These are two more paintings I had created on-site at Bethlehem Steel. I found some of the outer buildings had great character and color. 

Untitled I (Bethlehem)

oil on canvas, 7x5 in

Untitled IV (Bethlehem)

oil on linen mounted on panel, 8x6 in

Some new Bethlehem prints.. I'm painting directly on the plate and experimenting with varying the ink viscosity to layer color.

Untitled XII (Bethlehem)

monotype, 4 3/4 x 2 1/2 in

Untitled IX (Bethlehem)

monotype, 2 1/2 x 4 3/4 in

New prints

These are some new monotypes inspired by Bethlehem Steel. I'm really getting into these industrial landscapes which are partially based on the steel mill, but also morphing into new imagery. 

Untitled VI (Bethlehem)

monotype, 7 3/4 x 5 3/4 in

In the two prints below, I printed the first one from a copper plate matrix and then went back into the ghost image left on the plate to rework and draw back into it before printing again. It's a process I love to use because each consecutive image comes out of the one before it, and there's a whole progression and layering that happens. I also need a certain degree of unpredictability, which is one reason why I love printmaking so much.

Untitled VII (Bethlehem)

monotype, 2 1/2 x 4 3/4 in

Untitled VIII (Bethlehem)

monotype, 2 1/2 x 4 3/4 in

I was very excited to learn a new lithography technique called 'maniere noire' - or the 'dark method.' Beautiful, tactile, almost like a lithographer's way of making a mezzotint. Love it.

Untitled

Stone lithograph, 7x11 in

The Bethlehem Project

 

Untitled II (Bethlehem)
oil on canvas, 9x12 in

 

Untitled II (detail)

Untitled III (Bethlehem)
oil on linen mounted on panel, 5x6 in

My newest series of work-in-progress focuses on Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: its history and landmarks. Located in the Lehigh Valley, Bethlehem is the home of the epic, now-defunct Bethlehem Steel plant. The site was bought by the Sands Casino, which incorporated the steel history into the design of the casino and converted part of the site into an impressive art center. The blast furnaces and many of the outer buildings have been left intact. I am intrigued by the dark shapes hulking above this picturesque town.

Bethlehem also has a particular draw for me due to my own experience growing up in northwest Indiana, where the steel industry had a similar heyday and collapse, the huge buildings and smokestacks rising above the shore of Lake Michigan. Much of the area where I grew up is depressed and has not had the resurgence which seems to have buoyed Bethlehem.

All of these thoughts filter in as I wander the town and set up my easel to paint on site, braving the bugs, sun, and passing traffic.