Planning is Everything-Part 4

I have time this week to actually do printmaking! Last week I printed the second color. I spent about two hours cutting away the areas that I want to stay dark green. I cut out pine needles and grass. I always keep my original drawing nearby to guide me through the process.

I just finished printing a light yellow-green on top of the dark green. Here is the block with the third color of ink on it. I used a rainbow roll to make the yellow green brighter at the top and the bottom of the print. I do this to create aerial perspective-using color to show space. Colors are warmer in the foreground and cooler as they recede into the background. It's subtle, but it gives the image more depth. The tree leaves at the top and grass at the bottom are in the foreground.

Block prints have a tendency to be flat in color. People sometimes say my prints look more like photographs. My use of rainbow rolls to create aerial perspective, along with intricate carving makes the linocuts look more realistic. The center of the image is background. Here is a short video of inking the block.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/9e0141_70b7cba5dd354f17b03e00f869012437/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

I'm inking the block with a small brayer, working in two directions.

Here's the print with the third color of ink. I will be cutting the grass and leaves of the Birch trees in the foreground.

Check back next week to see my progress. If you missed the previous blogs, click here.

See me in Speculator August 13th

I am heading to the Speculator Craft Fair on Thursday, August 13th. This one-day show runs from 9-4 in the park. To see my show schedule, click the link below.

Show Schedule