Linocut in Progress: Almost there!

Work... or at least the person doing the work, continues to stumble forward with the current reduction linocut in progress.

Step 7 could hardly be called a step... as it only involved the addition of two orangey spots and one tan spot on the birds. That's a male harlequin duck in the lead of the foam, and his female companion moving to intercept him. Female harley ducks are mostly brown, but there are a couple of areas of this particular bird that are hit by sunlight... hence the odd little tan shape. These areas were printed by hand rather than mucking about with the press, and I have my fingers crossed that it will all eventually resolve into something coherent. I might even have my toes crossed, also.

Step 7 detail

And look! "Artistic" photography... I took the photo on an angle to try to avoid the glare of wet ink, but that meant the birds looked like they were tipping up on their tails. Go ahead, make fun of me, but I am that person who has to align her yoga mat and her furniture with the wood or tile on the floor. It was a real wrench to decide whether I wanted the edges of the photo squared up or the birds turned in their appropriate direction for the purposes of this post. I went with the birds, and you will also... if you know what's good for you.

Step 8 rollup

Step 8! Thankfully there's a clear separation between the background and foreground material on the block at this stage, so I could ink each area separately. A transparent browny-gray was rolled in the background, and a gray-green in the foreground.

The working environment. Such as it is.

Clever viewers will note that the print on top in this photo is post-printing of Step 8, while the lower print is still at Step 7. Yes, it's a subtle change, but so, so necessary. Here's where we are now:

Step 8 printed.
Click to embiggen.

It's hard to believe that I still have quite a bit of carving to do when there is so little material left on the block, but I do. HOWEVER... it does look like I might get this one together in just 10 color passes again. I'm on a roll! Of less rolling. Which doesn't make sense now that I think of it, but you know what I mean.