It started as a thumbnail

Before it became a print, a painting, or a series, it was a small sketch.

The sketch that started it Initial thumbnail sketch for Blowing Smoke, showing a stylized figure exhaling smoke.

One evening, feeling frustrated that I wasn't more prepared with sketches for my printmaking assignments, I was flipping through a library book of Pablo Picasso’s printmaking works. I was drawn to his cubist-style faces, where he shows a single head from multiple perspectives. However, some of his prints looked to me like two separate profiles staring directly back at one another.

I decided to try my own version of that layout, but using fluid, swirling curves instead of sharp, rigid lines. When I finished the sketch, I realized the swooping lines made it look as though a man were blowing smoke, and a woman had appeared inside the cloud, staring back at him. That discovery inspired the title, "Blowing Smoke."

At the time, I wasn't expecting much from the drawing; it only existed as a quick 2x3-inch blueprint to help plan my first linocut assignment.

The linocut

The first carving attempt stayed close to the 2x3-inch scale of the sketch. Because it was my first time working on such a tiny piece of linoleum, the tools slipped, and I accidentally gouged out the entire face of the woman.

While the ruined print still looked kind of cool, I worried the original sketch was simply too detailed for such a small block and that I should start over with something much simpler.

Initial linocut attempt Initial failed linocut attempt for Blowing Smoke.

Instead, my professor suggested enlarging the sketch on a copy machine and trying again on a larger piece of linoleum. I am so glad he did. Giving the lines more room to breathe completely changed the process. On the larger block, I felt comfortable enough to freehand a carved border around the composition, even tucking my initials into the bottom left corner.

The image began to expand. Later versions gave the composition more space to breathe, shifting the work from something tentative into something more graphic and deliberate.

Carving the image into linoleum is a process of subtraction. You remove everything that is not the image. The composition that existed loosely as a sketch had to become permanent. Every cut became a decision I could not take back.

Black and white Blowing Smoke linocut print.

Black and white linocut

Embossed no-ink linocut impression of Blowing Smoke.

Embossed linocut impression · no ink, only pressure

The screen print

Screen printing introduced a completely different set of rules. The challenge here wasn't about carving lines, but learning through trial and error how to manage the ink. At first, I couldn't find the right balance. I either used too little ink and got an incomplete image, or used way too much and made a massive mess all over the edges of my paper.

Once I finally got a feel for the correct amount of ink, the proper angle of the squeegee, and just how much pressure to apply, the process became much smoother. Getting past that learning curve allowed me to start having fun and experiment with different color combinations.

Initial screen

Initial failed Blowing Smoke screen print attempt.

Initial failed screen print attempt

Inverted Blowing Smoke screen print attempts showing repeated printed variations.

Further attempts and inverted variations

Rainbow Blowing Smoke screen print variation.

Rainbow screen print

The painting

Taking the image into oil paint meant changing the scale entirely. Rebuilding the composition on a large canvas required moving away from the flat, quick execution of printmaking inks. Working in oil allowed me to slow down and focus on building up layers of solid color, turning a quick, spontaneous thumbnail sketch into a large, deliberate painting.

Canvas with reference print

Chalk outline on canvas

Painting in progress Jennifer Yaple painting the larger Blowing Smoke oil painting in the studio.

In the studio

Completed oil painting Completed Blowing Smoke oil painting showing a stylized figure exhaling smoke in bold flat color.

Completed oil painting