James Freeman

Artist Statement

After early college study and two years apprenticing with printmaker Bruno Bak, I have continued my art-making primarily in the areas of painting and drawing. I’ve worked across a range of styles and subjects ranging from botanical abstraction through a series of mysterious animals floating in a dream space and clown figures floating in ambiguity.

About ten years ago I found a nice set of wood-cut tools, but it was not until several months ago that I started this series of large relief prints. Working with some of my ‘usual suspects’ from the last several years of drawings and paintings, I’ve been enjoying the physicality of cutting the blocks and engaging with the irregularity (and random knotholes) of the wood. Rather than mechanically producing these pieces using a press, I went with the basic technique of rubbing them with a spoon which enabled me to take a more interpretive, although labor-intensive, approach to the inking and printing.

Bio

James Freeman studied printmaking at the University of Georgia Southern and painting at Bellevue College. Freeman received his B.S. in psychology and art history from the University of Maryland.

He retired from Omaha Metropolitan Coummunity College where he taught drawing, design, and painting. He is currently working full time as a studio artist..