We've finished with blues, although because I am working with transparent color, everything will continue to stay in that blue range. For Step 6, though, I'm rolling out a nice gray.
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| Reduction linocut in progress: Step 6 rollup |
Looking good! I quite like how well the bird seems to be settled down into the water. Loons and cormorants are both heavy-bodied birds, and their low posture in the water is really characteristic. (Cormorants sit so low that sometimes all you can see is their head and neck, like a mini Loch Ness monster.)
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| Step 6 printed |
Now we have the tiny (not-quite-1/4-inch-diameter) area of the loon's surprising red eye to contend with. In this case it's fairly shadowed, so doesn't have to be bright, but it does need to be there. This calls for some pochoir! I cut a little stencil from a piece of acetate, and "pounced" this color directly on to the prints.
The really exciting thing about this print has been how fast it's been drying. I guess that's usually true for something that's only six color passes in to the process, but it has seemed to go along faster than usual. Smaller image, warmer days, less ink because so much of the block is already carved away... all these things contribute. But it was so nice to be able to just pop in and pounce this little red shape without having to wait long.
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| Step 7 pochoir stencil |
It looks a bit alarming here as just a big, flat red spot, but I'm counting on subsequent layers in the bird to tone that down. Let's move on!
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| Hardly worth calling a step, but here's Step 7 printed |
Oops. And then I got distracted and didn't take a photo of the Step 8 rollup. Although I think it was the same as Step 6 or perhaps a wee bit darker. I almost always save leftover ink at any print stage, and if the next color pass is in a similar or related hue, I will use the previous ink to start the mix for the next. Kind of like continuing to add vegetables every day to stretch a pot of soup. Or maybe like sourdough starter. You get the idea.
There's very little surface left on the block now. Here's Step 8...
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| Step 8 printed |
Really, really close now, which means... hey! I might actually finish this in fewer than ten color passes! When was the last time THAT happened? It's certainly been a while.
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| Step 9 rollup |
The Step 9 rollup was almost-but-not-quite black, maintaining a good bit of transparency. As you can see on the block, the only places this color will be printed are the bird and its reflection.
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| "Lone Loon" reduction linocut, 6" x 12", edition of 16 |
And there it is! An entire reduction print of 9 colors in about a week! Whew. It was really nice to spend some concentrated time in the studio, especially since I am now moving at high speed to prepare for the busy summer season. I've been framing, labeling, transporting, hanging work... all the glamorous bits of the artist's life. (It's all about "stuff into the car, stuff out of the car.")
I've got a bit of excitement on the not-too-distant horizon... an opportunity to get away with a sketchbook and my thoughts for a couple of weeks. More about this as it comes closer!
Hi Sherrie, fabulous loon, thanks for sharing your process.
ReplyDeleteJust wondering what you pounced the red eye in with? A finger or stencil brush or an eraser? Or something else?
We’re heading into winter, and more rain than we’ve see in a decade or longer…..I hope you have a fabulous summer.
Thanks! I usually use a small stencil brush to pounce small bits of color like that. I seem to have the best control that way.
DeleteWe, on the other hand, are headed into summer... which in Maine means swinging between cold, rainy days and hot, humid ones. But it also means boats and seabirds and water... so I'm not complaining too much. :-)