Glacier study 3

Chinese ink and carving on wood
20x25cm / 8x10"
2024
 
So…this challenge is really one woodcut painting per day. On Day 18, I embarked on this monochromatic journey. It reminded me of an experiment that I never pursued thoroughly from months ago. 
 
From 7am to 3pm, I ended up making FOUR woodcut paintings instead of one…
 
I feel bad for my assistant who has four more works to deal with out of the blue…
 
Each one employs different materials and techniques and gives different sheen, texture and carving experience. Most importantly, they have different artistic or historical references and connotations and therefore create different meanings.
 
For example, study 5 is done completely with traditional woodcut print technique with hot wax iron and a brayer, short of making a printed impression on paper. 
 
Study 4, made with Chinese ink on rice paper, of course refers to Chinese ink painting, my main medium about a decade ago. 
 
The amazing thing about art is that there’s no right or wrong.
 
The problem with art is that there’s no right or wrong. 
 
It’s all a matter of choice that creates different meanings. 
 
I plan to make a body of monochromatic woodcut paintings for next year’s solo exhibition. Thank God for this 21 Day Challenge that pushed me to finish this monochromatic experiment. I’ll have to sleep on which one(s) to pursue. 
 
To make the comparisons more direct, I decided to use the same image reference from my 2022 arctic artist residency. I love how the composition becomes bolder and increasingly more geometric.
 
 
✵✶✺
 
This woodcut painting is carved and then coloured with the highest quality artist pigments. Archival professional-quality paint is meant to last over 100 years. I spray the artwork with three extra layers of UV protection.
 
The work is framed in a beautiful ornate super sturdy solid pine wooden frame. You have a choice of black or white frames. 
 
This piece is part of my “21 Day Challenge” project. During 1-21 November 2024, I created one small woodcut drawing per day. Each features an animal character inhabitant from my imaginary arctic country “Northlandia.”