Ding Dong Daddy New Improved

Sometime around 1968, a chance discussion with a student about fluorescent color resulted in the first can of ink being ordered for the print lab. It soon became apparent that using even one fluorescent color would overpower all the traditional inks in any given print, and, consequently, Walmsley ordered more colors as his imagery moved from the B&W expressionistic works and his sumi-e gesturalism to a first series of fluorescent stamps with zoological forms, and then to a series of maps at the beginning of the seventies. His successive color applications on each print often meant a dozen or more runs through the press. Walmsley evaluated each color for its viability, to see if it was “color functional.” Someone once asked him how he could think of that many colors on each print, to which he responded with his usual aplomb,“one at a time.”