#25 - Boxer - Refined Sketch

I like how this shaped up. Now: how to deal with the colors. I know I don't want brown, but rather a burgundy color. I'm going to use two blocks like I did with the scorpion. I need to think this out with a clear head before I start carving, but I'm hankering to get started! And it does look like Boxer, so it's a good portrait.

#19 - Three Colors in One Day

Seven colors. Not too shabby. I have to say that using two blocks for this was an excellent way to get warm and cool colors together while still using the reduction method. I can't imagine carving seven blocks and having it turn out with reasonable registration. I only had to set up the registration board twice, so it looks pretty tight. The colors are eye-popping. It's a fun print.

So, I'm up to 20 prints. One third of the way there!

#19 - Scorpion - Fourth Color...Blue

The last blue is electric blue. It has a hint of turquoise. Now the colors are really popping, and looking good. I was biting my nails through the other blues.

#19 - I'm Feeling Blue

I didn't take photos of the first layer of blue, but you can see the light blue in circles. This is the second blue. The last layer of blue is going to be very intense!

#20 - Between Meal Snack

I working on this little (4"x6") reduction print just for fun. Mostly to try my new supplies, and also as a gift. It will be four colors.

#16 - FINALLY Done!

This print was a registration nightmare, but... I learned a lot. I don't think my registration was lousy, but the artwork required perfect registration. Even an eighth of an inch was enough to ruin a print. I will do things differently next time.

The best part about this print was the element of danger of having only the most sketchy of plans. Working without a net forced me to be content with whatever I ended up with. Working towards perfection has it's good points, but I also want to be able to improvise. I learn more, certainly.

I ended up with nine good prints (out of 20). I've already sold one (thanks, Mom!).

#17 - Bitsy Little Four Color Leaf

I cranked out this little guy in three hours. It's four colors. The square is 1.5 inches wide, to give you an idea of size (what you see on the screen it about acutal size). It's really small! But, it was fun to make, and a nice way to end the day.

#16 - Fun and Frustration

Played with my new colors. I made a color wheel and goofed off. Then I mushed all the colors together on the glass and made a monoprint:

Then I tried to print the ballet dancer. For some reason the colors are not registering with each other. I wasn't feeling up to problem solving at that point. I don't want to waste prints, so I need to solve the problem methodically. So, I took one of the prints that was in a horrible green color and slapped some delicious blue over it, just to get the need to print something out of my system.

#16 - Dancer - Ready to Print Second Color

Here's a proof of the carving for the second color. My ballet position consultant will notice that there is a wonky line on her lower foot. Have no fear: it will get carved off momentarily. Can't wait to dig into my cans of Caligo ink and slop the stuff around with a palette knife. Delish! Tomorrow...

#16 - Rewind to the Ballet Dancer

Well, after a few hours of tweaking, cutting, taping, white-outing and Photoshopping, I think I've finally arrived at a dancer with reasonably accurate proportions. Drawing people is not my strong suit, so this was hard work.

So, do you want to go on an adventure with me? I'm going to carve and print without a plan and see what happens. The sketch above will be the guideline.You can watch the whole show! It could be a complete bomb, but I can always throw it all away, can't I? I have the power!

#15 - The Baby Is Born

The last color came out well. The size of the piece is 3x5, so this represents pretty detailed carving. I'm proud of that, and I also like the how the colors layer softly. The four colors give it a watercolor look.

My friend N gives it the stamp of approval, complete with exclamation points. That makes me happy!!!! She has to wait until Christmas to get it...

Print #14 - Lemur

 My little boy is not so little anymore, and will turn five soon. He was flipping through a wildlife magazine, and pointed to photo after and photo that I could "do a linocut of." So, I asked him if he wanted one for his birthday. Well, yes, actually, he did. We settled on a lemur. He's been delighted by every step of the process: watching me draw and carve, helping me a little with printing, generally being impressed. The color scheme for this print is Mint Chocolate Chip, because that's his favorite gum. Yes, gum.

I think I need to do reduction linocuts exclusively from now on. It forces me to do the whole print run. When I'm only doing one color it's easy to slack on not bother to print more than, say, one.

This print is a big confidence builder. My carving skills are allowing for finer lines, and I'm starting to understand some of the limitations in reduction prints, and becoming more savvy at avoiding problems. I'm looking forward to making complex, many colored reduction prints. A riot of color.

Print #11 - Carved

This is for my little nephew whose name sort of rhymes with coriander. He's turning one. I drew this when I got up this morning, but it's been in my head for a few days. I spent five hours carving. I did a test print, but you all will have to wait until I pull my first print to see the result. The critter depicted is supposed to be a tiger, but it's considerably more like a cat. Also, he came out quite French-looking. Like he might want to take your order. Overall, I think it will be a fun little print.

Print #10 - Third Color - RED!

This is where reduction prints are very difficult. I think it will take a lot of learning to understand how the colors will look when overlaid. The red is struggling with an orange tint, which is not what I intended. Too much bright yellow lies beneath it.

The other brain bender with reduction prints is to remember to carve all the areas that need to be carved. Here I am on the third color, and only just noticed that I had forgotten to carve her hands to leave them white. Drat. My work around is only okay, and I printed several of the red run before I noticed. So, that's disappointing, especially on that expensive paper! I hope the final color, black, will just make this pop, and redeem it.

Print #10 - Second Color Drying

Hellooooo... My pretties!

Print #10 - Second Color

Peek-a-boo!

Well, I can see that the more expensive paper is worth the extra money. The ink just lays down on it better. I hope I can find a source for it that is more affordable.

I like how this print is turning out so far. The ink looks like suede. I have been using a sheet of scratch paper to flatten the ink on the print, and take off any extra ink. It has really made an enormous difference in the quality of the final product. The colors lay over each other evenly rather than building up into pebbly messes of sandpaper.

Print #10 - Drying

The ladies are drying.

Print #10 - First Color

Here is the first color of print #10. She's a Queen of Hearts for a friend of ours who is having a birthday on Friday. I thought this would be a good subject that would fit well in a man's home.

I'm trying Hosho paper for the first time. I'm also making some prints on Masa paper. Hosho is handmade rice paper, and Masa is machine made. Hosho costs about four times as much money. Honestly, I can hardly tell the difference between the two. Only my wallet knows for sure.

The challenge with the print is going to be making sure that the correct side is up since the bottom and top are nearly identical.