Richard Armendariz is a master of the visual parable. Known as a painter who regularly shows his paintings at his San Antonio gallery, Ruiz-Healy, Armendariz also makes woodcuts with Flatbed Press. In 2017, he carved four blocks and working with Flatbed's master printers he experimented printing the blocks with various colors of ink on a variety of papers. Based on the color proofs, Armendariz decided to edition these images in seven different editions with seven different colors.
In one of the largest images, Tell Me Where It Hurts, Armendariz uses familiar southwest imagery of a coyote and jackrabbits set in a sharp spare landscape. Into this landscape he carved the text of the title which overshadows and somehow stops the perceived intentions of the animals. 
Editioned in a deep red on a warm Japan paper, the image seems feverishly anxious while the same image printed in a smaller edition with cobalt blue on bright white paper seems cooly confident. One of the beautiful aspects of printmaking is that the same carved block can create woodcuts that vary in content depending on how they are printed.
Armendariz also carved two blocks with images of skulls, cacti and a ribbon of text: in one "Loca, Loca, Loca" and the other "Be Back In A Minute." The resulting editions of these blocks are titled Braque's Green, Katherine's Purple, Pansy Pink and Victory and each uses bright, complex colors.
The final woodcut features the carved text and title "Wish You Were Here" on the sail of a ship. Here Armendariz has departed from familiar southwestern imagery and instead uses an antique sailing vessel to frame the carved text. The ship, which is set on a sea as turbulent as the sky, is carved like a vintage illustration and printed in a blue that underscores a fabricated nostalgia. The seven final editions were signed in January 2018 and are available now at Flatbed. Visit Armendariz's page here to see all the new editions.