Ronald L. Ruble "The Birth of the Queen Bee" Hand colored Archival Pigment Print

Somewhere along the line I discovered the newspaper and their use of Ben Dey dots. I had been reading the newspaper for years but it never dawned on me how the pictures in the paper looked so real. The day that I "discovered" how it was done, it was a revelation. It was there in front of me on a dailey basis for years just waiting for me to see it, all these dots making forms and shadows and producing great images. I immediately made some test drawings with dots and the result was excellent and opened a whole new avenue for me to pursue. Right then I knew that I had found my technique. 

According to Roland Poska, Director of the Fishy Whale Press, that was the day that I became an artist. I had begun chasing "the perfect dot". He preached to me on many occasions that the image was somewhat irrelevant, it was just the vehicle to carry me on my journey to make that perfect dot. Roland believed that an artist had to define themselves in this type of manner. He had spent his entire life chasing "the deckle edge". Apparently he wanted company in his quest and I and my dot were handy to become one of his disciples. I would nod my head in agreement and then have another pitcher of beer.

The nude below was one of my first images using dots. Then I got the idea to hand color them, more or less in sepia tone, which was then followed by full color. Along the way I became aware of digital manipulation. I said hello to that process and introduced them to my tool box also. It was getting crowded in that box but it was an awesome period for me as it opened so many doors for my work. I could rearrange my imagery to my hearts content and also had some excellent control that I had never dreamed of. And understanding that I am a control freak, I had found my niche.

                  Ronald L. Ruble "Muse" Hand Colored Archival Pigment Print

                Ronald L. Ruble, "Muse" Hand Colored Archival Pigment Print

           Ronald L. Ruble "I See My Dreams in Black and White" lithograph

Ronald L. Ruble "Learning to Fly" etching

Ronald L. Ruble "Flight 754: Asheville" etching

Ronald L. Ruble "The Discovery of Honey" Lithograph

 Ronald L. Ruble "Black Waters" Lithograph

Ronald L. Ruble "Learning to Fly III" Hand colored Archival Pigment Print

Image Manipulation

Below are images using the digital process. They were done with my dot drawings with some minor manipulation. There were no photographs involved, except for the holy picture used in the print "Day of the Dead". Photos would come later.

Ronald L. Ruble "Landscape X" Hand colored Archival Pigment Print

I liked this landscape drawing so I used it over and over again in several images. See below, three more images with the original "Landscpe X" being used as background. 

 Ronald L. Ruble "Poe and His Muse" Hand colored Archival Pigment Print

Ronald L. Ruble "Day of the Dead" Hand colored Archival Pigment PrintRonald L. Ruble "The Birth of Icarus" Hand Colored Archival Pigment Print

Developing an Image

 Below is another good example of developing a final piece, using the same images in each to arrive at the final result. Though each print is a separate work in itself, I have used several of the same images, varying in  scale, to produce three separate images.

In these finished works; the female nude, the astronaut and our famous "Landscape X" are again put to work. In "Sarah", the landscape itself is used three different times in various sizes. It saves me hundreds of hours of drawing and produces the same result, filling the background with interesting and homogenist material. I should mention that there was extensive hand coloring done so you will see varients in the prints. For the purists, hand coloring should furnish them with the "hands on" quality of the print that they find so necessary. This craft process, hand coloring and drawing on each print, actually goes beyond their need for "hands on". Some people have rules that are totally contrary to the definition of art. In my art, rules do not apply! They are for engineers.

Ronald L. Ruble "Untitled" Hand colored Archival Pigment Print

Ronald L. Ruble "Asleep in Italy" Hand colored Archival Pigment Print

Ronald L. Ruble "Sarah" Hand colored Archival Pigment Print