Linocut in Progress: Second Green, in absentia

Through the magic of technology I'm going to catch you up with what happened last week in Maine before I came to Chicago, the day before I go back to Maine and pick up from here again. Didja get that?

Linocut in progress, green roll up, paper mask, sunshine!

After the adventure of the previous "fix-it" pass I figured the extra layer of "mixing white" would slow down the drying time, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover I could procrastinate packing for a few more hours and print the second, mid-tone green.

I had saved the leftover too-yellow-green from the first pass at the locust bush (I think that's what it is!), so I pulled that back out, added a good dollop of blue and some more transparent base and voila! It looked about right. And, hey! It helped that the sun was shining enthusiastically into the studio and I could feel confident about how the color would appear on the print. I cut another set of bird-shaped masks and was ready to (ahem) roll.

Reduction linocut in progress, Step 8

I am delighted (or perhaps relieved) to report that Step 8 went smoothly... good ink coverage, satisfactory color and value. The only troubling thing about it was that I then had to go back to packing my suitcase, knowing it would be more than a week before I could get back to work!

I think I can get this wrapped up in just two more color passes and a spot inking: Spot ink the red in the bird's epaulette, then a transparent gray over everything to create the third value of the greens and a mid-tone for the highlights in the bird's feathers. Theoretically that will bring me to the final black of the bird and I'll be finished... but of course theoretically is the operative word.

Tomorrow I'll be on the road (and in the air)... but look for me Tuesday with carving tools in hand and a determined-to-finish-before-Friday look in my eye. I've got another piece ready to go right after this, so the lino chips will be flying!