As a child I used the materials that were most easily accessible, paper and pencil. The black and white sensibility that resulted was easily transferable to wood block and linoleum prints when I discovered these as an adolescent in Chicago. I also began doing political caricature at that time, influenced by the work of the Puerto Rican Lorenzo Homar and the North American David Levine.
I discovered silk screen screen printing in the pages of Ramparts magazine and decided to someday pursue it. It opened up the possibility of producing art that could be made available to large numbers of people at a low cost. Years later I would save enough money to send away for a booklet and some supplies and begin to teach myself screen printing.
I used a variety of stencil making types, mostly cutting and pealing laquer film and adhering it to the screen. Later that would evolve into cutting the less toxic rubylith and photographically transferring the image to the screen for printing.
I was introduced to scratchboard by another artist (thank you, Lisa Blackshear!) in the early 1980s and it has been my primary medium ever since. Scratchboard is a board with a layer of clay on the surface. I prefer the white clay. I brush the initial art on with black ink (a legacy of my black and white genesis) and scrape it with a rounded blade to get the print-like textures. Many of my screen prints were done originally as scratch board drawings. For full color art I add watercolor to the scratch board. I can then scan it into a computer to prep it for printing or digital posting. I can use graphics programs to adjust it as needed, add smooth color gradients in some cases and combine it with typefaces when appropriate.
Since I use sharp blades in my art, I must always check luggage with the airline when I travel by air since they won't let me bring it into the cabin.