock
“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,...
Leaves — Pulling the final impression of first 77×42 inch woodcut
This morning I pulled the final impressions of my first 77x42 inch woodblock print...
Computer Carving Machine operational!
The Large Press installation is almost done now! This week I’m cutting the...
Exhibitions
Artist’s works inspired by Japanese prints, mechanics
K-State Collegian Published: Wednesday, July 1, 2009 Artist’s works inspired by Japanese prints, mechanics 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...
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 Lindsey...
SGC Panel: Printmaking with Extreme Technology
Erik Brunvand invited me to join him, Steve Hoskins, and Ed Bateman on a panel during Southern Graphics Council’s Chicago convention called Printmaking with Extreme Technology. Each of us spoke for approximately 15 minutes. Printmaking with Extreme Technology (Erik Brunvand, Chair with Edward Bateman, Stephen Hoskins, and Mike Lyon) 10-11:30am...
Backstage Pass opened at Kemper Museum
Last night, Linda and I had a ball at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art here in Kansas City. It was the opening of their new show, Backstage Pass: Collecting Art in Kansas City which runs September 7–November 4, 2007. panorama of Backstage Pass at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City “Sarah”...