Bride of Stan

Wednesday, August 06, 2008, 1:32 PM


Our newest project is an intaglio print from the mind of Travis Louie entitled "Bride of Stan." This framed portrait was completed in conjunction with the fine folks at Hi-Fructose Magazine. They debuted it at Comi-Con last week and it is now available for purchase exclusively through their online store.

Here's a rundown of the various processes that went into the creation of this jewel of a print.

First: intaglio printing. After dialing in the values and tones with a few rounds of test plates we pulled 71 prints.



Each print was then trimmed and individually hand-stained with ink and gouache.


Meanwhile, the frames were progressing apace. Using the same process pioneered in our recent collaboration with Mark Mothersbaugh, each frame was hand-cast in resin.



Then things got pretty dusty. We made a complete mess sanding all of the backs flat. We hoped that the resulting 1/4" layer of resin dust on our back porch might helpfully double as a kind of weed-killer, but it seems to have only made them even stronger.

Once the backs were flat and the mess cleaned up, each frame was meticulously cleaned and then even more meticulously re-dusted to an antique-finish perfection.


The prints & certificates of authenticity were sent to Travis for signing and numbering. We've seen some nice John Hancocks in our day but I have to say, Travis' stands alone.



The final pieces of the puzzle were the custom-designed and laser-cut backing plates (which allow for either hanging on a wall or propping up on a flat surface) and the curved glass, which really takes the whole project to another level... Once everything was in hand it was time to assemble an edition of finished products.



Some parting statistics:
  • Frame Size: 9" x 6 7/8"
  • Print Size: 3 3/8" x 4 3/4"
  • Edition: 50,+ 10 Artist Proofs, 10 Printer's Proofs, and 1 Bon รก tirer
  • Intaglio printed on Rives Heavyweight printmaking paper
  • Hand-stained in ink and gouache.
  • Signed and numbered by the artist.
  • Framed in a cast-resin, hand-antiqued frame with custom laser cut steel backing plate
  • Mounted under curved glass
  • Comes with a custom-designed, perforated, signed and numbered Certificate of Authenticity.
And remember, this project is available for purchase only through our friends (and yours!) at Hi-Fructose Magzine.

7 comments:

Jason Freeny said...

absolutely beautiful! Worth every penny imho.

Bill Robinson said...

Wow, I am incredibly impressed by the level of craftsmanship that goes into your work. I want one. Bad.

As an artist I'd also love to work with your company some day!

Koldo Barroso said...

What your doing is breathtaking. I've discovered your work from Travis. I've worked with different kinds of crafmanship before and I have to say that your work is just top noch!

I wish I can work with you sometime in the future for some of my artwork, it would be a dream to me.

Rima Staines said...

Hello, and wow, what an amazing workshop of wonderful things you have here.
I too would love to one day work with you... I think for me your prints and framing would add that professional perfect edge where I myself, if I were to print and frame my work would do it in a much more ramshackle way. It's a great service and craft that you offer...
(Thanks to Koldo for pointing me here:)
Best wishes
Rima

Curious Art said...

It is heartwarming to see such high standards of hand craftsmanship still alive & producing such gorgeous results.

Francis Vallejo said...

you guys do beautiful work!!1

Anonymous said...

thanks for showing the process..its always good to see all the work that goes into making these art objects.