Greenish

Okie dokie! NOW we're getting somewhere. The image is making itself plain now... a twisted, barkless tree against a backdrop of pines and a ridge of Mount Antero, here in Chaffee County. One last carve for the darkest bits and then this new (as yet unnamed, although "Twisted" is a serious contender) linocut will be done.

I'm struggling a little with the paper on this edition. I'm not sure what has happened, except that the batch of paper I just bought seems to have an unusual number of flaws. At least one of the prints in this edition will probably have to be discarded... there are two mysterious spots that just won't accept the ink. They look sort of like fingerprints, but it's not a question of oil spots and water-based inks, as I use only oil-based inks. We'll see what happens with the last color, as I typically burnish the last one with a spoon instead of a baren, which gives me more firm control over the transfer of ink.

There are a few other prints with little "hickies": raised spots in the paper that end up with an inkless halo around them. I am really quite perplexed, as I've never run into this problem with the Hosho paper before. The last print came from this same batch of paper and those sheets were just fine!

Ah, well. What's that line about life getting boring without challenges? (Ha! Wouldn't it be nice to have a blissfully boring day ONCE in a while?)

Tomorrow afternoon I'm running away from home for a bit. Have some errands and a meeting to attend in Colorado Springs on Wednesday morning, so I'll make the 2-hour drive tomorrow afternoon and stay the night with friends. If I get there in time, I might treat myself to a little bit of sketchbook-and-zoo. Yippee!