DBK Prints
Nature-Inspired Woodblock Prints by Demian Bartholomew-Keller.
All images Copright by Demian Barthomew-Keller 2022.
About
Nature-inspired Woodblock Prints
The Artist
Demian Bartholomew-Keller was born in Basel, Switzerland in 1984 and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. Demian has always had an affinity for nature and creating haven grown up in the arts-based Waldorf and Montessori schools with parents that supported his creative gifts. In 2008, he received a BA in Fine art with a focus in Printmaking from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Since then, he has been creating his own unique nature-inspired woodblock prints which he also uses as the blueprint designs for his line of organic apparel. He currently divides his time between Switzerland and California. In his free time, Demian loves hiking and backpacking in the wilderness, traveling, gardening, playing music, cooking, reading, meditating, relaxing and enjoying time with friends and family.
Creative Process
Many of the images I create come from visions that come to me often and spontaneously. The visions or "eye-deas" come often in nature, working in the garden, listening and dancing to music, walking and sitting meditation, good conversations and reasonings. Manifesting the visions as drawings and prints is part of my contribution to sharing the harmony, peace and wonder these images bring. It is my way of sharing my imagination and love for life and living with the world. Doing what I love and loving what I do give me immense joy, and keep me connected to the purpose and meaning in my life.
I hand-carve my woodblocks from my original drawings , sketches, watercolors and photographs. Some of the drawings, sketches andwatercolors I create in the field, and some I work on in the studio from photographs. Once I have transferred my image onto the woodblock, I carefully carve out the negative using my Japanese wood carving tools. I then print onto various papers using oil and waterbased relief inks and a rubber brayer with my custom-machined Etching Press. I mainly use professional grade Shina wood, a type of plywood from Japan, and Linden plywood from Switzerland. Each block takes between 10 and several hundred hours (weeks to months) to complete, depending on the size and level of detail. While many of my prints are one-layer black and white, others are full color prints with up to 7 separately carved layers printed in the Reduction technique (all layers printed from one woodblock).
Once I have the original print on paper, I take a photograph and use that to finalize a design in Photoshop for screenprinting on apparel. I also create digital files from my woodcuts as custom works (logo, brand, invitation, album cover, etc).
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Yakwa Dance Logo
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Bay Area Seed Swap Art Feature
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Sequoia Sempervirens Wine Label
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Fikir Amlak- The Lion Lives Album Cover
Fikir Amlak- The Lion Lives Album Cover
All images copyright by Demian Bartholomew-Keller © 2022