January 21, 2016 - Moose 4

I have tried printing in both black and sepia.  Although both work for the moose, I think the sepia lends a more lifeline quality to the print.  I was very surprised to see how dark the coat of a real moose  is....it's almost like their coat is black and lightened by weather and sun bleaching in some vulnerable areas.  Their color reminds me of a brunette who has spent a lot of time in the sun and wind and suffered/enjoyed (depends on your preference) the color-changing results. 

Moose relief print - Sepia Ranger ink on 400 series Strathmore printmaker paper.

Although the carved block does not indicate the course facial and snout hair of the moose, on the enhanced print below I included them using brush strokes.  The texture more closely matches the density of the coat of the wild moose.  What is difficult to convey in a small print is the massive size of these animals.

Moose relief print with color enhancement - Ranger sepia ink on 400 series Strathmore printmaker paper and FW acrylic ink. 

I had the opportunity recently to see part of the Rocky and Bullwinkle movie.  I had forgotten this was rekindled as a combo of live actors and animated characters.  They made many references to the 30 year old version of the cartoon and provided storyline development about Whatsamatta U, Rocky's flying (still a flying squirrel,) and the clearing of the forest.  They even included voice that matched the original narrator, and developed the character's persona into the movie.  They did pay tribute to the Canadian Mounted Police, but another knock-off movie about Dudley Doright was created about the same time as the R and B movie.

My favorite part of the old program was "Fractured Fairytales."  I would love to see an update of them with equally creative writers that make you think AND lead the viewer to a conclusion instead of blatting out the "moral of the story" before you figure it out for yourself.  Even the beginning of each new story began with the  princess opening the massive fairy tale book......and then the .....crash....... was clever - can you hear that music as the book opens????  Now that was great writing!!!!!  These old gems were the animated version of the ideas Rube Goldberg contraption with a series of reaction-causing events that lead to an unexpected conclusion!