Hello Friends,
I will be participating in the annual Long Beach Open Studio Tour this coming Saturday and Sunday, October 11th and 12th, from 1:00 to 5:00. This is such a fun event. Artists always enjoy meeting the public, and you can drop in on artists all over the downtown neighborhood. The tour continues in other neighborhoods the remaining weekends in October.
This self-guided tour is free! Access the interactive map HERE,
I hope to see you this weekend!
I was going to call this new print, “Summer, Dammit!” but I chickened out.
Jacques and I love to entertain, and we had lots of ideas for backyard parties this summer, but life sometimes gets in the way: Jacques had emergency heart surgery in June.
His recovery went well and by the beginning of August, he agreed to let me host a small dinner with a few close friends. It was probably a bit too soon, but I was feeling a little defiant. Jacques couldn’t help me physically with the party, but he was in a fine mood, taking photos of the preparations, including shots of our cluttered kitchen island with vases of sunflowers. One of them led to this screen print.
Summer! 2025. Original screen print, 20” x 15”, (image size 15” x 11”), on gray Rives BFK paper. Editon of 16, $500.
I hope this piece captures the color and excitement of the peak summer season, the joy of bouncing back, and also, possibly, a hint of defiance.
People who follow me know that I am passionate about the LA River, which flows through my neighborhood. Some are puzzled that I would spend so much time painting what is basically a concrete drainage system, when there are so many naturally beautiful rivers in the world. Once, when I posted an LA River piece on Facebook, a friend offered to send me his photos of European rivers to paint. I guess he assumed I’ve stuck with the LA River because I didn’t know better. My answer was that the LA River needs me.
However, I couldn’t resist painting what I consider to be the most beautiful river I’ve seen, the Dordogne River in southwestern France, (from my own European vacation photos).
Dordogne River, oil on linen, 54” x 36”, 2025. $7,000
The Dordogne is 300 miles of pure rural beauty. It flows through the Perigord region, known for its earthy wines, fine walnuts, rich foie gras and elusive black truffles. Humans have lived here since the earliest times, with several prehistoric cave sites nearby. Medieval castles, once occupied by Richard the Lionheart, top every hill—some converted to charming resort towns and others still in ruins. Today, recreational kayaks travel the waters that in previous centuries were vital for transporting goods from the center of France to Bordeaux.
I feel a sense of awe at the timelessness of the Dordogne every time I visit. I hope this piece captures some of that.
There is something quite intimate about observing a loved one who is unaware of being seen. This silkscreen portrait of my husband Jacques is a return of sorts to my series of window images painted years ago, but in a much lighter key, and including the figure for the first time.
French Window, 2024. Original silkscreen print, 22” x 25.5”, on Rives BRK tan paper. Edition of 8, $800.
The tan paper creates a neutral base for both the pale opaque layers and the darker transparent ones. I deliberately tried to leave a great deal of the paper showing, to see if I could describe the sunlit scene as simply as possible
Sometimes, you don’t know what you are missing until you experience it.
A few years ago, during the pandemic, I had cataract surgery, which not only cleared my vision but corrected a lifetime of nearsightedness. I had no idea how bright and detailed the world around me was. I hadn’t seen so well since I got my first pair of glasses at 7 years old.
And the colors! Red, in particular. For the first few weeks I found it difficult to drive because the vivid red of cars and taillights distorted my depth perception.
Up until then, I had been struggling with my painting. I didn’t realize yet that my vision was compromised, and I had several unfinished oil paintings that were hopelessly drab. I gave it up for a while, and my garage studio became a storage area, with boxes and crates blocking my easel.
It took a few years, but I finally cleared out my painting studio and it seems fitting that the first painting I’ve finished since before the shutdown, painted right over one of those sad hopeless paintings, is a celebration of light, and of the color red.
Red Amaryllis, oil on linen, 36” x 18”, 2024. $3,800.
My friend Giovanny, a model who poses for me often, was going through a rough time last year. We all have those periods in our lives, and I was sympathetic. One day in spring, he showed up looking different, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He was rounding the corner. This portrait is a multi-media print made from sketches and photos I took that day. I believe it captures a moment of pure joy.
Giovanny en Paraiso, original silkscreen and intaglio print, 2023. 22” x 15” (image size 16” x 11”) on rice paper laminated to Rives de Linge paper. Edition of 16, paper variable. $800.
Giovanny decribed it more eloquently on social media: “Little did I know that the colors of my life would be represented in such a way that it would illuminate this new path…a path filled with possibilities and true freedom … My face gleaming with hope, my hands gently embracing life.” I’m flattered.
AND NOW, FOR PRINTMAKING GEEKS ONLY:
I love printmaking! This piece is a combination of silksreen and intaglio techniques. Christian Ward, professor at LBCC, helped me figure out the approach:
First, after working out the composition, I made an etching plate. I wanted to emphasize the details of the face and hands, and the delicacy of line etching was perfect for that element.
Next, I prepared six different Duralar films with ink and brush, one for each color of the silkscreen element, each to be exposed onto a screen coated with photosensitive emulsion, creating a stencil. The colors were printed in succession on various shades of rice paper.
For each print, the center of the etching plate was inked À la poupée in two colors, (dark red and dark green) and then covered with a split-font top roll in translucent shades.
Finally, the printed rice paper, dampened, was laid onto the plate and sprinkled with adhesive. Heavy printing paper, also dampened, was laid over all, and package was run through the etching press, printing the image in the center and laminating the papers together, in a process called Chine collé.
Whew! It took months, but I think each element contributes to the whole in its own way.
Silkscreen is such a versatile medium! With this piece, I wanted to have the spontaneous feel of a watercolor, though there is nothing spontaneous about the process. Each of six colors was prepared on its own screen and printed in succession. Transparent inks allowed for the colors blending as they overlap. Using different shades of paper lends some variety to the edition.
Birds in Flight, 2023. Original silkscreen print, 24” x 22”, (image size 16” x 16”), on Rives BFK cream paper. Edition of 14 (paper variable.) $600
Rives BFK grey paper, Rives BFK white paper.
One of the beauties of the art of etching is that once a plate is made, there are infinite possibilities to explore in the printing process.
Bird of Paradise, 2023. Etching, 15” x 12” (image size 10” x 8”). Printed on rose rice paper laminated on white Rives BFK paper. Edition of 8, edition variable. $400.
Bird of Paradise is a line etching I completed last year, based on the unique shapes of our ubiquitous Los Angeles flower. It is printed on various colors of transparent rice paper that are laminated to heavier printing paper in the Chine collé process. Using both white and grey printing paper offers more possible combinations. The result is a subtle variation of texture and color in each impression.
I could say the uneven, painterly quality of the blended background was intentional, but I’ll just say I’m glad it kind of works.
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From Mulholland Drive II, 1997
Oil on canvas, 41 x 54
Available* |
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| L.A. River XIX: Clearing Storm, 2016 Oil on linen, 36" x 60" Available* If you find yourself in Calabasas City Center, this painting and my previous piece will be hanging in the lobby of City Hall through October. |
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| Paintings being hung at Calabasas City Hall.
*For price or other information about pieces marked Available, please contact me:
JosephCorsoArt@gmail.com
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