Go Bills!

Duck bills, that is.

Color number 3. How green is my ducky?

If you still have a hard time grasping what is meant by "Reduction Print," this should nudge you toward some clarity. If you recall, the last color was a bright yellow, and that was for the duck's bills. So, I carved out the area on the block where the bills are. The next area I will be carving is the drake's head, so the color I want to put down is green.

My favorite color is green, and my favorite green is the green of the male duck. In the sunlight, it's actually a rainbow of greens. I'll be using two greens to give the head some depth, and the first green I wanted is a very yellow green. I chose the green to go over the yellow so that the transparent green ink would be enhanced by the yellow. Very happy with the color.

Ducks in a row.

And, of course, you see the islands of yellow now. And the next state will show an area of bright green. This is reduction woodcut printing.

You probably can see that I'm still having a coverage issue, an issue I'd hoped to get rid of through the use of shellac. Well, I'm a learner, and I've been taken to school. Two things have come to light. First, I should have put multiple layers of shellac over the block, letting them completely dry in between. Second, I sanded the block with 220 grit paper. Might as well have used steel wool. I thought I was using 600 grit.

Funny thing, though, is that most of the problem are is in the water, and will probably enhance the look.

But I'm taking no chances with my next print, which I'm already setting up. Sufficiently shellacked, and I have five grits of paper waiting. Here's a sneak peak of "Drive In," which has quite a story to it. But you'll have to wait