Drawing and cutting others as I finish the first few. I feel like the early missteps are paying off now. Trying to figure out best timing between printing colors so that previous ink does not reject new ink.
This one involved a lot of trial and a lot error. In the end I’m happy with the print and I gained a lot of intangibles through it all. I ended up cutting the block for the middle-green 3 times til I got it right.
I have started to use Photoshop for color studies. I have always been very hesitant to let the computer creep into my printmaking process, but this just makes too much sense. It allows me to try hundreds of color variations in the time it would take to do a couple paint or marker thumbnails in the sketchbook. So I guess I’m using the computer as a visualization tool only, since I still start with a real drawing and still have to mix real ink and print with a real baren, etc.
Also, I tried sealing some blocks with spray polyurethane instead of spray shellac. I found the main difference is that the polyurethane takes a lot longer to dry - not cool if you are trying to print anytime soon.
This weekend I picked up Alexander Calder’s “Sketching Animals.” Definitely one of the best $4 I have spent in a while.
I’ve been trying to learn how to convey the essentials of a space without going into too much detail. I’d say these are 10 minute sketches and they are a lot better than the ones that have taken much longer. I guess it’s the freshenss factor. It seems like there is only a little room to tweak before things start to look pretty stale and life disappears from the sketch.
This weekend I “wasted” a lot of time printing 2 colors on Roly Poly. Feels like a waste but I know these little failures are most instructive. I thought my under-color was good until I printed the black on top. Plus, seeing it printed, I can now see some major changes I want to make to the under-color block. In other words, I’m going to have to redo at least 1/2 the work on this print. Oh well, whatever it takes to get it right. I’ll work on some other things, then come back to it.
I was really happy with the way the hand printing went. I found that wax paper makes a great slip sheet between the paper and baren. That has made a huge difference - no more rubbing through. The slickness helps me print darker and I can see through it to know where I need to rub more.