Sunday, January 2, 2011

So close, and yet...

I'm sure that at the end of the last post you all snickered into your hands and KNEW that I'd charge forward with this linocut today. I'm not sure why I challenged anyone to make a choice between working and ibuprofen except me.

It's the DM's fault, really. He felt sorry for me last night and gave my too-long-crouched-over-the-lino neck and shoulders a lovely rubdown. That, and a good night's sleep (assisted by, yes, ibuprofen) had me out of bed and ready to roll again this morning. (Roll again? Is that a printmaking pun?)


Right away there was trouble in printmaking paradise. I pulled color 5 and then decided the rocks had gone too dark, too fast. So after just a little carving for the next color I went back and covered most of it with a lighter tan before adding back a middle brown. Unless your nose is up against the print you really can't tell that there are four brownish colors here, but I am glad I went back for the lighter tone.


But now the kicker. I had expected this dark brown black color (#8) to be the last, but now I'm not so sure. It feels like it wants just a few darker bits in the tree and, dangit, I am out of time for today. Tomorrow's schedule is already quite full and Tuesday I'll be gone all day to Colorado Springs to install a show.

Ah, well... I'm not sure I intended to start 2011 at a dead sprint, but it's better than sitting around wondering what to do with myself!

4 comments:

  1. Looks wonderful - even in the small photo, I can see the color nuances in the rocks :).

    I'm really in awe of your ability to render trees so well, and give the dead/dormant ones their due; they have such character.

    Oh, BTW...the wind you got from the storm slammed Bisbee as well, which is where we were at the time. Ugh. I'm glad it's supposed to be in the 30's starting tomorrow...

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  2. Just one shot, a few cc's will do, of your enthusiasm and I'm sure I could un-stick my horribly stuck self.

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  3. I love how you keep adding color. 8-] It's gorgeous. And then you make it moreso.

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  4. (Shudder) I'm with you, Sonya. Cold is one thing, wind is another. And both of them without any snow is just RUDE.

    D... I think the kind of stuck you are experiencing at the moment is beyond my capacity to help. Have you been able to get home yet?

    Thanks, Ellen... I do have a hard time restraining myself when it comes to "just one more color."

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Linocut in Progress: The Third Act

Time to wrap up this linocut ! And we are wrapping at warp speed (see what I did there?)... because there are deadlines. Exhibition deadline...