The artwork featured in the “Gift Shop” encompass my hand painted screenprint/ “Multiple Original” style, which I started in 2001-2002, a couple months after the World Trade Center went down.
My first style was black and white pen and ink drawings on paper. I became bored of that style so I started messing around with throwing color around which was reminiscent of Jackson Pollock. These works have now become how I practice and stay sharp for times when I create the larger works on canvas and wood. In essence they have become my “studies.”
Each piece is individually screen printed and hand painted. Take notice of the colors rather than the image, even though that might be difficult to do sometimes. The colors represent what's going on in my life at any given moment and they also affect each image dfferently. For the most part the images are a mix of pop culture icons, buildings and items. Many are chosen just because I like them, while others come about as a result of suggestions from people.
The materials used are screen print ink, acrylic paint and sometimes oil based paint on archival paper. I use photographic images as the basis for the art, but I would sometimes draw directly on the acetate before I burn the screens to bring out parts of the images I felt were important.
One of the main reasons I like creating these mixed media screenprints is because each one comes out different and no two are exactly alike. As a result of the variety of images, colors, sizes and accessible prices you can easily mix and match your favorites and essentially create your own wall with them. - Bobby Hill
