Limited Edition Landscape Woodblock Print Titled “Snow Day”

Photo Credit: starkeyart

Limited Edition Landscape Woodblock Print Titled "Snow Day"

Asking Price: $250

Pros:

-This captivating limited edition winter landscape woodblock print was made in March 2015 by the artist Andrea Starkey and is titled "Snow Day".

-This contemporary landscape woodblock print measures 21 inches (53.3 cm) wide by 10 inches (25.4 cm) tall, with an additional one inch (2.5 cm) wide border around the entire work. By the time you frame it, this work will be impressively large, perfect for hanging over the living room couch or the fireplace mantle.

-Andrea Starkey is a self-taught artist from Dayton, Ohio who took up printmaking in 2008. Since then she has become accomplished at Moku Hanga style reduction prints.

-Moku Hanga is the Japanese term for woodblock printmaking. Most contemporary Moku Hanga style prints created by Western artists concentrate on traditional Japanese themes, such as landscapes, animals or nature scenes.

-A reduction print is made in several discrete steps using a single block of wood (or other printmaking material). The artist carefully carves the wood with razor-sharp printmaking tools until the first pass is ready. Then the woodblock is inked and impressed on the paper. This process is repeated for each different color, shade or tint applied. The "Snow Day" print pictured above involved at least 15 separate reduction steps. A good visual representation of the reduction process can be found on this website.

-It is hard for a monochromatic or grayscale print to have that eye-popping "wow" factor. Color inherently holds the human gaze more easily. However, this contemporary winter landscape woodblock print by Andrea Starkey is a grayscale masterpiece that up-ends that logic.

-"Snow Day" is an award winning artwork, having won 1st prize at Kettering, Ohio's 2016 landscape art competition, The View.

-This winter landscape woodblock print was limited to a very small edition of only 28 total copies: 20 examples with a margin and 8 without a margin. This small original print run increases the chances that this work will appreciate in value in the future.

-Because it is a destructive process by its nature, reduction prints are always limited edition. Unlike most types of prints, once a reduction print has been finished, it is impossible to go back and make more. There will never be anymore "Snow Day" prints made.

-I love the flowing composition of this work. It draws the viewer's eyes through the forest and along the wooden footbridge. In addition, the adept use of light and dark, combined with the exquisite level of detail, make this a compelling landscape woodblock print. And, apparently, other people agree with me. The artist only has a single copy of this print left for sale (out of 28 originally) in her Etsy shop. At only $250, it is a steal.

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Cons:

-Buying contemporary art for investment purposes is always a gamble. I love this work and think it has a lot of investment potential, but I would only advise you to purchase it if you are aesthetically drawn to it.

-If you intend to hang this stunning winter landscape on your wall, prepare to pay anywhere from $100 to $250 for framing costs. This would raise the total cost of the piece to $350 to $500, which is still a bargain, in my opinion.