Pangnirtung (May 09/05) - Jolly Atagooyuk inks the finishing touches on an Arctic sunset that glows against the image of a white ptarmigan touching down on the tundra.

The 41-year-old has been printmaking for about 12 years. Right now he's busy finishing off prints that will be displayed in 22 galleries across the country, as part of the 2005 Pangnirtung Community Print Collection.

The collection features only 19 prints this year, as fewer printmakers participated than in previous years. Other artists whose work will be showcased include Leetia Aliviktuk, Enookie Akulukjuk, Geela Sowdlulapik, Abigail Ootoova. Tommy Angnakak, Josea Maniapik and Andrew Qappik.

Atagooyuk mixes high-quality oil paints to form every shade of the sunset, which slips from dark blue to yellow as it reaches the horizon, with purple and red mixed into each layer.

After two hours, he's nearly finished. Then it's time to move on to the next print. He'll make about 30 as a complete run, and his biggest challenge is ensuring they all look identical.

"It's got to be exactly like the next one," he said.

He first studied woodcuts at the local learning centre of Nunavut Arctic College, then continued taking printmaking courses in Iqaluit where he broadened his repertoire. After finishing his diploma in 1994, he joined the Uqqurmiut Centre in Panniqtuuq.

Printmaking is far more time-consuming than many realize, Atagooyuk said. Sometimes he'll spend two to three days cutting out a large stencil.

His favourite colours are bold blues and blacks, offset with a splash of red.

"That's very powerful," he said

The 2005 collection will have its official launch on June 24 at three main galleries: the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit museum in Iqaluit, the Houston North Gallery in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, and the Albers Gallery of Inuit Art in San Francisco.

The first collection was released in 1973.