King Leo's Vision

http://www.shawndemarest.com/images/King_Leo_s_Vision2.jpg

Similar to the way I have found other prints I like, I found the works of Shawn Demarest through Google. Shawn studied many different types of art, including air painting and design. There is not much information about Shawn beside what the short bio provides. However, Shawn's works are quite interesting to look at since the approaches of "view/respond" and "listen/follow" are used. Shawn has a website as well as a blog that displays both oil paintings and prints the have been completed.

Shawn does etchings on copper plates and uses etching, drypoint, aquatint, and open bite in the prints. The prints are all very unusual. Most of them are somewhat abstract in their portrayal of people or animals. The one image that caught my eye is entitled "King Leo's Vision." The print depicts King Leo laying at the bottom of a tree with an angelic woman floating above him holding flowers. The woman looks almost as if she has butterfly wings along with a halo above her head. King Leo looks quite relaxed with a small smile on his face, as if he is pleased with this beautiful woman hovering above him. The tree in the print is large, with buds as if spring is just around the corner.

The print incorporates a great deal of lights and darks. The background is lighter, with the tree being made up of mostly darks, bringing the tree forward from the background. King Leo's robes are intricately decorated, but remain mostly dark. The woman is mostly dressed in white, flowing material. I think Shawn does a great deal with the contrasting in this print. Although the print is somewhat simple, there is a great amount of detail in the tree trunk and the clothing on both King Leo as well as the woman.

Shawn also does not use very distinct lines. The lines that make up the faces and bodies of both King Leo and the woman are almost messy looking, for lack of a better word. The lines are overlapping and criss-crossing in some spots. I believe that the purpose of this use of lines is to make the image seem almost dreamlike in a sense. The clothing and bark of the tree is done in the same manner, but there is a great deal of detail put into both aspects. The tree bark looks realistic in a sense because the bark weaves in and out. The clothing has a great deal of patterns.

I do enjoy this print because although it looks great from farther back, it is definitely not perfect from close up. I feel like this type of print teaches a lesson to print makers that the lines and portrayal in the etching does not have to be perfect. It is okay if lines are a little bit off. The print will hold its own. I also feel that the detail added made the viewer's eye move across the print, from the designs on the clothing to the details in the bark of the tree.