Goin' Mobile - my newest dog woodblock relief print

I really wanted to capture that ecstatic expression on dogs' faces when they are out for a car ride. Our mundane errands are big sight and smell events for our dog friends! I took a ton of photos trying to capture just the right expression with my Otto as my model. I enjoyed carving the pine block grabbing the detail of the expression and the fur.

What's extra special about this print is that it is part of the Baren Forum's exchange. The theme for this exchange was "My Window", so I borrowed a title from Pete Townshend, which, incidentally is the perfect theme song to the expression on Otto's face.

It's open edition, and one of the prints will be archived at the University of Kentucky.

And like all my woodcut prints, it's for sale, HERE.

Next up for me is finishing a portrait of two little girls. Almost done, so stay tuned!
I'm American artist, Robin Zebley. My pet portrait website, including custom woodblock print portraits, is HERE at http://robinzebley.com If you'd like to keep updated, click on "followers" to your right. If you'd like to see my whole blog, just click on the banner at the top of this post. I love dialogue on my art, so please do comment! Robin

Reindeer Woodcut Block Print

Something really fun as an artist is to participate in art exchanges, especially ones you find online! I am participating in a 23 person printmaking exchange so will shortly be receiving 22 other original, handpulled prints related to the theme "the holidays".

Here's what I cut and printed for everyone else! Yes, it's a reindeer, and yes, you know which one he is!! The block is 5 x 5, and I experimented with cutting out the negative space leaving just the reindeer and those fabulous antlers! I mixed up the ink myself and daubed on the world famous nose.

Hope you like it! I do have a few extras so if you'd like to purchase your own, signed by me, just send me an email and I'll let you know how much. (Haven't gotten that far yet!)

Meanwhile, I'm busy working on my 5 pet portrait, it's comign along great, but I always forget how much more time every face adds to a portrait! I'll show you as soon as I am done.

As you hopefully know, I"m Robin ZEbley, the animal artist, specializing in portraits of pets! My site is robinzebley.com...come visit!

Original Handpulled Woodcut Prints - What is it? A brief history.

I get so many questions about what, exactly, is an original print? Where did I get the idea to cut out a piece of wood, roll some ink on it, press some paper to it and create art that has never, ever existed in the world until now?

Here is Albrecht Durer's Rhinoceros, carved in wood in 1515. Although woodcut printing had been present in ancient China and Egypt, Durer(1471 - 1528) is the father of the art of woodcut printing in the west. Although many prints were made from the piece of wood he cut, each one will be slightly different, and touched by human hands, making each and every print a unique, original piece of art. I use oil based paint, and my work so far in printmaking has been in the German tradition...although, of course, not in the same ballpark! Here's a painted self portrait of Durer.

In the East, Japanese artists are best known for their beautiful woodcut prints. The best of these, and the most famous, is Hokusai, who worked in the 1800s. Here is an 1839 self portrait woodcut print of Hokusai.

He's best known for his series of woodcut prints of Mt. Fiji. You can see why. Here's his most famous one. For each color, he had to cut out the wood in the shape of that color. This series was done in the 1820s. Woodcut printmaking since the times of Durer and Hokusai have taken many forms, and many subject matters, some dead serious, some whimiscal, some utilitarian, some political, some simply art to be enjoyed, which is where I come in!

I love the art form, the magic of pulling, by hand, each print off of the block. I'm not totally sure what I'm going to find...each one has a tiny variation. Which makes each one an original, to be signed AS an original. NOT to be confused with photographs of artwork printed out with injet printers. Those are NOT originals but are copies, mischaracterized by some as "prints". They are copies, and someday I'll tell you why I think they hurt hurt emerging artists.

But for now, I hope I helped to give you just a taste of the art form I find so fascinating!

PUPPIES HANDPULLED WOODCUT BLOCK PRINT!

Yesterday, I left you with the paper still pressed, upside down, on the inked woodblock I had cut out. The next and final step, of course, is to gently peel the paper off and turn it rightside up and see the magic! Here's the print! The white is where I cut the wood, the black is where the ink hit the uncut wood.

One more step...what to title it? I'm calling this print "Sleepless in Savannah". My photo reference was provide by the wonderful folks at

the Humane Society Savannah/Chatham, who rescued them. These pups...thought to be pitbull but maybe another kind of bulldog or mix. These girls were dumped outside the Society building and left to fend for themselves...at their age! The gal with her "arm" around her sister was found first, her sister wandered up a few days later.

Now, here's the wonderful news...the gal on the bottom has been adopted and...at least a month ago...the gal on the top, looked like she was about to be! I loved this photo, which I use with the permission of the Savannah Humane Society/Chatham, because I love that arm. See the little toenails I cut out? I also love the different expressions...one drowsy, one alert.

Now for the "background"...I totally made that up. Put them on a fat cushion on a hardwood floor.

Now, I've already gotten some emails from my wonderful readers here, asking if this open edition of woodcut prints will be offered for sale. And yes, I am! If you would like to own one of my signed, numbered prints of "Sleepless in Savannah", please just email me at robinzebleyartist at comcast.net. Replace the "at" with "@", of course. The price for one of these original, handpulled prints is $18, and that includes mailing to you. Each one of these prints...that never existed in the world until now, are 7.5 x 6 inches of printed image, with about an inch all around. Each will be signed and numbered by me.

I'd love to also hear questions and comments! Meanwhile, I'm working on a miniature horse colored pencil piece that I'll be showing you in a day or so! If you haven't stopped by my portrait website to see my samples, stop on by! It's http://robinzebley.com .