Austin-based wood relief printmaker Craig Mindell forwarded a few of his recent prints to the AP/RC. Mindell has often included in his archive one of each color proof and his graphite drawing with which he transfers his composition to individual color blocks. These drawings are retraced for each color block ultimately printed with black, yellow, red, and blue ink. While the drawings sometimes arrive in pieces taped together, they are informative remnants of his creative method.

Mindell’s prints are riddled with vertical and horizontal slashes that cascade light and dark across the print’s surface. The colors jitterbug, changing partners and directions. Yellow, red, and blue trade places, creating blends and challenging our eyes and mind to make an image of the inked record of the artist’s hand removing wood here and there. Familiar subjects–houses on an avenue, local corner stores and cafes, and neighborhood friends–are pierced and splintered by the artist’s mark making; then, reassembled by optically mingled colors.

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Pflugerville Storefronts, 2015; Woodcut; Image: 904×606 mm

Pflugerville Storefronts, 2015; Graphite and tape on paper; Image: 904×606 mm

C’mere Max, 2016; Woodcut; Image: 904×608 mm

C’mere Max, 2016 (third proof); Woodcut; Image: 904×608 mm

C’mere Max, 2016 (fourth proof); Woodcut; Image: 904×608 mm

C’mere Max, 2016 (fifth proof); Woodcut; Image: 904×608 mm