Lichtenstein, Pollock, and Rothko blew up the New York art scene in the 1960s, and Edward “Ed” Parker couldn’t escape.

While attending Cornell University, upstate, the fervor of avant garde art, and in particular, the process of silkscreen printing to create original works of art, captivated him.

“I’d actually been into art since elementary school,” he said during a chat last week.

While art seemed the polar opposite of his political philosophy major, he packed his last semester into the studio, studying drawing, painting, etching, and silkscreen printing.

The latter stuck.

While Parker remained creative, crafting a handmade Christmas card every year since 1971, his career as an environmental lawyer and father took priority.

Parker moved from Maryland to California, where he and his wife lived on and off for 18 years. Four years ago, Parker retired. And just recently, they moved to Port Townsend after visiting friends here and falling under the seaport’s spell.

“I’m sorta dead in the water,” Parker said of his ability to generate any prints at the moment.

After packing up his little studio and heading Northwest, he hasn’t yet found a studio space. But, while keeping an eye out for a house to purchase, he is keeping busy, using Photoshop to alter his photographs in preparation of that day.

“Even though I can’t print, I can still design,” he said.

“When I retired, I promised myself I’d get back into it,” he said of screen printing.

However, the process had changed quite a bit since he’d last partook. Some helpful classes and new information got him started in the right direction.

“The ability to use photographs got me back into taking photographs,” Parker said. And using Photoshop, he’s taken his art next-level.

While a photograph can contain many colors, Parker uses the program to narrow the colors per image down to 10 or 12.

“More than that, and it gets tedious,” he said.

Next, he makes a stencil for each color, and prints it onto a translucent paper. That sheet is positioned on a silkscreen prepped with photosensitive emulsion. After exposing the stencil, the areas creating the shape of each color can be washed away, leaving openings to apply water-based ink.

Layer by layer, a print emerges.

“The momentum keeps building,” he explained, saying that it’s encouraging to see the art taking shape beneath his hands.

The process is not for the impatient. The actual design time takes almost as long as making each print, Parker said. He estimates that a 10-color print might take eight to 10 hours to design, followed by 10 to 12 hours of printing.

“I usually print editions of 20 to 25,” he said, adding that he can print three or four colors in a day since the ink dries instantly.

The mention of ink brought up Parker’s initial experience with printmaking.

“Back then all the chemicals were petroleum-based,” he said.

Now, he works with non-toxic colors.

Mixing custom ink colors can be time consuming, he said, taking up to half an hour depending on how sophisticated a hue might be.

Parker has found that Lenox 100-pound cotton rag paper takes ink well, and provides a museum-quality print.

The result of his labors are small print runs at affordable prices, ranging from around $50 to $75 for original silkscreens. Most are under 10-inches-by-8-inches, but he found working in a larger format (13-inches-by-9-inches), as he did in his 2020 print, “San Fransisco Landscape,” invigorating.

“I’m serious about selling my work,” Parker said, adding that it’s not to make money as much as it is to be recognized for his work.

“Being able to sell your work validates the value of your work,” he said. “I’ve done reasonably well the last few years.”

As someone who’s spent a great deal of time in, and advocating for, outdoor landscapes, Parker feels the importance scale adds to the sense of a place.

“The larger ones do have more of an impact,” he said.

“The challenge is not just composing the designs so it works, but also trying to capture the spirit and mood of the place,” he said.

“Every place has got a spirit to it.”

Purchase Parker's work at  www.edwardparkerstudios.com.