Opened in Nashville by brothers Herbert and Charles Hatch in 1879, Hatch Show Print is America’s oldest printing business and is still creating beautiful letterpress posters and handbills usi…

Blog post explaining seven different shading techniques used by pen/ink and pencil artists to create a sense of volume, three-dimensionality and depth. Key things to consider throughout the process of shading are also mentioned. Hatching, cross-hatching,

Description The Steel Gray Pencil Hatching Fabric is part of the Pencil Hatching Basics Fabric Collection printed by Create and Sew. Digitally Printed on 100% cotton. Create and Sew fabric is only available through ineedfabric.com, not sold in stores or anywhere else online. * Proudly Manufactured in Dickson, Tennessee USA! * * Even though we do our best to make certain that the colors in our fabric photographs are accurate, please be aware that your display screen may show small variances in color, shade, or hue. Featuring Create and Sew's Breeze Fabric which is 100% cotton made with only USA Grown Cotton and preshrunk. View more

What are the critical principles underpinning great art? Like all broad generalisations there will always be exceptions, but if I were to reduce all the factors that come together in the most memorable artworks then three principles are essential: projection (to arrest a viewer’s attention and to invite the viewer to look at the featured subject); visual dialogue (to express meaning by comparison of the centre of interest with another pictorial element); and, alluding to subject material outside of the field of view (to conceptually expand the range of projected meanings beyond the featured subject material). In the following discussion I will address each of these principles and explain how Hendrick Goltzius and Giovanni Battista Piranesi have applied them. My choice to use Hendrick Goltzius’ Apostle Simon (shown below) as an example of the first principle—projection—is simple; I love the print. Moreover, I find myself drawn to keep looking at it. For me, the attraction has nothing to do with the physical beauty of the subject as I am sure that there are few viewers who would see Saint Simon as eye candy. I am, nevertheless, attracted by the finely engraved lines rendering the image (see details further below) but this is only a small part of the reason I love the print. The primary attraction lies with Saint Simon’s hands. This is especially true with regard to the saint’s left hand and more specifically with his third finger so emphatically pressing on the ground as if the saint is making a ideological point. This arrangement of the forward projected finger is the element that both arrests my eye and draws me into the image. After this pictorial “introduction” into the image my eye then follows a gently spiralling course. First stop is the saint’s left hand. Next, my eye moves to traverse across the book (bible?) the saint is holding to arrive at his right hand. After pondering the odd way that Saint Simon holds the book—mindful that the saint’s hands is undoubtedly modelled on Goltziius’ own deformed right hand (see drawing in Teylers Museum Haarlem)—my eye is then lead along his right arm to finally “rest” on his face (see diagram of the rhythm below) before making visual forays to examine other pictorial features like the saw of his martyrdom. Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617) Apostle Simon, 1589 From the suite Christ, The Twelve Apostles and St. Paul 15 x 10.3 cm (plate) with margins on fine laid paper with watermark “Crowned Arms” Marvellous lifetime impression of lll (of Vl). From collection R.S. (not at Lugt) Bartsch 53; Hollstein, Hirschmann 44 lll (of VI) Condition: perfect I am selling this print for $560 AUD including postage and handling to anywhere in the world. Please contact me using the email link at the top of the page if you have any queries or click the “Buy Now” button below. This print has been sold (Detail) Apostle Simon, 1589 (Detail) Apostle Simon, 1589 (Detail) Apostle Simon, 1589 Diagram of inward rhythm, Apostle Simon, 1589 Although the middle-finger of Saint Simon’s left hand is the point of introduction into the image, there are other elements in the print contributing to an invitation to look. For example the spine of the open book also draws attention inward as do the converging lines of the saint’s arms. To make the point of this discussion clearer in terms of how the eye is invited to engage with the act of looking and thinking, compare the difference in how the eye is not so welcomed by the arrangement of hands and arms in Golzius’ Apostle Bartholomew. This is true even though there are many other pictorial devices inviting the viewer’s eye to gaze into the print’s pictorial depth, such as the flaying knife of the saint’s martyrdom and the saint’s backward tilt of his head. Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617) Apostle Bartholomew, 1589 From the suite Christ, The Twelve Apostles and St. Paul 14.4 x 10.4 cm (plate) right and left with small margins, cut on the platemark at the top, cut slightly inside the platemark at the bottom, on fine laid paper with watermark “Double Eagle” Marvellous lifetime impression of lll (of Vl) Bartsch 49; Hirschmann 40 lll (of VI) Condition: traces of use, otherwise in good condition I am selling this print for $360 AUD including postage and handling to anywhere in the world. Please contact me using the email link at the top of the page if you have any queries or click the “Buy Now” button below. This print has been sold (Detail) Apostle Bartholomew, 1589 (Detail) Apostle Bartholomew, 1589 Regarding the second principle—visual dialogue—I will return to Goltizius’ Apostle Simon as this print is so cleverly composed and rich in subtle use of visual devices. To begin at a very fundamental level, even the most cursory look at the image will show a connection between the saint and his book. This relationship between the centre-of-interest—the saint’s head—and the book he is examining is a fine example of visual dialogue. On a more reflective examination of the image, however, there is more to this visual dialogue than just the saint reading his book. He is also responding to what he is reading and this is signified by the gesture of the middle-finger of his left hand. This hand gesture that I proposed earlier as Saint Simon making an “ideological point” (i.e. a body-language gesture of clear emphatic certainty) does more than depict Saint Simon fully engaged in his reading. This gesture is the punctum point (discussed in an earlier post focused on Dujardin and Dietricy) of the whole image. In short, this single finger is the pivotal feature in the composition that shows the intensity of the saint’s reading of the book. Even more subtle than the triangulation between the saint’s head, book and finger is the visual dialogue between the saint’s central lock of hair and the tuff or grass in the centre foreground (see diagram below). To my eyes, this visual connection created by the similarity of form between the hair and grass is important to the expression of a decisive moment in the saint’s reading. From my viewpoint, I see the link as establishing a line of separation between the related dual gestures of the saint’s hands. Diagram of visual dialogue, Apostle Simon, 1589 For the final principle—alluding to a subject outside of the field of view— Piranesi’s etching, The Tomb of the Plautii near Ponte Lucano (shown below) is an excellent example. Here the shadow cast by an unseen structure lying beyond what can be viewed in the image creates a theatrical dimension of an unknown presence. This shadow not only hints at the form of the structure casting it but the shadow’s shape—especially the “extension” of the shadow’s shape into the cloud pattern—creates a window-like effect by framing the far distance. This principle is a very useful device for giving an artwork pictorial breadth). To illustrate what the print would be like without the shadow, compare the original etching with a view of the same tomb without a shadow (see the digitally manipulated image below). Beyond the use of shadows, another way to connote subject material beyond what is visible is the simple device of cropping the portrayed subject at the framing edge of the artwork. Again, Piranesi’s print is a good example of this approach as the portrayed tomb is not a panoramic view where the whole building can be seen but is cropped by the left and top edges of the format. This cropping ensures that a viewer understands that the image is only a section of a much broader view and this projects the notion and feeling of breadth. Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720–78) Tomb of the Plautii near Ponte Lucano, 1761 From the Vedute di Roma [Views of Rome] series Etching, 46.6 x 63.2 cm Hind 83 IV (of IV) with the number 801 at upper right; Focillon 783; Wilton-Ely 216. Cartouche with the Italian inscription “Veduta degl’ avanzi del sepolcro della famiglia Plauzia sulla via Tiburtina vicino al ponte Lugano due miglia lontano da Tivoli”. With fecit note “Cavalier Piranesi F. (ecit)” Condition: excellent impression on wove paper without watermark, with margin around the platemark, minimal traces of use, browned and foxed with the blind stamp of the Calcografia di Roma I am selling this print for $960 AUD including postage and handling to anywhere in the world. Please contact me using the email link at the top of the page if you have any queries or click the “Buy Now” button below. Altered image of Tomb of the Plautii near Ponte Lucano, 1761

What are some the advantages of the dotted lozenge style of rendering? Detail of Hendrik Goltzius’ Vulcanus (1592), showing the dotted lozenge style of rendering tone There are many drawing styles with long historical pedigrees of use (e.g. the return and hook strokes discussed in the earlier post, Passion in a Line), but one style that has virtually disappeared from use is the dotted lozenge (shown in the detail above). This distinctive style for rendering the effects of light and shade on a subject involves the artist in initially laying down a matrix of cross-hatched strokes (i.e. a set of parallel lines overlaid by another set of parallel lines aligned at an angle to the lines underneath as shown in the diagram below) and then inserting a dot in the centre of the diamond-shapes (lozenges) created in the cross-hatched matrix (see further below). The following discussion traces the evolution of this style and proposes some of the advantages for its use in the hope that the style may be revived with fresh applications for digital illustration. Cross-hatched style of rendering Dotted lozenge style of rendering The artist credited with the development of this rendering style is Hendrik Goltzius (1558–1617). Like all styles, it didn't simply appear one day. Instead, it evolved from the rendering practices of other artists and the Goltzius morphed them into the dotted lozenge manner of shading. For instance, Albrecht Durer (1471–1528) developed the line and dot technique for rending the transition from dark tones to light involving a set of parallel lines to represent shadows that taper off into dots aligned to the end of each line to represent the transition to light (see diagram below with detail of Durer’s famous engraving, Adam and Eve). (left) Durer's line and dot style of rendering (right) Detail of Durer’s Adam and Eve, 1504 Uploaded by ClarkArtInstitute on Nov 11, 2010 Even Durer’s style had it predecessors with engravers like the Master of the Playing Cards (active c.1425–50) who used parallel lines of varying length to represent tonal changes (see detail below of Saint Sebastian by the Master of the Playing Cards). left) Master of the Playing Cards’ parallel lines of varying length style of rendering (right) Detail of Master of the Playing Cards’ Saint Sebastian, c. 1425–50 Regarding the use of dots without any line work to render a tonal transition, Giulio Campagnola (c.1482–after1515) is credited with being the inventor of the “dotted manner” (i.e. stippling as shown below in the diagram and detail from Campagnola’s Venus Reclining in a Landscape) but the use of dots extends back earlier into the fifteenth century with the punched dots in metal-cut prints and far earlier to the first cave paintings. (left) Campagnola’s dotted manner (stippling) of rendering (right) Detail of Campagnola’s Venus Reclining in a Landscape, c.1508–09 The cross-hatching style had its own evolution as well. This style made its first appearance in the prints of Master ES (active c. 1450–67) (see diagram and detail below from The Visitation by Master ES). Here the type of cross-hatching features sets of straight aligned strokes that are multi-layered when dark tones are required and thinned in their layering for the light tones. (left) Master ES’ cross-hatching style (right) Detail of Master ES’ The Visitation, c.1450 This style of cross-hatching then evolved with Martin Schongauer (c.1448–1491) whose prints were the first to feature curved lines lightly delineating the contours of the subject in the cross-hatched strokes (see diagram and detail below of Schongauer’s Christ as the Man of Sorrows between The Virgin Mary and St John). (left) Schongauer’s curved cross-hatching style (right) Detail of Schongauer’s Christ as the Man of Sorrows between The Virgin Mary and St John, c.1471–73 Even the attributes of the lines used in shading had evolved by the time of Goltizius allowing him to build upon Schongauer’s curved cross-hatching. At the time of Master ES and Master of the Playing Cards, for example, the lines employed were the same thickness along the shaft of the strokes reflecting the type of burin used to engrave the lines. With the invention of the échoppe (i.e. an etching needle with a oval-sectioned end) by Jacques Callot (c.1592–1635) the mechanical regularity of the early engravers’ lines used for shading gave way to etched lines of varying thickness that could be manipulated to swell when depicting dark areas of an image and become thin when depicting lit areas (see diagram and detail below of Callot’s The Nobleman with Fur coat). (left) Callot’s swelling style of line (right) Detail of Callot’s The Nobleman with Fur coat, 1624 Subtleties, such as Callot’s phrased swelling of line and Schongauer’s curved cross-hatching, became an important variable in Goltzius’ application of the dotted lozenge style. For instance, in Goltzius’ engraving, Marcurius (shown below), his phrasing and curving of the strokes articulate the surface contours of Mercury’s belly while Campagnola’s "dotted manner" renders the final stage of the tonal transition into light with a gentle merging of the inscribed marks with the white of the paper. Hendrik GOLTZIUS (1558–1617) Marcurius [Mercury], 1592 After Polidoro da Caravaggio (c.1500–1536) From the series: Eight Deities Engraving on laid paper Lettered above “MARCURIUS”; in lower left “Polidorus” and at right “HG. Sculp. 8” 35.9 x 21.7 cm (plate) 45 x 30.8 cm (sheet) Strauss 296; Hirschmannn 303; Hollstein 303.ll; New Hollstein 322 (Hendrick Goltzius); Bartsch lll.77.254 Condition: Very strong impression (most likely a lifetime impression) with wide margins. The sheet is supported on thin Gyokuryu paper because of tears on the edges of the sheet (well away from the image). There are handling marks, damp stains towards the top of the sheet but otherwise the print is in good condition. I am selling this print for $380 AUD including postage and handling to anywhere in the world. This is a large print and will be shipped in a tube. Please contact me using the email link at the top of the page if you are interested or click the Buy it Now button below. This print has been sold Detail of Goltzius’ Marcurius Detail of Goltzius’ Marcurius The flexibility of the dotted lozenge for showing the extremes of tone from the darkest shadows to brilliant light and its flexibility to express vitality by virtue of the swelling lines made the style popular with artists. This was especially true around the time of Goltzius as by 1585 there was strong interest in the expressive potential of theatrical exaggeration typifying the period style of Mannerism. For the Mannerists, such as Bartholomeus (Bartholomaeus) Spranger (1546–1611), whose paintings Goltzius translated into prints, the plasticity of modelling that the swelling line provided and the precision that the placement of the dots permitted lead to a new phrase in the art lexicon for describing the ultimate form of vitality: Sprangerism—a term exemplified by displays of voluminous muscles, contortion of the subject and bravura in laying closely aligned marks to render form. Beyond providing the artists with a very adaptable style, there is another interesting outcome that has important ramifications when using the dotted lozenge: the placement of dots into the matrix of cross-hatching helps to prevent the formation of moiré patterns. These patterns arise when two sets of parallel lines are overlaid but they are most noticeable when the parallel lines in each set are spaced close together and the sets of lines are overlaid at very slight angle to each other. Uploaded by the by ElicaTeam For instance, in Goltzius’ Vulcanus, compare the cross-hatched background beside Vulcan’s left leg (shown below) where no dot features in the matrix of lines with the dotted lozenge treatment of his leg (shown further below). From my observation, the background where there are no dots has moiré patterns, whereas Vulcan’s leg has no, or few, apparent patterns. Arguably, what is happening to the optical illusion is that the dot in the cross-hatched matrix disrupts the patterns from forming. But there is also an alternative explanation that has little to do with the dots causing interference: moiré patterns are minimised when the angle between the sets of parallel lines is close to either 45 or 90 degrees. Hendrik GOLTZIUS (1558–1617) Vulcanus [Vulcan/Hephaistos], 1592 After Polidoro da Caravaggio (c.1500–1536) From the series: Eight Deities Engraving on laid paper Lettered above "VULCANUS". In lower left corner "Polidorus Inue" and at right "HGoltzius. Sculp.". Numbered in lower right corner "4". 35.6 x 21.7 cm (plate) 45.3 x 31 cm (sheet) Strauss 292; Hirschmannn 299; Hollstein 299.ll; New Hollstein 318 (Hendrick Goltzius); Bartsch lll.77.252 Condition: Very strong impression (most likely a lifetime impression) with wide margins. The sheet is supported on thin Gyokuryu paper because of tears on the edges of the sheet (well away from the image). There are handling marks, damp stains towards the top of the sheet but otherwise the print is in good condition. I am selling this print for $380 AUD including postage and handling to anywhere in the world. This is a large print and will be shipped in a tube. Please contact me using the email link at the top of the page if you are interested or click the Buy Now button below. This print has been sold Detail of Goltzius’ Vulcanus showing moiré patterns in the cross-hatched background There are many reasons for the abandonment of this versatile style towards the end of the nineteenth century: fresh ways of making images arose; the process of cross-hatching following by dotting is technically demanding and time consuming; and, the outcome can appear mechanical with resonance of a past era in printmaking. Like a lot of traditional styles, however, there will come a time for their revival when the time is “right.” A few decades ago the time was certainly not right but with the fresh ways of creating images now that the digital age has arrived, this may be the moment to reinvent the dotted lozenge. In the digital experiments below, I have used some of the default filters in Photoshop to add new dimensions to the dotted lozenge in the hope that they may suggest ways to breathe life into this virtually forgotten style. The first pair of images explores the idea of reshaping the matrix of marks into a bas-relief. The second pair of images demonstrates the effectiveness of blur and lens flare filters to create tonal gradations that would not have been possible for the early printmakers. The final set of images explores alternative ways to change the dotted lozenge from negative (white) lines to positive (black) lines—a simple flick of a tool. Dotted lozenge as bas-relief Dotted lozenge with blur (upper image) and lens flare (lower image) Dotted lozenge with transition from negative (white) lines to positive (black) lines

Do you find it hard to draw hands accurately? Illustrator August Lamm has a simple 12-step plan that will give expert results every time – and can be applied to any subject

First featured here, Seattle based artist Olivia Knapp creates cross-hatched pen and ink drawings influenced by old European woodblock engravings. Specifically, Knapp pulls her inspiration from 16th through 18th century blocks, which were in all genres including religion, art, history, science and medicine. She borrows ideas from medical illustrations for her current exhibit at Hellion Gallery in Portland, "Prehensility". The title refers to the quality of an appendage adapted for grasping, for example, as a monkey's tail has adapted to grasping to a branch. The show is an extension of Knapp's previous works in both style and theme, where she explores a relationship between psychology and biology in the context of one's environment.