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Lithograph from one aluminum plate printed in black, with hand colouring in gouache (grey wash border and yellow), on thick, pale yellow Lexington hand made paper. Edition 100 with 14 Artist’s proofs: this impression AP. Signed by the artist and dated 77 lower right in pencil, annotated AP lower right in pencil.
A bright yellow calligraphy or graffiti-like mark is set against translucent grey. While most Hodgkin works are abstract, the artist usually includes observational gestures: for example, a room viewed from above becomes a grouping of soft shapes. Here, the fragmented corner of a wraparound porch is a yellow, calligraphic angle floating in shrouds of grey. Wide ribbons of velvety gouache wash over the incandescent shape’s border, with polite ink blots, frantic scribbles, and measured brushstrokes. These marks seem to set the yellow shape in place like a gem’s bezel, or like a raft tethered in place, gently bobbing in dark waters.
This atmospheric image expresses Hodgkin’s lifelong attempt to capture single moments in time and infuse them with feeling and observation. Through his extensive collaborations with Petersburg Press, Hodgkin began to use hand coloring as a means to charge his images with urgency, and create a complex play between layers and techniques. The yellow gouache at the center of this print highlights the texture of the thick, handmade paper.
