Thanks. I'm pretty serious about stuff in a not-so-serious sort of way. Mostly I just love that feeling when your hands hurt so much you're afraid you won't be able to twist the door-knob to get in your place at night after a long day's work.

Actually, they're not that original. Check out francis Bacon's work and then take a look at some Joel Peter Witkins.

I start with a flat red, stab the whole image area with a balled-up rag until it's pretty thin and then do the basic figure really quick. I do this on dry paper. I don't clean off my slab or roller, but I add a little bit of black to the ink and roll up the slab again. I then stab the whole rectangle area of the image with a balled up rag (some solvent will help the ink come off. I just get the rag a little moist like windexing a table) and remove a little bit less of the image. I sometimes use some q-tips for the smaller areas. I then add a little bit more black . . .

I do that until the slab is quite dark, maybe 45 - 100 runs depending on my source of energy. Coffee works great. It sounds like a lot of work, but it is quicker than you think, None of these took longer than a day (it is a lot of work, but, you know, art stuff should be).

I started out doing really cartoony, three-color process images. Just sketching off the tv and trying to get as many colors with yellow, red and blue as I could (the greens are hard). For some of the medium tones I'd lay a piece of newsprint over the area and rub it lightly with my hand to remove most of the ink in a separate run. I did that for a couple weeks then figured-out the above method while laying in bed. You'll get ideas, you'll know the right ones when they come. Follow them.

Other than that, don't fight the process. Let it do what it wants. You're just it's pawn.

-ST