Cyrus Highsmith is a letter drawer, teacher, author, and graphic artist. He teaches type design at Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). He wrote and illustrated the acclaimed primer Inside Paragraphs: Typographic Fundamentals. In 2015, he received the Gerrit Noordzij Prize for extraordinary contributions to the fields of type design, typography, and type education. In 2017, he became Creative Director for Latin Type Development at Morisawa USA.
I have been observing and drawing crows for many years. I am captivated by their graphic nature. I love the blackness of their feathers, the triangles that form their bodies, and the sharpness of their beaks. These images began as very small ink drawings, made with a ruling pen, in a sketchbook. They were scanned, enlarged, and refined digitally. Master printer James Stroud’s printing added depth and intensity I couldn’t achieve by myself.
The four aquatints with chine collé are available individually for $400. each or $1500. for the suite. They are titled Standing Crow, Pecking Crow, Calling Crow and Turning Crow.
Each image measures 12 x 18 inches. The sheets measure 17.5 x 22.5 inches. The plates were printed in editions of 30.
