Date: 2019
Size: 12″x9″ (including margins)
This original artwork was designed, carved, and printed by Lyell Castonguay. Ink is applied to a carved wooden block and hand-pressed onto Japanese Chiri. Chiri has randomly distributed bark pieces sprinkled throughout, so every sheet of paper is unique. The artwork is signed in pencil by the artist.
Date: 2019
Size: 12″x9″ (including margins)
The Vampire Tiger Tuna is a predator that spends most of its life on the sea floor searching for small crustaceans. Although its body structure looks somewhat awkward, the Tiger Tuna can synchronize its reptilian legs and fins to generate an effective form of locomotion called “swalking.” Its most defining characteristic may be the water spouts attached to the top of its head. The Tiger Tuna uses these to shoot a stream of water at unsuspecting victims. With its prey momentarily stunned, the Tiger Tuna coils its forked tongue around the victim and swallows it whole.
This original artwork was designed, carved, and printed by Lyell Castonguay. Ink is applied to a carved wooden block and hand-pressed onto Japanese Chiri. Chiri has randomly distributed bark pieces sprinkled throughout, so every sheet of paper is unique. The artwork is signed in pencil by the artist.
Date: 2019
Edition: 5
Proofs: 3
Size: 36″x24″ (excluding margins)
I was inspired to create this piece after learning that Cuckoos secretly lay their eggs in other birds’ nests. This cunning animal behavior is called Brood Parasitism. A wren or warbler species often raises the Cuckoo’s young. The adoptive parents will continue to nurture the imposter to maturity, even when the size difference becomes comically apparent. Scientists don’t know why the relationship exists, and the behavior seems incomprehensible but fascinating.
Lyell Castonguay designed, carved, and printed this original artwork. Ink is applied to a carved wooden block and hand-pressed onto Thai Mulberry paper. Multiple carved blocks layer colors, resulting in a dramatic effect. The artist signed, titled, and numbered the edition in pencil below the image.
Year: 2019
Edition: 4
Size: 48″x24″ (excluding margins)
Margins: 2″
Lyell Castonguay designed, carved, and printed this original artwork. Ink is applied to a carved wooden block and hand-pressed onto Thai Mulberry paper. Multiple carved blocks layer colors, resulting in a dramatic effect. The artist signed, titled, and numbered the edition in pencil below the image.
Date: 2019
Edition: 9
Size: 36″x24″ (excluding margins)
My woodblock prints reflect a deep respect for animals, especially birds. I created this image of a European Nightjar after reading about them in textbooks and listening to the whip-poor-will’s song. This piece illustrates how human activity has made bird migration increasingly complex over the centuries. I used two colors for this print: a cool-toned gray and an ultramarine-infused black. Hidden among the stars are constellations of birds, including the Phoenix and the Crane.
Lyell Castonguay designed, carved, and printed this original artwork. Ink is applied to a carved wooden block and hand-pressed onto Thai Mulberry paper. Multiple carved blocks layer colors, resulting in a dramatic effect. The artist signed, titled, and numbered the edition in pencil below the image.
Date: 2019
Edition: 8
Proofs: 1
Size: 36″x24″ (excluding margins)
The Peregrine Falcon, one of my favorite birds of prey, inspired this piece. The subject’s tufted eyebrows, contrasted by piercing eyes and distinctive cheek markings, add a hint of humor to an otherwise deadly avian personality. Holding the title “earth’s fastest animal” should give the Peregrine quite an ego! Playing around with this idea leads me to a tightly cropped composition in which the subject’s head is so gigantic it blots out the sun. Like many other images, this piece was executed as an ink drawing and then meticulously carved as a woodblock.
Lyell Castonguay designed, carved, and printed this original artwork. Ink is applied to a carved wooden block and hand-pressed onto Thai Mulberry paper. Multiple carved blocks layer colors, resulting in a dramatic effect. The artist signed, titled, and numbered the edition in pencil below the image.
