There are six full interlocking circles (divided into quadrants) with 2 half interlocking circles (divided into 2 quadrants) at the top and bottom; 6 + (.5 x 2 + .5 x 2) = 8 circles. The circles overlap the adjacent circle quadrants. The color is changed at these intersections forming two football shaped pieces and two wedge shaped pieces. Each full circle has eight pieces in total. Overlaid on the two top and two bottom circles are gear like shapes in grayscale. The intersections of the gears over the intersecting quadrants form eight shaped pieces. All the shapes added up equals 80 pieces.
Eighty Pieces of Eight, 2015 Epson Ultrachrome GS Print on Canvas Edition of 3, 40 x 40 inches
For me, my art is never fully realized until it is rendered on a substrate. It resides as a digital computer file, only readable by a computer and software that can decode the file. So when I print an artwork for the first time, it’s like a birth. It can then be hung on a wall and experienced the way I envisioned it being experienced; a tangible object, instead of an image on a computer monitor. For the work Gradatio Vectes (Gradation of Bars in Latin), I’ve rendered it on a new paper (Pura Velvet 100% Cotton Rag Textured Fine Art Paper by Breathing Color) I’m beginning to use that exceeds archival permanence more than any other because it’s the first to achieve the same color gamut (color intensity) without having Optical Brightener Additives (OBA’s) added to the surface of the paper as a receptive coating. It’s been tested with Epson Ultrachrome Inks and exceeds the standards set by The Fine Art Trade Guild’s (FATG) for archival digital Prints. Optical brightener additives are bleaching agents that make fine art cotton rag papers used for digital printing more white. The whiter the paper, the better the color rendering. The problem with OBA’s is they are sensitive to UV and will yellow over time. I’m so pleased with the result of my first print on this paper. The colors are so vibrant.
Gradatio Vectes being printed on an Epson Stylus Pro 9600 aqueous pigment printer with Epson Ultrachrome Ink on Pura Velvet cotton rag textured fine art paper made by Breathing Color.
Gradatio Vectes, 2015 Epson Ultrachrome Print on Pura Velvet Cotton Rag Edition of 3, 50 x 44 inches