HQ Gallery artists pose with their prints. (Courtesy photo)

By Tibby Lerner
Special to the Herald

On Saturday, April 7 the HQ Gallery at 333 First St. in Benicia will be hosting a very special one-day sale of art from its six printmakers. There will be at least 60 one-of-a-kind prints on sale from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a reception from 2 to 5 p.m..
Patrons can speak with the artists directly to learn more about their vision and how they express through their art. Many print styles will be represented, including etchings, monoprints, woodblocks, clay prints and mixed media.
Master printmaker Ronna Leon has been the director of the Printmaker Workshop at Arts Benicia since 2012. Her goal in having this one-day sale at the gallery is to let more people know about the fine art of printmaking. She has a passion for teaching and to encourage each person to develop their own style.
Jan Cook has always identified herself an artist, starting with painting and drawing. She expresses meaningful emotions through her pieces. There are hidden surprises embedded in her designs, so that the more you look, the more you see new features and ideas.
Christina Finnie is currently specializing in monotypes. She enhances many of her prints with watercolor, pastel or pencil, creating a truly unique look for each one.  She loves the surprise element of the printmaking process and she also enjoys the communal energy and cooperative spirit of being with other artists in the workshop.
Elizabeth Wooley creates relationships between several elements in her collage-based etchings and aquatints. She describes her process as being very intuitive, building layers of shapes and colors as she creates each piece.
”Printmaking is an ancient art,” Wooley said. “It’s very freeing.”
She uses recycled materials and torn paper in some of the images.
MJ Coleman’s captivating and quirky animal portraits bring delight to both adults and kids. Her print of a cow’s face from her “See Me” series was the cover art for the March 2018 issue of Benicia Magazine. One of her favorite techniques is to paint on plastic, make one impression on textured paper and then emboss it. She also creates etchings, which she says is “very delicate and painstaking process.”
Les Overlock describes his work as “extreme expressionism.” Many artists that use this style create only abstracts, but Overlock also includes figures. He uses either clay or jelly as a base to paint on and then presses the paper onto the base. He is very happy to be a new member of HQ Gallery and enjoys explaining his techniques to visitors.

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