1980s "Red Wall Cavern" Signed Landscape Monotype by James Conaway

Description

"Red Wall Cavern" unframed original monotype on paper by James Conaway. Hand signed and titled by the artist in pencil … more "Red Wall Cavern" unframed original monotype on paper by James Conaway. Hand signed and titled by the artist in pencil under the image. Paper Size: 29-1/4" x 41-1/2", Image Size: 23-3/4" x 35-1/4". Circa late 1970s - early 1980s. Condition is Excellent. It was once framed so it has some mounting tape on the back, but no other signs of framing. 100 percent guarantee of authenticity. Certificate of Authenticity is included. Make an offer!

BIO:
JAMES CONAWAY
Contemporary Minnesota Painter

The freshness and vitality of James Conaway's colors, added to the excitement generated from his sense of movement across the landscape, gives the viewer a sensation of being propelled above all these abstract shapes as if in a shooting plane heading toward a distant horizon. Conaway will contrast the juxtaposition of large flat areas and areas of great detail with lush, painterly qualities. Although his work can give a totally spontaneous feeling, upon close inspection one can see the lines and shapes that run throughout the painting that makes all elements work together.

The light, textures, forms and colors of the vast space of the Southwestern United States continue to lure this Midwest artist. Born in Illinois and educated at Southern Illinois University and the University of Iowa, where he received his MFA in 1967, he now lives and teaches in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. "I escape to the desert several times each year," Conaway says, "because I need more visual information and inspiration to keep me going through the long Minnesota winters." While on a recent sojourn to the canyons of the Arizona and the New Mexico desert, cliffs, canyon walls, and waterfalls became the perfect model for his latest series of earth's mysteries. As a result the new work reflects the energy of the rushing rivers and falls plus a new concept of pace. He has rendered these new forms in both oil and charcoal as well in the lithograph and monotype mediums. Conaway is also listed in Whose WHO IN AMERICAN ART and sits on the panel of the Minnesota State Arts Board.

PROCESS:
Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. The image is then transferred onto a sheet of paper by pressing the two together, usually using a printing-press. Monotypes can also be created by inking an entire surface and then, using brushes or rags, removing ink to create a subtractive image, e.g. creating lights from a field of opaque color.

Unlike monoprinting, monotyping produces a unique print, or monotype, because most of the ink is removed during the initial pressing. Although subsequent reprintings are sometimes possible, they differ greatly from the first print and are generally considered inferior. A second print from the original plate is called a "ghost print" or "cognate". Stencils, watercolor, solvents, brushes, and other tools are often used to embellish a monotype print. Monotypes are often spontaneously executed and with no previous sketch. less