In Progress - Kierre

I'm working on one of my last drawings for Unrevealed, which will be on view at Luke's Frame Shop from September 3 - 29. This piece consists of the following characters: @, #, ', %, o, ", *, and +.

Kierre, in progress typewriter drawing on Rives BFK

I am having so much fun drawing.  It's funny, if I were trying to make this image with traditional drawing media like graphite or charcoal, I would become so frustrated because it would become too time consuming, because I would pile on the material too quickly.  Typing, in a perhaps counterintuitive way, helps me work faster because it forces me to be more patient, challenging my heavy hand.  Since I have to treat it more preciously, I don't use a ton of time erasing and therefore redoing.

Come celebrate with me during the reception on Saturday, September 12, from 6-8pm.

Typewriter Drawing: Process

I forget that perhaps my process isn't as clear to others at it is to me.  Using my Sears Citation II manual typewriter, I use various symbols on paper repeatedly to create shifts in value and texture. My current series Unrevealed is a collection of such portraits based on photographs where the subject is obscured by light/shadow, perspective/foreshortening, or cropping.

studio view/in progress, Patsy, 2015
image made using: & % " # '

in progress detail, Erica, 2015

I typically pull the pin on the platen out, disengaging the roller so that I don't have to abide by the mechanical shift to the next line.  This way, especially if I'm working towards a rich black, I have more control and can more thoughtfully layer characters on top of one another.

studio view/in progress, Erica, 2015
image made using: o ' # % "

I discovered that # is my favorite symbol for skin since its natural appearance of crosshatching makes for an even balance in shading.  It covers a lot of surface area and is my main character for making pure black.  It resemble a mezzotint, but I can't decide which process of the two is more masochistic. % is a very effective symbol for hair.  The linear quality of the / in the % helps it illustrate the direction of the hair, but the little circles keep it from becoming cartoonish, and lend a softness to it which makes it look more believable.

Patsy, 2015
typewriter drawing on Rives BFK

This collection will be on view at Luke's Frame Shop in Portland, Oregon this Septmber!

In Progress - Patsy

detail, Patsy, 2015, typewriter drawing on Rives BFK

This is a portrait of an incredible woman I've known for several years.  She is beyond sweet, the queen of pet-names, brilliant, kind, and possesses a kind of wisdom I've never encountered before.  Her face is such a wonderful landscape to traverse with my typewriter.  Patsy is part of my series Unrevealed, which will be on view September 3 - 29 at Luke's Frame Shop (2707 SE Belmont, PDX, OR). 

Opening Reception for Unrevealed: Typewriter Drawings By Rachel Mulder

Saturday, September 12, 2015

6-8pm

I can't wait to hang this show--it is such an honor to show these works on paper at my favorite framing biz, Luke's Frame Shop. The opening also coincides with the Belmont Street Fair, so it should be a blast--but if you need a reprieve from the party outside, we'll be there to soothe you with wine and cheese.

Hope to see you there!

In Progress - Thom

I'm experimenting with a new way to deal with the narrow width allotted by my Sears Citation II typewriter. Looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship, or future large-scale drawing nightmare disguised as friendship. Oh, good.

If you're in PDX, please come see the end result and celebrate the new incarnation of Unrevealed, my ongoing series of small-scale typewriter drawings, during the opening reception on Saturday, September 12, from 6-8pm at Luke's Frame Shop.  Can't wait!

Upcoming Exhibition: Unrevealed at Luke's Frame Shop

I'm thrilled to announce that my latest small-scale typewriter drawings will be on view at Luke's Frame Shop, my favorite local frame shop + art gallery from September 3 - September 29, 2015. I was fortunate enough to show the first incarnation of this series in my hometown, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, earlier this summer, and I'm very pleased I have the next twenty days to crank out some new drawings especially for this exhibition. Carpal tunnel, here I come.

Please mark your calendars for Saturday, September 12 and join me from 6-8pm during the opening reception, which delightfully coincides with the Belmont Street Fair. Hope to see you there!

Cyan, 2015
typewritten ink on paper, 8 x 10 1/4 inches
$200

Jamond, 2015
typewritten ink on paper
8 1/4 x 12 inches
$200

Michael, 2015
typewritten ink on paper
8 1/4 x 13 inches
 $200

Michelle, 2015
typewritten ink on paper, 8 x 10 3/8 inches
$200

Self Portrait, 2015
typewritten ink on paper, 7 1/4 x 12 inches
$200

About:

In this series of portraits the subject's identity is obscured either by natural visual distortion or by the purposeful withholding of certain features, a result of my fascination with the way in which facial features can mutate into erratic and confusing landscapes. As my heavy handed drawing techniques in traditional media and linework urge cartoonish renderings, the sense of veracity that comes with portraiture was elusive.

Using my Sears Citation II manual typewriter as a drawing tool and a photograph of the subject as a framework, I challenged my instinct to rely on caricature but also found myself resistant to the ideals of traditional portraiture. Rather than seeking and depicting a blank truth, where facial features and body parts appear as expected, I was compelled to complete an exercise in neglecting the firmly cemented visual images in my head. Navigating through this imagery using this cumbersome yet delicate drawing tool within the delineated contours of the photographs allowed me to scatter my focus, working in one compartment at a time and allowing the images to form like sediment collecting, a slow build of overlapping marks and feeds through the typewriter until each was complete. Focusing solely on the difference in values and angles and not the expectations of visual truth, I was led back to the fundamental task of drawing what’s there.