Erich Neitzke

drawing, sculpture, printmaking, mixed media, wood, illustrator

Brookport, Illinois

About the Artist

Erich Neitzke was born in Mt. Prospect, Illinois in 1979. He received his Associates of Fine Arts degree from William Rainey Harper Community College in 2001 and his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a minor in art history from Northern Illinois University in 2003. Before going back to school for his Master of Fine Arts in 2008, he spent a year in Paducah Kentucky, living in the Lower Town district as a part of the art community. After a year he returned to school and received his Master of Fine Arts from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2011 with an emphasis in printmaking. He currently teaches art classes at the WKCTC Paducah School of Design and at Murray State University.

About the Work

I am a printmaker who primarily focuses on relief printing and screen printing techniques. Inspired by woodcuts, I carve woodcut relief sculptures in the same method as woodcut blocks for printing, but instead of printing the carved blocks, I paint the carved out areas in different colors and then roll a layer of ink over the surface that I let dry. This gives the 3D relief sculpture the look of a 2D print. I often layer the blocks to create further depth in the sculptured image.

Additionally, I make drawings with various media and I also make prints on paper using traditional printmaking techniques.