Tree, Chaguaramas 4

Tree, grey and yellow blocks

The grey and yellow blocks are printed. Started out with fifteen, printed one upside-down by mistake and a couple more are doubtful. There was a complication with the grey because the "plate" is thick styrotex and it threw the registration off a bit.

Tree, Chaguaramas 3

Although I haven't been posting I'm working on the tree and have started cutting the blocks. This time I'm making a separate block for each colour and this is the "separation" for the black block:

The "Black" separation for the Tree linocut (shaded areas)

The shaded areas will be left on the block and will be printed with black ink, everything else will be cut away.

It's funny, twenty years ago in 1991, it was all in the day's work to do sophisticated colour separations on the computer, everything automated and fantastic quality. Today, along with millions of others, I'm working out which shape goes on which block with pen and paper, and cutting it laboriously by hand, shaving by shaving, and getting satisfaction and enjoyment from the process. I feel there's some deep lesson to be learned if I could only think what it is.

Croton reduction linocut 6, final print

Croton reduction linocut, final print

This was done a couple of days ago, the prints are dry and packed away already. I'll take it out and look again in a month or two. I'm not sure if I prefer the last one with the brown-red ink, before the black was added. I toyed with the idea of stopping the run and letting it stay as it was; then went ahead, thinking that's what I planned, let me see it through. With future prints I will a) improve the registration system to reduce the number lost during the process, and b) when in doubt keep a few back at the penultimate stage. However I doubt that this exact situation will arise again.

Croton reduction linocut 5

Croton reduction linocut, fourth colour

It's not perfectly registered but I was pleased with this when lifting it off the block. The process is quicker now, the inking is less because so much has been cut away.

Croton reduction linocut 4

Croton reduction lincut, the third colour

This one was disappointing. I lost the first four (out of twelve) because of mis-registration and took ages to figure out what was wrong. My system consists of a sheet of the same paper that I'm using for the print run taped to the work surface, with an outline of the block drawn on it, and with narrow strips of lino acting as guides. The guides stayed in place but the tape holding down the paper became unstuck allowing movement to take place. In a nutshell, the block shifted in relation to the guides when burnishing the back of the paper. I now know that I need to devise a better registration system.

After figuring it out and securing the base sheet, there was considerable improvement but it became evident that slight shifts had taken place in the earlier colours. So none of them will be spot-on perfect.

I'm not too cast down. It reminds me of a time some years ago when I was drawing a friend, a successful businesswoman. It didn't go well and the friend commented that she would never choose to do something with such a high failure rate. It made me stop and think ... I'm still thinking ... it's true, in art the failure rate is high but it's one of those things that one accepts as an artist, it's part of the job. The rate improves over time, with practice and experience, this I know for sure, my rate is far better than it was ten or fifteen years ago. Definitely a long term prospect though, no quick miracles in this field.

Right now I'm relatively new to printmaking and expect glitches to occur and one did and no harm, it's good experience. I will continue with this linocut (two more colours) and will be happy if I end up with three or four passable prints.

Croton reduction linocut 3, the second colour

Croton reduction linocut, the second colour

This colour didn't print as smoothly as the yellow, the ink was a different consistency and was tending to separate in the tube. I blended it as well as I could on the glass with a palette knife. I'm hoping the slightly mottled effect won't be a problem, maybe it will have a charm of its own. So far my registration system is working reasonably well. This was actually printed several days ago, I'm only now getting round to posting it.

Croton reduction linocut 2

Croton linocut in progress, the yellow block

Supplies arrived yesterday and the yellow is printed (hand-burnished) and hanging up to dry. Now to cut the same block for the next colour. I'm expecting to lose a few to mistakes during printing, I hope not more than one per colour. 

Croton reduction linocut 1-- high hopes

Croton, first cut of the lino block, 12 x 9"

This is one of several small projects I have going on at the moment, some of them involving printmaking. It's a reduction linocut with five colours planned -- too ambitious, maybe, but I can't see a way of doing it with less. It could go horribly wrong at any time, a slip of the cutting tool and so on, but right now I'm hopeful, and keen to see it taking shape. I've used markers to indicate where some of the colours are, it's too easy to cut the wrong bits. I'll be printing it by hand unless I can find somewhere in Port of Spain with a relief press or etching press. 

There was a lot of preliminary work to get to this point. I didn't like the first drawing (which took hours) so I ditched it and started over, and a gouache study didn't look promising for making a painting. The strongly variegated foliage suggested that a linocut would be worth a try, so here goes. But of course I won't know until the end. 

I will update this as it goes along. I may have to stock up on paper or ink before printing the first colour. With a reduction linocut you get only one chance.

A three-colour linocut

Savannah with Tents, three-colour linocut, image size 8 x 12 inches.

(Click image to enlarge)

I cut three lino blocks for this image, blue, yellow and black. By printing the yellow over the blue I was able to get a fourth colour, green (and strictly speaking it's five colours if you count the white). The inking and printing are not of the best because I used water-based inks and printed it by hand. The water-based inks enabled me to do the print run over two days (not counting the cutting of the blocks). Oil-based ink would be smoother but it takes longer to dry and the clean-up is messy so I opted for water-based. Also, I printed it manually with a baren plus hand pressure which don't achieve anything like the pressure of a press. Under the circumstances I'm happy with it, especially that my simple little home-made registration method worked quite well. 

The main problem was the inking. I mixed the ink colours and they came out slightly different each time the block was re-inked. The consistency of the ink changes from minute to minute as well, but I'm getting a feel for what is about right. I'm pleased with this outcome, I have eight or nine presentable prints from two runs, and I have the blocks safely in a box where they will be one of the first to be printed if ever I get a small printing press which at present is not remotely likely. However, Google has helpfully been putting ads for printing presses in the margins of my emails, just in case.