I took a boat ride down the James River in Schuyler, VA and was overcome by the familiar beauty of it. I grew up in this area and already had an appreciation for the delicate yet powerful bearing of the mountains and forests of Appalachia. And yet, I had never taken a boat ride down this local waterway. It was a really hot day and as the sun beat down and my boat drifted along the water, dragonflies and damselflies began to skim the ripples of my wake. I stopped paddling and sat still as the current carried me down and the iridescent little hunters landed on my boat and my skin, content to be carried wherever I was headed. Several still enjoyed flitting over the waters next to my boat. I felt as if I was being escorted by a glassy winged entourage.

This linocut is a single carved outline of an initial sketch. Though the initial sketch contains the general structural contours that frame the composition of the work, the linocut carving is where I got into the work of creating the tiny little panes that make up each insect wing. I also wait until the carving process to make design decisions on textures like the ripples and reflections of the water.

Each print was pulled by hand on unbleached edgeworthia paper. The ink used for this print edition is a warm black called antiquarian black. Print standards were observed during the printing to guarantee the continuity quality throughout the edition. Keep in mind that the number in the edition you purchase may not match the number featured in this image. Each print in this edition is 10" x 13," mounted to an acid free backing, and matted out to an outside dimension of 11" x 14" with an acid free mat. They are housed in a clear plastic sleeve for shipping.