Stephen MacFarlane About
I am a printmaker and primarily a monotype artist. Combining my love for the figure with a passion for drawing and color, I find printmaking to be a perfect form of expression. Making monotype prints provides the best combination of the gestural aspects of drawing and the emotional presence of color and pattern for me. Quality of line; how it can go from thick to thin and back again, how it can carry different weights, how edges can merge or push against each other are all excellently translated in this medium. Areas of color interacting with others convey different emotions and moods in this process in a rich and sensitive way.
What is Monotype? Resume Artist Statement
What is Monotype?
Monotypes are one-of-a-kind works on paper that use only traditional printmaking techniques on an unaltered, flat printing plate to create an image. Each are essentially a painting done on a printing plate. Once an image has been created on the plate, it is then transferred to another surface, such as paper, by pressure. This can be accomplished by hand or by means of a press. In either case, the "print" is made by transferring the image from plate to paper. The remaining ink on the plate can be used to create a visually distinct image called a "ghost" - also considered a unique image - which may still have attributes of the initial print but in an altered form.
Two terms, monotype and monoprint, are often used interchangeably although they are technically different. Monotype, described above, is primarily how I create my images. Monoprint, alternately, is a print that results from a monotype image combined with another traditional printmaking technique such as lithography, etching, silkscreen etc. Both monotype and monoprint techniques result in a unique, one-of-a-kind image that cannot be reproduced. Look for the symbol "1/1" (meaning "one of one") in the corner of the print. It indicates that the work is a monotype or monoprint and no other exact images exist.
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EDUCATION/ EXPERIENCE
2006 Artist Trust professional development program (EDGE), Seattle WA
2001 - pres Instructor (Elements of Drawing), School of Visual Concepts, Seattle WA
2002 - pres Member, Seattle Print Arts
Sept 2005 Artist in Residence, Gallery One, Ellensburg WA
1999 - 2005 Annual Artist Participant, Paint Ellensburg, Ellensburg WA
1999, 2000 Assistant to Brandon Graving, monotype workshop,
Contemporary Arts Center, North Adams MA
1998 - 2001 Annual Printmaking Residency, Contemporary Arts Center, North Adams MA
1997 Residency/ Workshop, Contemporary Arts Center, N Adams MA
1995 - 1998 Pratt Fine Arts Center, Printmaking, Seattle WA
1985 - 1992 School of Visual Concepts, Seattle WA: fine art
1982 BA, Grinnell College, Grinnell IA
REPRESENTATION
Roby King Gallery, Bainbridge WA
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2008 Figurative, Joe Bar, Seattle WA
2006 Chestnuts and Asteroids, Bauhaus, Seattle WA
2005 Monoprints, Gallery One, Ellensburg WA
2004 Monoprints, El Greco, Seattle WA
People's Choice Award, Greenwood Art Walk, Seattle WA
2002 Swimming Lessons, BauHaus Cafe, monoprints, Seattle WA
Harbor Properties Site 17, monoprints, Seattle WA
2001 Swimming Lessons, Elliott Bay Cafe, monoprints, Seattle WA
2000 Monoprints and Drawings, Zeitgeist, Seattle WA
Harbor Properties Site 17, monoprints, Seattle WA
1999 Alexis Hotel, monoprints, Seattle WA
SELECTED GROUP & JURIED EXHIBITIONS
2010 Printmakers Invitational, Roby-King Galleries, Bainbridge WA
Annual Small Works Invitational, Roby-King Gallery, Bainbridge WA
Seattle Print Arts Salon Invitational, Patricia Cameron Gallery, Seattle, WA
2009 Printmakers Invitational, Roby-King Galleries, Bainbridge WA
UNCLAD 09, Stanwood, WA
2008 Printmakers Invitational, Roby-King Galleries, Bainbridge WA
Figurative Invitational, Roby-King Galleries, Bainbridge WA
UNCLAD 08, Stanwood, WA
2007 Printmakers Invitational, Roby-King Galleries, Bainbridge WA
Seattle Print Arts at Collins Pub, juried show, Seattle WA
2006 Printmakers Invitational, Roby-King Galleries, Bainbridge WA
Painters Under Pressure, Print arts collective show, Ballard Works, Seattle WA
2005 SPA at CoCA, Printmakers show, Seattle WA
Painters Under Pressure, Print arts collective show, John Page Gallery, Seattle WA
Printmakers Invitational, Roby-King Galleries, Bainbridge WA
Figuratively Speaking, ArtsWest, three person show, Seattle WA
2004 Beyond Expectation, Pride Festival juried show, ArtsWest, Seattle WA
2003 SPA @ SPU, juried show, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle WA
(juror, David Kiehl, curator, Whitney Museum American Art NY)
Drawing Invitational, Contemporary Arts Center, North Adams MA
Garden Show Invitational, Phinney Center Gallery Seattle, WA
Annual Small Works Invitational, Roby-King Gallery, Bainbridge WA
full resume upon request
Statement
My foundation is in painting and drawing. I have always especially loved the expressiveness of drawing whether realistically accurate or pushing toward abstraction. I strive to bring both accuracy and abstraction into my work as a way of expressing various feelings and emotions. Initially my work focused on the human figure, not only because of its complexity and beauty but also for what can be conveyed in attitude and context. As I continue to work, I find the same emotive qualities can be expressed with other subject matter, whether it is a landscape, caged birds in a cafe or cut sunflowers past their prime.
Combining my love for the figure with a passion for drawing and color, I find printmaking to be a perfect form of expression. Making monotype prints provides the best combination of the gestural aspects of drawing and the emotional presence of color and pattern for me. Quality of line; how it can go from thick to thin and back again, how it can carry different weights, how edges can merge or push against each other are all excellently translated in this medium. Areas of color interacting with others convey different emotions and moods in this process in a rich and sensitive way.
Monotype is particularly suited to me as it is essentially a painting done on a printing plate that is run through a press under pressure transferring the image to paper, each piece distinctive and unique. I find the immediacy of the process particularly satisfying. The pressure of the press changes the consistency of the ink as it is embedded in the fibers of the paper, the image not so much lying on top of the paper as essentially becoming a part of it. There is a surprise element that is also satisfying since I can never completely anticipate the result as the paper comes off the plate. It constantly amazes me how rich yet delicate monotypes can be.
I strive to distill each piece down to its essential components in a direct yet spontaneous way. How much can I leave out of the piece and still register an emotional response? How much of that response is personal and how much is universal? How intense is that response? How intuitive is my response as I am working? By working directly and intuitively, I explore these questions, find others and ultimately open up more of my creative process.