Linocut in Progress: Color in a gray season

 Mud season came early to the midcoast this year. So. Much. Rain.

Seemed like a great time to get started on a piece with a little more color in it. I had big plans, but they started in a quite humble way.

This piece has a fair amount of white in it... mostly little bitty shapes, so there was a bit of carving to do before I rolled up the first color. And even then, I didn't get much satisfaction immediately, because my first color pass was just some spot inking of a pale yellow color. This represents some super-small areas of warm reflection in an otherwise very cool-toned image to come. 

Linocut in progress: Step 1 rollup

To keep the color contained I cut a newsprint mask...

Step 1 mask

And printed...

Step 1 printed

Hard to photograph, since the color was so pale... and the image is at an angle to avoid wet ink reflections, but you get the idea.

The good news is that there was only a small amount of carving to do to hold these shapes before I could get going with a more satisfying color pass. 

I rolled up a cheery, blended seafoam-to-pale-blue. I rolled it on the block in one direction, and then turned the block around so I could roll in the other direction and make the gradation go from green to blue to green.

Step 2 rollup and mask

And oh! I made a little newsprint mask to keep a chunk of the main subject from building up too much color too soon.

Step 2 printed

For bird geeks and sea duck fans the subject is likely already apparent. But we'll keep up the suspense for everyone else, eh?

Step 3! This time just a straight-up light blue with enough transparency to it to be affected by the purdy tones laid down in Step 2.

Step 3 rollup

Step 3 printed

Off to a really satisfying start! I feel good about the movement already, and the cheery color palette. I know, however, that things are going to change dramatically as the piece goes on, so it's best not to get too attached yet. Stay tuned!