The five images on this page are intaglio prints that were scanned from the originals. I apologize for the quality of reproduction and the time they take to load. I would love to have the opportunity to "show you my etchings".
"I am an Artist" (etching and photo etching) by Tom Hoskins
This piece is a statement in response to Luis Camnitzer, the professor I studied under in Italy in 1983. After reviewing the portfolio of work that I had done at the University of South Carolina, he said to me, "It's alright to do what you do as long as you don't call yourself an artist. At the most you are a businessman who sells drawings...bad drawings at that". When I showed him this print he asked, "What were you going to write...Bulls Eye? I told him that was not exactly what I had in mind. I AM AN ARTIST!
"Behind the Wheel" (etching) by Tom Hoskins
This piece is the third in a series of four intaglio prints entitled "On the Road". I did this in 1981 while studying at the University of South Carolina under Boyd Saunders. This is my favorite of the work I have created, I have always considered it one of my best. It was created using many different techniques including etching, aquatint, sugarlift, and engraving. I often talk about the techniques used to create my work but seldom talk about the content. (maybe that's why Luis said I am not an artist?) The subject matter of this series is very important to me. It even means more to me now, twenty years later. What road are you on? Where does it lead? Who is behind the wheel?
"Alien Valley Landing" (etching and photo etching) by Tom Hoskins
This piece was done in 1984 while studying at California State University under Marty Camarata.
It is part of a body of work called "Techno-Idiosynchracies", which is a word I made up to describe my tendancy to be overly technique oriented. It is a 4-color process photo-etching with
a diamond-hexagon matrix similar to a color video screen. The triangle is cut out of the fourth plate to emboss the paper making it standout in that area. The subject originally photographed was rows of trees in an almond orchard. You see, we had just moved from South Carolina to Modesto, California. Transplanted in the middle of the San Joaquin Valley, we felt like aliens. One night I had a close encounter in an almond orchard...I don't want to talk about it.
"I'm Guana Kick Booty" (photo etching) by Tom Hoskins
Sherri and I drove from South Carolina to California and back during spring break our senior year at Carolina. It was a memorable trip... While in Phoenix, Arizona we bought an Iguana which we brought home as a pet and named "Guana Kick Booty". He was the first subject of the 4-color process photo etching technique that I learned in Italy. That technique was the main reason that I went to Studio Canmnitzer instead of any other Summer-in-Italy program. It wasn't an uncontrollable desire to be insulted by a multilingual art critic. This was the first print I created that summer in 1983.
"Lady" (etching) by Tom Hoskins
I had three Irish setters when Sherri and I met. That would be a long story. Here is the short version. "Lady" was the first. She was a little puppy when she was given to me in 1978. Butch Cassidy "Butch" was her mate. The Sundance Kid "Sunny" was their offspring. (born in the back of my dad's Oldsmobile on the way to the vet) Anyway... I did portraits of all three dogs. Lady was special. We found out she had heartworms during her pregnancy. She had complications but made it through it, was treated afterwards and lived. When we lived on a farm in California she used to go off for days at a time and come back. One time she came back worn out, dripping wet, with a rabbit in her mouth. The last time I ever saw her was November 5, 1984. The day we went to the hospital to have our first son she was standing in the driveway when we left. Maybe she will come home after she catches the rabbit.
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