A step-by-step explanation of Reduction Process Linoleum Block Printing - Part 4

This blog will focus on printing the first color or a four color reduction linoleum block print and what comes next.

 As I said previously, when printing a reduction linoleum block, I must print all the paper at the same time. Because I continually carve away from the same block, I cannot go back and print more after the print is completed.  I always print a few more than I think I want.

 “Stuff happens” throughout the process; even after decades of experience, I end up mixing a color that I need to modify, misregistering colors (more on that later),  or I need to cut away more after I proof, or test, a print. When you go to an art show, you may see the term artist’s proof at the bottom left-hand corner of a print. That means this print is somehow different from the rest of the edition, even though it comes from the same block. Some of my proofs I can sell as a one off, others end up in the trash. 

Last time I described color mixing and a little bit about printing. Below are photographs of the block with the first color of ink on it and the paper with the first color of ink on it. The ink is oil-based, so the ink on the block is very shiny. 

Once I am done printing all the paper with the first color I refer to my original drawing. My next step is to cut away only the parts of the linoleum block that I want to stay blue. In short, I print a color, then I cut away what I want to stay that color.  This is a subtractive process, which is not intuitive. We are used to additive processes, like acrylic painting. If you have done Batik, watercolor, or decorated Ukrainian Easter eggs, you have had to think backwards. It is imperative that I keep my drawing and use it as my “road map” to see where I am going next. 

How do I decide which color to print first? I look at my drawing and figure out what makes the design easiest to carve. Generally I work from foreground to background or start with the part that has the most intricate carving. For example, if I have a black tree with lots of little branches , I print black and carve it out first. It is much harder to cut out the background around those little branches. 

If you read textbooks on printmaking, it may say start with the lightest color first. I find that the oil-based inks are very opaque and cover light over dark pretty well. Water-based inks tend to be more translucent.  In either case, make sure the ink on the paper is thoroughly dry before you print the next color. Water-based ink will dry in an hour or so. Oil-based inks may take days. You have carving to do between printings, so that usually gives the ink time to dry. Check out my Instagram account to see videos about my process at  https://www.instagram.com/dcastlebabcockart/

Want to learn more?  Subscribe to my newsletter to see the rest of the reduction process linoleum block printing. To see my finished Linoleum Block Prints, featuring landscapes of upstate New York and Moonlight Prints,visit my online store at  www.DCastleBabcockArt.com.