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.