I let the little leaf lino sit for a day and a half before I tried to print the 4th color. My goal is to put blue over yellow and have it remain blue. It's something I've managed before so I know it can be done, but it requires a bit of timing and, in this case, patience.
The previous layers need to be quite dry, and since I'm trying not to use cobalt drier (it's nasty stuff) I'm obliged to wait. And (it turns out) wait. And wait.
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| Why, yes, I AM also using two different kinds of paper. |
Yesterday's efforts went something like a chapter from Goldilocks and the Three Bears. First blue was too dark. Second blue was too light and looked greenish.
The third blue was just right, but DANGIT! The prints were too damp and color started to lift. So I conceded the battle, cleaned up the porridge, and went on to something else.
I went back today and gave it another try (thankfully I kept all that ink I mixed yesterday)... still too wet. Huh. Whatever the reason, it means a few more days before I can pick this piece up again.
In the meantime, I have resurrected a block that I drew... what? More than a year ago? It's been languishing on a shelf, another piece for the "Underfoot" series. The first color required no carving so I printed a bunch of blue-green rectangles and then carved for the second color.
It's been a while since I have tackled something this intricate, and I'm not sure my heart's entirely in it. But, hey! Why not? It's better than sitting around watching ink dry.
What's amazing, Sherrie, is how much of art gets made while we wait around for something else to dry.....
ReplyDeleteYour capacity to think ahead simply amazes, and eludes, me!! Beautiful work!!
ReplyDeleteUh huh. You've got that right, Patrick.
ReplyDeleteAnd Lani... if I really had the capacity to think ahead I would have become an accountant or something practical.. doncha think? ;-)
Waiting for something to dry just gives the squirrels in your head time to race around and get into more trouble, so hey--where's the problem with that? I mean, it's not like you have anything else to do... ;~) Lovely work, great commentary, as always. Thanks.
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