The Continuing Saga of the Epson Stylus 2200

For the last 3 or 4 years, I have been producing my own high quality reproductions of my original work using an Epson Stylus 2200 printer. It produces good, sharp images, and the media and ink cartridges are reasonably priced. It has been fun to create prints as they are needed, and over time I have learned which images are most likely to sell, and which ones are more likely to stick around for a while.
Last September, one particular print came out of the machine showing some unusual marks, sort of like a faint bar code, showing each of the 7 colors, at random places within the print area, but not the result of ink on the rollers, and not responding to repeated print head cleanings.
The repair center that had replaced the print head in the past wasn't familiar with the problem, but didn't encourage repairing the machine again, since it's now obsolete. I checked out the newer models, but none seemed to have the familiar, simpler features I'd grown accustomed to.
So, I took my printing business to Blueraven Creative, and was very satisfied with the results of the work. However, I still missed producing my own prints, and the flexibility of creating prints whenever I wanted, as few or as many as I wanted.
I contacted the repair center again, and the technician suggested it may be a software issue. I uninstalled the program, and eliminated all traces of the printer from the registry. Then I downloaded the driver from the Epson website onto another computer first, and ran a test sheet. It came out clean, without the strange line pattern. Encouraged, I downloaded the software on my computer, and the test sheet again came out clean. I ran 2 prints successfully, and on the third try, the lines reappeared. This was frustrating, to say the least.
Though the machine is long out of warranty, I felt that I had nothing to lose to contact Epson support online. I described the problem, and their solution was to try realigning the print head, something I hadn't thought of. It took some time, paper, and a magnifying glass, but the realignment happened, and I ran several prints successfully. No strange lines.
This takes us to the present day. I hope this saga does not continue. . .

Serendipity

I've just attended the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association conference, as a vendor. The conference took place over 4 days, though I was able to sell for only one of the days. It was an unexpected find. The attendees were appreciative of my work in watercolor, as well as my portraits. I spent a lot of time discussing my bird knowledge, and I appreciate the dedication the rehabilitators have to their work. It turned out to be a productive day! I'd like to participate next year, but that will take place in Seattle - I may not be ready for that transportation adventure. We'll see.
Meanwhile, I'm giving serious thought to some springtime bird and botanical paintings.

Light and Shadow

One of the most difficult, yet essential, aspects of painting any subject is to create a contrast between light and dark. I have always struggled with achieving this effect, especially when painting birds or botanicals. Sometimes the light source isn't very distinct and I have to invent one, or I am too cautious with the dark areas, and don't want the painting to look overworked or muddy.

Now, I think I've made some progress in this area, with my latest watercolor, Kestrel. The light is cast strongly from the right side, defining the form. Another notable thing about this painting is that the bird is looking straight at us, creating more shadow away from the light. Here it is:

I no longer like metal.

Frames, that is. For years, I framed all originals and prints in aluminum frames. The idea was that the thin metal frames were secondary to the detail of the paintings and would not detract from the subjects. Okay, they were really cheap. Now, after listening to advice from other artists and having access to quality wood frames through my workplace, I have gradually reframed almost all of my art in attractive wood. What a difference! If you come to one of my shows you'll see what I mean.

The Making of a Portrait

Most of my portraits begin as a snapshot, supplied by the customer. In this case, she felt this photo best demonstrated the pet's personality. It's unusual to include inanimate objects in a portrait, especially vibrant blue purses, but it's crucial in this case. We didn't want to show all of the other extraneous items, though, and I eliminated them from the completed portrait. I offered to draw the portrait in graphite instead of colored pencil, but she felt that the bright colors enhanced the cat's mischievous personality. Here are before and after pictures:



















My goal was to keep the visual clutter to a minimum while still preserving the essence of the picture - a moment in time when the cat was in the bag.

Staying Productive

I've just finished another painting, actually a combination of painting and drawing. I'm still working on creative ways to blend watercolor and graphite. This latest work does that, I hope. Over the years I've done many goldfinches and coneflowers, in many combinations, and this is a new variation on that theme. I wanted to depict the coneflower in different phases of growth, typical of botanical art, but I admit that painting the seedheads gets a little too picky for me. So, by adding graphite instead of paint in that area, I can still be accurate without getting bogged down in the details. Here it is:

Goldfinch and Purple Coneflower by Anne Gilna

Portraits, too.

Until now, this blog has been concerned with my watercolor bird and botanical art, but now I'd like to show an example of my work in portraits. I have just finished this colored pencil drawing of a wheaten terrier (called "Reilly", by the way). I worked from the customer's photos, which is the usual situation. She e-mailed me four images, and told me which was her favorite. Since that particular image was somewhat out of focus, the other images helped to fill in the blanks, so to speak. Using a combination of the images provided, I was able to create a completed portrait of Reilly showing him looking his best. The customer was delighted, I might add.