Category: experimental

IN THE STUDIO-Session 4

Art, art postcards, drawing, experimental, in the studio, printmaking December 15, 2025

This post profiles recent experiments in my creation and design of some ideas for art postcards whilst working in my studio and employing drawing, painting and printmaking techniques with experimental and uncertain outcomes. I love working in the studio and particularly in the post card production process, especially as it involves printmaking. I do small runs of prints, usually less than 50, although each card may go through the run multiple times depending on the number of layers, as indicated in some of the photos below.

_{A rough sketch idea for the design of a postcard. This one remains at that draft stage.}

_{Type overlay for postcard that has already received a base layer(s). This one will be the top layer….perhaps?}

_{Two different designs with the one on the left having received its base layer whilst the one on the right has had two printed layers: base plus overcoat.}

_{Sumi ink dish being used as a paint pot with red ink and Hake brush.}

_{The black postcards in the foreground have had two print layers whilst the three cards alongside them have had three and the stack of post cards at the top left, having dried, have had four.} _{The pumpkin just happened to visit the studio around Halloween time.}

_{A selection of different postcards most of which have had two runs through the printing process. Note also the addition of my artist stamp, at top left or bottom right, on some of the cards. As I have previously stated, making art postcards is one of my favourite artistic activities that I have been doing it for more than a decade. I also plan to do more posts on this topic.}

(NOTE: Further additions and editing to this post are anticipated in the near future…including the completion of it!)

PRINTMAKING: Fish Six

animation, Art, experimental, Film, printmaking May 9, 2023

This is the final of six posts on the creation of experimental fish prints using woodblock printmaking techniques. These were exhibited as art prints. They were also used as animation frames in my experimental animated film Toxic Fish (see the photos below). The fish in this post is the kohada. It has a static shape on the woodblock and in the film frame. This contrasts with the surrounding coloured toxins from commercial pollution. These eventually poison the fish. Variations in the volume of ink applied to the block produced a range of similar but different outcomes. Once edited in sequence, these contributed to the creation of the illusion of movement. The associated movement of both fish and toxins frantically appear to twitch and jump all over the frame. The action looks frenetic. That effect is reinforced by the percussive soundtrack. The film was selected and screened at CINANIMA, the Animation Festival in Esphino, Portugal. It was also screened at the Art Gallery of NSW. Later it was shown at the Big Day Out rock festival in Sydney. There is a certificate and photo on a previous post: PRINTMAKING: Fish Four).

_{A woodblock print for gallery exhibition and as a frame in my animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Michael Hill. (Print for animation has blue ink over black base shape with blue and green ink striped overlay…for use as double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.)}

_{Woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for gallery exhibition. Also used as a frame in my animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Michael Hill.(Print for animation has grey ink over black shape of fish with grey ink striped overlay and surrounds. Use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.)}

_{Woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for gallery exhibition and as a frame in my animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Michael Hill. (Print for animation has orange body shape with blue/green ink striped and smudged surrounds. For use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.)}

_{Woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for gallery exhibition and as a frame in my animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Michael Hill. (Print of image for animation, overinked yellow and grey with smudged surrounds. For use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.) This print, plus others following show levels of excessive saturation of ink in the main body of the fish. There is a deliberate, expressive intent in the printmaking of these particular prints.}

_{Woodblock print with hand-coloured blotches for gallery exhibition and as frame in my animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Michael Hill. Blotches of blue and grey ink are overlaid onto the basic shape of fish with yellow and grey ink surrounds. For use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.)}

_{Woodblock print with overlayed hand-colouring for gallery exhibition and as a frame in my animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Michael Hill. The print has overloaded green ink over the outline shape of the fish. Surrounding pink and grey ink smudges and brush strokes have been added. For use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.). Imagine seeing all seven of the above frames in a single second of the film…it’s a frantic movement of colour, shape and positioning!}

_{Sitting at the Oxberry animation film rostrum stand back in 1990. I was shooting my film, frame by frame, from the individual woodblock prints I had made. It took a really long time. I appear both happy and calm and pleased with the process despite the frantic impact that the film makes. I do listen to music while I work. I don’t recall what I was that day but it looks like I was enjoying it.}

_{A later grouping of one species of the fish for art gallery exhibition. This composition had torn and collaged prints assembled in a school formation. It completed the process from design to printmaking to animation to film.}

POSTCARD ART: Ninth Posting

Art, art postcards, experimental, in the studio, painting, printmaking February 27, 2023

Continuing my POSTCARD ART blogs with another post profiling the design and production of my art postcards. I have been creating and printing these for more than a decade. This post looks back to cards I back when I started in 2006 and 2007. There are also cards from subsequent years. My art postcard project was inspired by a study trip to Japan. I looked at Modernist printmaking approaches that had taken place there. My cards were produced by hand in limited edition batches. Each card produced was unique…similar but not identical, part of a batch with an approximate match.

_{This is one of the earliest examples, from the series of Abstract Art Postcards made in 2007.}

_{…and this one, also made in 2007, a different design but from the same series of Abstract Art Postcards.}

_{…and the third one, also 2007, also from a different design but from the same series of Abstract Art Postcards.}
_{(Photo and artwork-©2007 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

_{Abstract Nos. 1-11 was an exhibition of my art postcards. It displayed cards from 11 different series. It was exhibited in the DAB LAB GALLERY of the University Technology, Sydney in 2007.}
_{(Photo and artwork-©2007 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

_{Opening night of the exhibition…me with Cosmo Arai and her Mexican colleague from the Japan Foundation in Sydney. I had been involved with researching and profiling Japanese cultural projects in Australia and Japan with them.}
_{(Photo and artwork-©2007 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

_{A closer shot of the gallery window display. It was illuminated on a 24 hours/7 days a week basis. Note that despite the postcards being displayed in groupings, the cards in each group are not identical. They are basically similar but not part of an identical set, as mentioned above. Variations came in the printmaking stage when some elements were printed separately…or not in the exact same position on each card. These cards were not printed from a single block but cumulatively from several separate blocks and single elements. The result is that they all look similar and part of a set…however, in terms of the positioning, the graphic elements and the intensity of colour and texture no two are identical…although they may not seem to be mono prints they are!}
_{(Photo and artwork-©2007 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

_{Nine of my art postcards…from the first and subsequent batches, on sale a few years later at Gauge Gallery in Glebe.}
_{(Photo and artwork-©2012 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

_{Subsequent batches, up to a decade later, show an increased diversity in design. Once I started making art postcards it became part of my graphic art and design expression…and I am still making them in 2023!}
_{(Photo and artwork-©2018 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

_{Front and rear view of the invitation to my exhibition at the DAB LAB GALLERY.}
_{(Photo and artwork-©2007 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics)}

IN THE STUDIO-Session 3

Art, art postcards, Comics, experimental, in the studio, printmaking August 15, 2022

These graphic production stage series of posts were made over several years. They show selected, shots of the “making” stage and my methodology…whether for animation, comics, postcards, prints or paintings, in a small studio setting, with music playing in the background. I always work to music. Sometimes I include an image or thought about the music I was listening to in the studio that day. Some photos show the music equipment and/or the selected CD I was listening to at that session.

_{Working on my graphic novel BLOTTING PAPER here…you can see the title block around the middle of the photo, towards the top….it’s a printmaking moment…the letters of the title are in reverse in this photo…when printed will be the right way round. I use printmaking a lot in the generation of images. That drop-cloth underneath all of the objects has a history of being printed on…a wonderfully random pattern of spillages and stains. (Photo and artwork-©2013 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics)}

_{I can take this case with me if I happen to be working on location somewhere, like in a park. You can see that it is quite battered but it still closes shut, firmly…and is chock-a-block full of printmaking bits and pieces. There are some different versions of my signature stamp printed on the box in the case that contains these stamps. (Photo-©2013 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics)}

_{I also have a tin of colour pencils…I love those water-based aquarelle types…the brush and the water dish is for use on pencil marks…I go over the lines with a wet brush to make the drawing appear painted or inked. There are also a couple of rulers, one wooden, the other steel…useful for measurement or obtaining a straight edge to an image…plus pencil shavings and part of a CD cover. Those versions of my signature stamp, mentioned above, are more visible here…there are no fewer than 5 of them on the lid of the box that contains them. (Photo and artwork-©2015 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics)}

_{Or I can start with some wet drawing with a brush dipped in ink…still in the studio. There’s a linocut block face down on the drop-cloth here, next to some brushes and an open jar of ink. (Photo and artwork-©2018 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics)}

_{I also have a set of rollers for inking blocks of wood and lino for printmaking…all the ink and paint stains on the drop-cloth are a result of printmaking sessions over time… I can barely recall when it started out as a plain cream coloured roll of canvas cloth…back in the day! (Photo-©2017 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics)}

_{Following printing of the image is the stamping of my name…completing the postcards with a touch of that classic red Chinese ink. I have a few versions of my name stamp. (Photo and artwork-©2019 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics)}

_{I like the sense of magic, even mischief, that this figure with the glowing eyes and mixing bowl exudes. There is a different name stamp on this one…as I said I have a few versions…all designed by me…M for Michael…and that’s how I write my letter “m” in scripted upper case. (Photo and artwork-©2021 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics)}

_{A bit of a hectic printmaking session here with 5 different designs of postcards being stamped…and there’s another version of my shaped “m” on these cards…half writing, half symbol…developed with a Japanese colleague…a hilly landscape in the shape of the letter “m” for Michael…but also for “hill” from the Latin mons, mantis…mountain or hills…and there’s a zucchini in there…was it a snack or did I use it as a stamp? Possibly both? I don’t remember. (Photo and artwork-©2020 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics).}

_{Raw vegetables that one can print with…I am finishing off with a plate of them on the printmaking table in the studio…this lot is not only good for eating but excellent material for printmaking…particularly the flat bits dipped in ink and pressed onto the selected print surface…a messy but good source of abstract textural patterns.}
_{(Photo-©2022 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics)}

PRINTMAKING: Fish Five

animation, Art, experimental, Film, printmaking February 8, 2022

This is the fifth post documenting the production of the experimental prints that I made with woodblock printmaking techniques…for both gallery exhibition and also as frames in my experimental animated film Toxic Fish (see photos below). The fish in this sequence is the gizzard shad. It has static shape on the woodblock…this contrasts with the flooding of toxins from commercial pollution which are overlaid around it which eventually poison the fish. Variations in the volume of ink and the choice of hue produced a range of similar but different outcomes. When edited in sequence these contributed to the creation of the illusion of movement. The film was screened at CINANIMA, the Animation Festival in Esphino, Portugal…and at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney…and also at the Big Day Out rock festival. also in Sydney. (See certificate and photo on previous post: PRINTMAKING: Fish Four).

_{A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Print of image for animation: green ink over black shape with red and green ink smudged overlay…for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.)}

_{A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Print of image for animation: orange ink over black shape with blue and grey ink smudged overlay…for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.) This print also stamped to be sold for framing as static artwork.}

_{A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Print of image for animation: pink ink over black shape with pink ink smudged overlay…for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.)}

_{A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Print of image for animation: red ink over black shape with red and grey ink smudged overlay…for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.})

_{A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Print of image for animation: blue ink over black shape with black and blue ink smudged overlay…start of disintegration of fish…for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.)}

_{A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Print of image for animation: multicoloured smudged overlay of ink…for use as both single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.)}

_{These and other examples of the art from the animation have been posted on the Doctor Comics website (doctorcomics.com) under the post heading PRINTMAKING: Fish 1, 2, 3 etc.}

PRINTMAKING: Fish Four

animation, Art, experimental, Film, printmaking February 14, 2021

^{This is the fourth post documenting the production of my creative fish prints. I made these using woodblock printmaking techniques for use use in my experimental animated film Toxic Fish (see photos below). The fish represented in this sequence is the Kohada. Its static shape on the woodblock contrasts with the flooding of coloured toxins. These represent commercial pollution that is spread around the fish and eventually poisons it. There are variations in the volume of ink applied to the block and the choice of hue. These produced a range of similar outcomes when edited in sequence. This contributed to the creation of the illusion of movement. Film screenings: Animation Festival, Esphino, Portugal (see certificate at bottom of post),…Art Gallery of NSW and the Big Day Out rock festival}.

_{A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my experimental animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Monoprint of image for animation in black ink for fish and surrounds).(For single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.).}

_{A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my experimental animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (black ink with sepia wash overlay, for use as single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.) This print has also been stamped with my logos for sale as static artwork.}

_{A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my experimental animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Woodblock print with blue/black ink and green overlay; for single and double frame sequence of the animation at 24 f.p.s.) The fish in this sequence is the Kohada or Gizzard Shad. Its static shape on the woodblock contrasts with the flooding of coloured toxins around it.}

_{A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my experimental animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Woodblock print with purple/brown ink over black and green ink; for single and double frame sequence at 24 f.p.s.)}

_{A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my experimental animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (print of image for animation with use of overprinting out of registration to stress texture.) This print has also been stamped with my logos for sale as static artwork.}

_{A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for my animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill. (Woodblock print with blue and black layers of ink to suggest induction of toxins.)}

_{Two woodblocks and one battered, old sharpening stone used in the production of my experimental animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill.}

_{Me, shooting the film on the Oxberry animation rostrum camera. All of the art was woodblock printed. I also wrote and produced the experimental electronic score. Dr. Michael Hill. (Note: This was in my pre-Doctor Comics period when I was predominantly involved in animation, film and printmaking…in addition to comics).}

_{Certificate of participation in the International Animation Festival, Espinho, Portugal, 1990.}

_{My excellent colleague Jeremy Allen…here enthusiastically pointing to the large screen projection of my film at the rock music event BIG DAY OUT. (Photo and artwork-©1990 Dr. Michael Hil).}

PRINTMAKING: Fish Three

animation, Art, experimental, Film, printmaking May 5, 2017

This is the third post based on the fish prints I made using woodblock printmaking techniques…for the experimental animated film Toxic Fish. The fish in this sequence is the Kohada or Gizzard Shad. Its static shape on the woodblock contrasts with the flooding of coloured toxins around it.

_{Woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for the animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics. Fish printed in black ink with orange and yellow surrounds including smudging. This print is also stamped and framed as static artwork…and later reworked and published as an art postcard-©1999 – Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.}

_{Fish woodblock print in grey with overlaid red and pink hand-colouring…and some smudging with green surrounds for the animated film Toxic Fish ©1990 – Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.}

_{Fish woodblock print in grey with overlaid purple smudging…and hand-colouring and yellow surrounds for the animated film Toxic Fish ©1990 – Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.}

_{Fish woodblock print in basic black with overlaid grey hand-colouring…and smudging effects for the animated film Toxic Fish ©1990 – Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.}

_{Fish woodblock print with overlaid blue saturated hand-colouring…and surrounding purple and yellow coloured textural patches for the animated film Toxic Fish ©1990 – Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.}

_{Fish woodblock print with overlaid yellow/brown/grey hand-colouring and green surrounds for the animated film Toxic Fish ©1990 – Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.}

_{Fish woodblock print with overlaid pale-blue hand-colouring and orange surrounds for the animated film Toxic Fish © 1990 -Dr. Michael Hill. This print is also stamped and framed as static artwork-©1999 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.}

_{Fish woodblock print with overlaid purple hand-colouring…and yellow/pink surrounds for the animated film Toxic Fish-© 1990 Michael Hill. This print also stamped and framed as static artwork…and for duplication as an art postcard.}
_{©1999 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.}

_{Fish woodblock print with overlaid blue, purple and yellow hand-colouring and yellow smudged surrounds…for the animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.}

_{Making overlay textural effect inking of a sequence of prints on the floor of the studio…for inclusion as frames in the animation. (Photo by Louise Graber).}

Other posts of my graphic based material include:

MORE CARTOONS

POSTCARD-Second Series

PRINTMAKING: Fish Two

animation, Art, experimental, Film, printmaking January 28, 2017

This is the second post in my series of fish prints created using the woodblock printmaking method…for my experimental animated film titled Toxic Fish. Dramatically, after ocean fish are poisoned their bodies swell up, die and disintegrate. The static shape of the fish from the woodblock design starts firm before being flooded by toxins. It then falls apart to illustrate this. The method I employed was to gradually over-ink the block. This resulted in details being dampened into puddles…definition and sharpness were blurred and reduced into a dramatic sequence of atrophy.

A woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for the animated film Toxic Fish-© 1990 Michael Hill. — Woodblock print for my animated film *Toxic Fish*.
©1990 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics.

Below is a photo of me carving one of the blocks using a Japanese chisel. I must add that this is not the recommended way to of doing it! It has been posed for a photograph and shows a compromised pose of the process for promotional purposes. The woodblock carving process is done on a fixed bench with one carving away from, not towards, one’s body.

Hand carving one of the woodblocks for the animated film Toxic Fish-Photograph © 1990 Demetra Christopher. — Hand carving one of the several woodblocks for the animated film *Toxic Fish*.
Photograph ©1990 Demetra Christopher.

If you liked this post you can see others on my Blog.

PRINTMAKING: Fish One

THE GRAFIK GUITAR

POSTCARD

PRINTMAKING: Fish One

animation, Art, experimental, Film, printmaking July 23, 2016

This series of posts will profile a collection of creative prints that I have made, beginning with a series of fish. I used the woodblock printmaking method with variations in inking to make monoprints so that the prints produced could also be used in animation sequences. Six species of fish were featured, the first of which is the Japanese Tai or sea bream. I was very attracted to the idea of working in both animation and printmaking at the time but found it difficult to sustain both in the available time and ultimately had to choose between the two. I found the solution in combining both mediums. Animation’s enormous need for artwork could be more speedily met by using the printmaking medium. I was doubly happy but have since settled on making comics which falls in the space located somewhere in-between and requires a lot less artwork.

Tai/sea bream woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring from my experimental animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics. This print also stamped for framing and sale as static artwork.

Tai/sea bream woodblock print with overlaid hand-colouring for the animated film from my experimental animated film Toxic Fish-©1990 Dr. Michael Hill a.k.a. Doctor Comics. This print also stamped for framing and sale as static artwork.