Boats #5: vibration. Boats #6: stillness.

Just printed two new Boats xylographies.

Boats #5

The problem in Boats #5 was how to make the water vibrate. I used dense hatching to keep the surface in motion, then long, wavering lines in the reflections to slow that movement. The composition is built through sharp decisions between black and white, line and mass, light and shadow. It is daylight, and everything is active.

Boats #5, woodcut (xylography), 9.5 × 14.5 in., limited edition of 10.

Boats #6

Boats #6 begins from the opposite condition: still water. Horizontal lines hold the surface quiet, while hatching shapes the reflections and creates a moment of rest. Here the light is morning light. The composition depends on stillness, with only small shifts of line and rhythm moving through it.

Boats #6, woodcut (xylography), 7.5 × 9.5 in., limited edition of 10.