Laine Groeneweg was the soul inspiration behind my own indulgence into the print method of mezzotint. I stumbled upon his works at Open Studio in Toronto and stood in awe at the softness of textures and form he was able to achieve within his figurative mezzotint works along with the rich blacks that are a virtue of such a practice. He also delves into the world of etchings and wood blocks (no wood block prints are shown here but the first is an etching and the proceeding images are all mezzotints.) His figures confront the viewer, establishing the chance for a conversation and a narrative to unfold. Why are children participating in such laborious practices? Why do some of the figures combine form and take on traits of the mighty machine they should appear to simply operate? The worlds of work and play are intermingled and combined. In the final image, the boys hands are of the working class. They show a laborious life that is not present within the face of the boy. However, his gaze, along with the girl as the seamstress, assure us they are in the roll they should be. They do not question where they are, only confront the viewer to ponder such questions.
http://lainegreenway.com/
http://laine.lainegreenway.com/
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