Stream

Stream - Digital Art, 2023

Stream - Digital Art, Version 2, 2023

Stream - Digital Art, Version 3, 2023

Stream - Digital Art, Additional Color Versions, 2023

Illustrator Artboards for the different pieces and versions of Stream, 2023

Stream - Digital Art in Process, 2023

To digitize Stream, I started out with the Pen tool in Illustrator, drawing the streams of color and then the objects. Next, I "cut" into the solid color block by applying the Pathfinder "minus front" tool. The above shows the cut stamp moved apart from the background so you can see how moving the stamp will change the color background. I can change either the color of the stamp or the colors of the background without one affecting the other. This is the magic of working with digital "layers."

Stream - Digital Art Created with Illustrator "Image Trace Tool", 2023

After I completed the digital versions I created with the Illustrator Pen and other vector drawing tools (top), I was dissatisfied that it didn't really look like the original linoleum print (below). I tried out Illustrator's "Image Trace" tool instead to get the image above. It is more true to one of the original prints, but also kept the problems that occurred when I used nonabsorbent paper and too much water in the ink for the print. At some point perhaps I'll revisit this by converting the above to a JPG file and then using the clone brush or other tools in PhotoShop to refine it.

Stream, Linoleum Cut Printed on Watercolor on Paper, 1978

The color is a little more vivid and the lines sharper on this scan of the original than it is in the copy created with Illustrator's "Image Trace" tool. But as you can see, the "Image Trace" is pretty close and was a lot less work.

Stream - Linoleum Cut, Version 2, 1978

Stream - Linoleum Cut, Version 3, 1978

Stream, Linoleum Cut Printed on Watercolor on Paper, Additional Versions, 1978