Asian Pear - Polymer photogravure print - Edition 2021

    The still life has long been a favorite genre for me, my heroes Irving Penn and Edward Weston filled me with a style of simple sets and directional light. This unusual pear came to me by way of my dear friend Susan, she had grown it in her garden and she handed it over with the idea that I would eat it. I kept it in the studio for a few days looking it over fearing that the single leaf would fall off, at last, I brought out the 8x10 camera and made a couple of negatives.  My best still life subjects come into my studio this way and I love them all, it is what works best for me.      Susan and I learned photogravure printmaking together, we helped each other over a few years through all the fits and starts of this beautiful and finicky process, it felt good today to make this print of her little pear in photogravure.    This hand-pulled polymer photogravure print is made with Gamblin sepia and stiff Portland black inks, with a dash of Charbonnel Geranium Red ink on Hahnemühle copper