I always hate to finish a print and not feel like it is a little better than the last one. That was the case here. The first image is the second attempt at color mixing and printing. I’m glad I took the time to reexamine the colors and the overall approach. I’m much more satisfied with the redo. I guess that is what they call learning the hard way. I’m trying to move toward a richer image with a little more nuance, if not more detail.
Slightly off topic, but etching is cool too, right? This is the next installment in the Minotaur series. If you are not familiar with the tragic and bizarre story of the Minotaur, you can google it. As with the first Minotaur etching, Ill be adding aquatint to tame the overall busy/muddiness of it. I have 4 pieces planned in this series.
Here are the results of the previously mentioned print.
In addition to the stamp patterning, I’ve made an effort to have the non-image area remain completely clean. Sometimes I like to allow some atmospheric cut wood texture to print, but sometimes it just looks messy. I have started cutting blocks out with a jig saw to address this issue. I first got the idea by seeing pictures of Bill Fick printing his mangled floating heads at http://evilprints.com/. Then I saw the couple from Tugboat Printshop do a demo on youtube. At that point, it finally sank in and I started to cut my blocks out too. A band saw would be better than a jig saw, but I’m not sure I can justify getting a bandsaw for that single purpose.
The other thing that is helping me print cleaner these days is remembering to spray laquer my blocks before inking so I can simply wipe away and stray ink with a paper towel. Not exactly rocket science, but it wasn’t obvious to me.