So close!

... but not quite finished. I had hoped to finish printing the duck linocut today, but the last round of color is still too tacky. I'm going to try to wrap things up tomorrow– I am really anxious to get this one settled.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a look at what came in the mail this week. My year-and-a-half-old 4-inch Takach brayer (on the right) has a new sibling. Yeah, it's an EIGHT-inch Takach hand brayer. I had some good sales last month and I overpaid my estimated taxes, so I decided it was time to treat myself to another fine tool. I. Love. These. Brayers. Wide diameter for a longer roll-out length, beautifully surfaced rubber, sturdy construction. They take a bit of muscle to move (nice tricep workout), but they lay down a perfectly scrumptious layer of ink. And now I can achieve an 8"-wide blended roll in one pass. Happy.