Original Vintage Woodblock Print Kevin Clark Bat & Moon 3/40 Limited Edition COA 16"

Kevin Clark “Bat and Moon” 2005: Limited Edition Shin Hanga Style Woodblock Print 3/40 in Black, Signed, with Certificate of Authenticity

United States (Roseburg, Oregon), 2005

Image 10¾″W × 16¼″H (27 × 41 cm). Sheet size not measured.

A bat sweeps across a full moon beside a hanging branch, printed in black ink only from a single block. Clark uses the wood grain as the image: the swirling grain lines form the sky and the moon’s glow, and a knot in the wood becomes a ripple of rings under the bat. It is printed on cream washi, signed in pencil, numbered 3/40, and stamped with the artist’s red seal. Low edition numbers like 3 are among the earliest impressions pulled.

The design began in March 2005 as a “bat, moon and branch” idea suggested by Thomas Crossland of Ukiyoe-Gallery.com. Clark carved it within a week and offered it first through that site. Bats were rare in the shin hanga tradition, with only a handful of designs by Koson, Sozan and Biho, so this is an unusual subject among modern woodblock prints.

The edition is 40 impressions. Clark cut his initials into the block face after printing, which guarantees no more will ever be made. The print comes with his signed Certificate of Authenticity from Clark Studio, Lizard Prints Fine Arts Gallery, Roseburg, Oregon. It is mounted on white foamcore and shrink wrapped for protection.

• Form: Color woodblock print on washi paper, mounted on white foamcore and shrink wrapped
• Construction or Decoration: Single hand-carved block, hand-inked in black; strong woodgrain pattern
• Mark: Pencil signed “Kevin Clark,” lower right; numbered 3/40, lower left; red artist’s seal, lower left of the image; Certificate of Authenticity numbered #3
• Period: 2005
• Dimensions: Image 10¾″W × 16¼″H
• Weight:
• Condition: Strong, even black impression on clean cream paper. No tears, stains or fading visible through the shrink wrap.
• Flags: Image size is from a published source, so measure the image and sheet. The certificate says “hand printed,” while published sources say Clark prints on a press. Condition judged through the shrink wrap.

About the Artist
Kevin Clark is a woodblock printmaker from Roseburg, Oregon, who works from his Lizard Prints studio. He learned carving and printing from his grandfather, John R. Carey (1903 to 2003), a professional designer and printer who moved to Roseburg in 1990 with his 3,760 pound press, built in 1887. Clark carves his designs by hand with Japanese tools, often into American hardwoods such as myrtlewood, ash or oak. He frequently uses a single block, inked by hand in several colors, and he lets the wood grain show in the print. He prints on washi paper using the 1887 press rather than the traditional hand-held baren. Working in the spirit of the Japanese sosaku hanga and shin hanga print traditions, he had carved more than 400 designs by 2005. His print “Sun & Water” was shown in a 2004 Smithsonian exhibition. His editions are small, typically 35 to 80 impressions, and he marks the main block when an edition is finished so it is never reprinted.