Twofer Tuesday

Having rescued the print from the trick brown I used on the disappearing mushroom, I did a nice bright pink. The animal in the picture is a newt, very comon in the woods in Western New York. They are a striking bright orange with fluorescent pink dots. I prefer not to print with fluorescents due to fading, so I do the best I can to mimic. I love the look of the pink with the brown gray.

Last night, seeing that the print had dried well, I took a risk and printed the first orange. This will be the darker orange of the shadowed areas of the newt. I was very happy with this color. However, because the lighter orange is a tone of this orange, I neetd to be mindful of what happened with the mushroom. But on one of the earlier versions of this print, I played it too safe and there was way too much contrast. Here's hoping that I've figured it out!

Premium Blend

Working in the larger format is a fairly recent development. Up until a few years ago, I worked almost exclusively in 5x7 image areas. The few attempts at larger 9x7 blocks always seemed to end in disaster. After I bought my press, I gave the larger size another try, and never looked back.

Unfortunately, I have been wary of using the rainbow roll on the larger blocks, mainly because the brayer I use is only 8", and that poses some challenges for the rainbow roll. I did have a 12" roller I bought several years ago, and I tried it out on this print, only to find the roller was uneven, and useless to me. There's $25 I won't see again.

I could have just done the rainbow roll on the top half of the block. I've done that before, but it has always caused problems with the successive colors, as they don't lay down properly. My solution was to print cleanly over the top, then print the bottom just to even out the ink. It worked very well, though right now the print looks scary. After the next color, a dark red, things should be back to normal.

A New Leaf

Not quite ready for the big reveal, "Sunflower Farm" one color away from completion. It clocks in at 11 colors, and I used two blocks. When the ink is dry and the dust settles, I will give a rundown of the process. However, they're looking so good drying on the line that I had to show them off. 

The post is called a new leaf, because 2014 has been an incredible period of growth for me. I began the year by enrolling in school and taking a drawing class which simply changed by whole approach to everything. When I finally forced myself back to the studio with the "DeSoto" print I found that I had improved markedly from the stop & go torture sessions that marked last summer's studio time.

For the first time in years, I am working on multiple projects. My other, heh heh, "pet project," is "Solstice," a portrait of my good friend, whom we call Ticey. This is state two of a 6-color print.

Hall of Heroes: Gwen Diehn

In the spring of 2002, as I continued educating myself on the art of woodcut printmaking, I hit the library, and hit it hard, looking for any books on technique. There weren't many, but there was one, and it was spectacular: "Simple Printmaking," by Gwen Diehn.

Not only was it full of projects and tep-by-step techniques, but it also had a full color gallery of woodcuts by artists I would later communicate with through barenforum.org. It helped push me further down the rabbit hole and into a deeper world of printmaking. Visit Diehn at http://real-life-journals.blogspot.com/

Hall of Heroes: David Bull and Barenforum.org

Being an artist can be hard on the head, heart and hands. It can be a lonely journey, even for the most introverted. I think it's important to have a community for support, information and networking.

David Bull

For relief printmakers there is no better resource than the Baren Forum. Founded in Japan by a Canadian ex-pat named David Bull, who works in traditional Japanese printmaking, Baren Forum is a friendly group of artists who are always there to help you get through the rough spots, and to cheer your victories.

I hate to think how slow and painful this journey could have been with out this group. Visit www.barenforum.org, and check out the many galleries of fine, fine work from all over the world.