I made my first pair of ear rings and I think that they turn out alright. My mother had some jewelery wire and beads that I think she got form her mother that weren't being used so I thought I would try my hand at it. I had Carla Jimison show me some tips and now I just need more practice.
Rexburg has some pretty cool ghost towns. Nick Bontorno, my brother Paul and I attempted to find the first house at night but were unable to because of tall grass and thick trees. Later on some friends and I tried a more direct route in the day time and found it with ease and realized we were only feet away from the house in the dark. Our friend Allen knew about another old building and ghost town. They were marked with no trespassing signs so we stopped to ask the farmers working near by if it would be okay to visit the home and they agreed.
This Painting was done the semester before my last so pretty much awhile ago but I like it so I thought I would post it. The painting was done in an independent class where I could experiment with modern painting styles and techniques. I think I learned a lot about painting in that class thank to the help of Carla Jimison. I also have about five more of this 3'x4' paintings that I might post in the near future so I hope you enjoy them.
A friend of ours commissioned a painting done by me and the nice thing was I got to paint what ever I wanted. I also knew they would like a seascape with a ship. I couldn't bring myself to put the ship in the painting. So this was there finished painting.
A painting in a day was the idea. I went to the store picked up an 8 x 10 canvas and had a little fun. I am at the moment toying with the idea of doing a painting a day and selling them for a month but haven't committed just yet. So if those of you that frequent my blog think that would be something interesting to see then leave me a comment below.
Heading to California we learned the forecast was going to be rainy so the professors threw the rest of the plans for what we were going to do out the window and just winged it. The first day we got tons of free time which was great. We went all over looking at little shops and print galleries and one of which had some Mucha's. We then got to Crown Point Press and I got a little tour which was the top highlight of the trip for me. I tried to take as much in as I could.
The next highlight for me was to go to all the museums and see the art I have only see in history booka and some I have never seen at all. I think the SFMOMA was where my favorite painting of the trip was Pablo Picasso Scène de rue (Street Scene). For closer look click here 
Another wonderful place I found was the Zen garden at the Japanese Tea Garden it really was a peaceful place to sit and just think.
And the last highlight was the food from breakfast till dinner there was not a shortage of good food to eat like Chinese and Ghirardelli. To top it off I got home on March 14th to a fantastic chicken pot pie made by my great wife.
So I am gearing up for another print exchange with BYU. The picture above is from the last print exchange I participated in with BYU my print being the bottom right uncovered. It was a lot of work but still a lot of fun. For this exchange the edition size will be smaller the last one was 27 and this one is around 18. Another fun part about exchanges is meeting with the other artist.
The ink is specific oil base etching ink. There are a wide range of colors that you can use but some them will react with the copper change it to a dull gray of that color used. 
So that is why you see black prints. Here I am using Vine Black ink.
I apply the ink with a square piece of mat board. Forcing the ink into the etched lines. 
After applying the ink over the entire surface of the copper I being to wipe the surface of the copper leaving ink in the recesses of the etched lines.
To wipe the plate a type cloth called a Tarletan.
After wiping the copper plate almost completely with the Tarletan I finish wiping the plate with the palm of my hand. 
While wiping I try to keep one hand clean by using a glove. That way I won't get ink on my paper. 
For this particular print I had seven plates combined to make one large print
Waiting-
Temptation-
In The Home - 22x30
Redemption-
Connection-
Perception-
Lost Childhood-
Devotion - 22x30
Invitation-
BFA was such a great experience. Thanks to everyone that helped throughout the process. As you can see above these are all my prints for the BFA show. My artist statement read,
Well it is that time of the year and this is the year I am showing in the BFA. For my BFA show I am doing a series of prints that relate though religious symbolism. I will be posting pictures of the show after the opening so if you can't make the opening you will get to see what I have been working on. For those that can make it the opening is this Thursday at 7:00 p.m.
As you all know I bought a Mezzotint Rocker with the prize money I got from the student art show. Well during the Christmas break I made the parts to to this rig which help me rock the the plates faster and a lot more even. As for the plate that it is sitting on that is one I am working on for my BFA show that is coming up soon.
During the Thanksgiving break Nick Bontorno and I set out to take cool night photos of Rexburg and here is some of what we got. Oh and also it was super cool that night.
This was a picture I painted of my Grandmother over the Christmas break. I used an old black and white photo reference to paint the picture. The paint was still wet when I took the picture so there is a lot of shine in the photo.
