Figure 1: Artist Jim Reed outputs each layer separately to Dura-Lar, a clear, lightweight polyester film that combines the properties of both acetate and Mylar.

Once upon a time there were no computers. Haven’t we have become so darn dependant on these little boxes it’s hard to imagine what the world would be like without them? But at one time, not too long ago—at least in my memory—the world was “EA” —entirely analog. Sign painters painted signs and billboards with pigment and brushes, most prints were made with printing presses, photographs were always printed in a darkroom and special effects were achieved optically with giant process cameras. And although some of these older technologies may appear “quaint” to us today, they are the foundation the modern digital workflow.

Leave it to the fine artists to maintain an enduring relationship with the past. They continue to produce images with traditional media, like drawing, painting, print-making and sculpture. There are many artists however—especially those adventurous ones who like to experiment—who find that incorporating computer technology such as scanners, digital cameras, software and printers into their creative process extends their capabilities and endows their work with even greater possibilities. Two such artists, Jim Reed and Karl Addison, have developed methodologies that combine traditional techniques with digital technology in unique and interesting ways that help them realize their artistic visions.

Figure 2: The first layer is laminated to a piece of canvas that is attached to a plywood board whose rigidity enables additional lamination and sanding. Figure 3: Additional layers are carefully registered and laminated. Figure 4: A special curing process produces numerous hairline cracks as if the image was painted hundreds of years ago.

THE SUBLIME SURREAL

Tucson, Ariz.-based artist Jim Reed has invented a unique process for combining digitally printed images. He starts by separately lighting and photographing the various elements of his image. His subjects may include a beautiful model, a costume, a manikin, a background or any other elements that the image requires. He composites these images to layers in Photoshop where he then edits and transforms them so that the components fit together and are visually harmonious.  He adjusts color, tone and composition within the Photoshop workspace too. Rather than printing the fully composited image, he prints each layer separately using a six-color Epson 4000 onto Dura-Lar, a clear, lightweight polyester film that features properties of both acetate and Mylar (see Figure 1). At this stage the Dura-Lar layers are relatively fragile and can be easily smeared or scratched so he seals them by spraying several light coats of a clear acrylic gloss medium. 

Once each of the protected component elements are readied on separate pieces of Dura-Lar, he laminates the first layer to a piece of canvas that is attached to a plywood board whose rigidity is essential to the processes that follow (see Figure 2). Several coats of acrylic gloss medium are then applied and the film is evened out with a special squeegee.  Reed says that this part of the process can be very tricky to remove trapped air, avoid dust and to assure perfect and complete adhesion. 

After curing and baking for a specific amount of time, he applies additional carefully registered layers of the film, allowing each layer time to bake and cure (see Figure 3). During each lamination cycle he modifies regions of the image by sanding to remove unwanted elements, and this is where a lot of the magic and creativity start to emerge in the image. Superimposed elements display a surface depth and character that can’t be achieved on a single flat opaque substrate.

SILKY SMOOTH OR DISTRESSED

After the final layer has been laminated, baked, cured, sanded and finished the resulting surface can appear silky smooth, as if glazed with numerous layers of oil paint, linseed oil and Damar varnish—a technique employed by the old masters like Rembrandt or Vermeer. Or, using a special curing process, the finished piece can have a distressed look, as if the image was painted hundreds of years ago and has developed a network of hairline cracks (see Figure 4). 

Sometimes Reed will create multiple versions of an image with mixing components so that each image is entirely unique. The synthesis of the sublime surrealism of his photographic images and the simulated techniques of the old masters combined with the distinctive use of lamination create a compelling visual symphony of color, texture, form and content. His art is contemporary, yet also retains elements of the classical. 

Jim Reed is represented by Etherton Gallery in Tucson. 

You can view more of his work at www.ethertongallery.com/html/archive/gallery/notesfromtheinterior/reed.htm

Figure 5: Karl Addison's apparel company, Partybots features his artwork on clothing and apparel.

APPAREL AND STREET ART

Karl Addison is an extremely prolific Seattle based artist who has been drawing ever since he can remember. He studied at Scottsdale Community College in Arizona and the Art Institute, California and while he was still a student he was employed as regional marketing field team leader for the graphics department of Whole Foods Market. He served more or less in the capacity of art director, supervising twenty-five graphic designers who produced artwork for five new markets. During this time he cut his production teeth on filling the graphic needs for this company, producing publications, signage, packaging, branding and point of purchase displays.

Figure 6: The original ink drawings are vectorized using Adobe Illustrator’s Live Trace command.

In 2003 Addison founded a company called Partybots Eco-Apparel & Art and started printing his artwork onto clothing and apparel (see Figure 5). He credits his company’s success to the fact that Adobe had finally developed a reliable raster-to-vector engine that it released with Adobe Illustrator CS2 as the Live Trace command. Previously Live Trace was a separate program called Adobe Streamline and it was much more cumbersome to use. With this version he could easily scan his ink drawings and convert them to vector objects that could be easily trapped and registered and would maintain their crisp edges when enlarged and output to film positives. The vectorized film positive images could then be transferred to screens and screen printed onto fabric. 

The process of vectorization has influenced the way he renders his images. He draws primarily with pen and ink on Borden & Reilly paper, a hard-surfaced substrate designed specifically to accept India ink with a minimum of bleeding. His originals are relatively small, usually rendered on 9" x 12" standard sheet. The vectorization process and trapping concerns have dictated that he exaggerate his line widths and crosshatching.

Figure 7: The figures have a special presence when displayed as street art in the center of Seattle.

Addison’s fabric designs soon inspired him to enlarge his images to create larger public versions of his art. To do this he starts by scanning a black and white ink drawing at 300 pixels per inch at 100 percent. He then vectorizes the image using Adobe Illustrator’s Live Trace command (see Figure 6). In the Live Trace dialog box he can specify the line and detail tolerances that produce smooth crisp curves and harmonious shapes. Once the image is vectorized he can enlarge the paths with no loss of detail or pixelization as would occur when enlarging raster image.  

The enlarged image is then output using a large-format printer on a standard matte substrate and then laminated to a piece of recycled marine plywood using Utrech Acrylic Gloss Medium. When the medium is dry, he cuts out the profile of the image with a band saw and then saturates the surface and the edges with more medium. The results are standing figures that have a special presence when displayed in one of several galleries or as street art in the urban centers of Seattle (see Figure 7). 

To learn more about Karl Addison and to see his drawings, visit www.idrawalot.com and to see his apparel work, visit www.partybots.org.

COMPUTER AS CREATIVE TOOL

The computer is no longer the exclusive realm of the commercial art/printing world. It has made its way into the fine arts as a creative tool and has germinated new aesthetics and methodologies that many contemporary artists are now using to express their artistic visions. I expect that we will see a lot more work like this in the near future that combines the artistic techniques of the past with new digital methods as image technology evolves and inspires a new generation of artists to think outside the box.