March 7 - Opening Reception - LUMINOUS, Light and Transparency on Paper with Nancy Walter | Greg Brown

Chance Meeting Spurs Creative Friendship

Walter and Brown will have their prints on display at the Civic Center Gallery from March 3 through April 16 in a show titled “LUMINOUS, Light and Transparency on Paper.”

 Opening reception will be from 5:00 to 7:00 PM on Friday, March 7  at the Gallery located at Encinitas City Hall, 505 S. Vulcan Ave., Encinitas, CA 92024.

Two printmakers met last year at an evening event at the Encinitas Library. Nancy Walter overheard Greg Brown talking about CYANOTYPES and asked if he would teach her how to make them. In exchange she offered to teach him how to make MONOTYPES, her specialty. They struck a deal, and an instant friendship was formed. Over several months they taught each other their respective printmaking processes, and found that sharing, co-creating and connecting through printmaking  energized their work.

“Our goals are the same,” says Nancy, “To produce visually striking images that draw the viewer in, using texture, transparency, and light. Although our goals are the same, our methods are quite different.”

MONOTYPES by Nancy Walter comprise half of the show. She has a background in graphic design, illustration, and photography. Creating monotypes requires acrylic printing plates, ink, brayers, brushes, stamps, stencils, and a 1500 lb. etching press. 

It is an exciting, and sometimes frustrating process. Generally the “successful” pieces occur from overlapping several images, working with different layers of color, transparency and texture but the results are hard to predict. It’s an intuitive process in which over-planning can lead to mishaps. With monotype, it’s best to avoid “overthinking” and allow for inner guidance take over.

Greg Brown, whose CYANOTYPES make up the other half of the exhibit, has a background in Architecture, solar energy design and music. Cyanotypes are named for the blue “cyan” images produced by their photosensitive chemicals. Making them requires watercolor paper, a photo emulsion, a dark work space, a variety of objects and transparencies, a large sheet of glass, a sunny day, a large tray of water, a spray nozzle, and a lot of imagination. It is an exciting, yet sometimes capricious process. An experienced printer can get exquisitely detailed photo prints using negative transparencies, but with objects set on the paper, freer compositions, and varying light conditions, there are always surprises. The results can be delicate, floating, mysterious, or other-worldly images, impossible to create in any other medium.

Printmaking partners, Greg and Nancy, have found that their chance connection through the common thread of art making has enriched their lives. It’s a deep experience discovering new artistic territory with another artist. They are grateful to the City of Encinitas Civic Arts Program for providing the opportunity to exhibit their work.

Info:  Please emall Greg Brown at  gr8mackinnon@gmail.com or Nancy Walter at Nancy@nancywalter.com.

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