Latest Work

Artist Statement
There are several reoccurring themes in my work one of the most important to me is color and texture. Some years back I worked primarily with representational images. In more recent years I have moved more to contemporary abstract work. That said I sometimes drift back and do what I call non traditional Hawaiiana using semi abstract images to tell the story of Hawaii, it’s discovery and peoples.

Blending traditional European style of etching ( Intaglio ) and inks with Asian silk and it’s sense of feel. My hope is that all my images will create peacefulness and serenity in the viewer by giving them a feeling of something is old yet new.

Being Eurasian myself East meets West is part of who I am.

I start with polished copper plates which for me represent new life and how perfect it is. I then etch ( age ) my plates in acid for 24 hours one hour at a time. This simulates the bumps and bruises, highs and lows of life creating deep relief images etched in to the plate. As in life itself each plate and print tells its own story.

I hand ink the copper plates and print on silk I source from Japan. I will only print an image between one to three times but each is one of a kind as they are printed on different types of silk or with different color inks. Sometimes I will etch a plate and never print it but just turn it into copper art right away.

Whether printing from the copper plate or not I will then take the deeply etched metal and ink, paint and clear coat it. The clear coating gives it a 3D effect but also adds UV protection so the copper is so durable it could even be in an outdoor setting. The copper can be mounted on silk, framed in wood or hung as is to give it a more modern look. Sometimes I bend the copper before painting and mount onto wood forms making it a sculptural wall piece.

Early Years to Now
I grew up 20 miles North of San Francisco and feel fortunate to have lived in an area that had so much natural beauty as well as cultural stimulus both visually and musically.

One of my early memories was being taken to a Disney animation movie ( Fantaisa ) and I thought how great it would be to draw and paint and bring things to life. I thought that would be the best job in the world. Throughout my schooling years I continued to draw and paint and started experimenting with textiles and Batik when I was in high school.

When I got to college I found Print Making and a light bulb went on. I think being able to take a flat piece of metal and give it depth, texture and then create something new with color and design is a special skill.

I began working as a Print Maker in 1977 in California at College of Marin where I started working with Aquatint and came up with the innovative idea to use an airbrush to spray a resist ( Ashphaltum ) on the copper plates that I etch my images on.

More recently I have been exploring how to push copper to its limits often etching the copper for up to 24 hours creating deep relief images in the copper and then hand inking in multiple colors and printing on silk I source from Japan.

Jim Powlan

808-870-3330

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