Linocut in Progress: Laughing gulls smirking

Laughing gull linocut: Step 8

Well, I couldn't take much of that bad-lipstick look, so I did a little spot inking and put a layer of transparent black on the birds' heads. Easy enough to do because all of the material in the area around the heads has now been removed from the block.

Spot-inking the birds' heads.

It's not the final black, but it's enough to keep me from being distracted by the ungraceful red shapes.

Oh look. Another gray. This one with some blue to it.

You might have noticed that my application of ink seems ragged and uneven. That's partially intentional and partially not. I'm experiencing some technical difficulties in my new space, I think mostly having to do with temperature regulation and drying times. But I also find a certain charm in allowing the texture of the paper to take precedence, so I'm doing a little experimenting. I hope it doesn't come back to bite me. Smirk, perhaps. But not bite.

Linocut in Progress: Laughing gulls

Many thanks to fellow printmakers who commiserated with the minor geographic inconvenience of a studio away from the house. It's good to know one isn't alone in one's 'druthers, and I quite liked being the clearinghouse for "guilty" studio habit secrets. ;-)

I'm finding weekends to be my best times in this new space, mostly because I have the building more or less to myself. During the week other offices have folks coming and going, which I find unsettling. Yes, another studio quirk: I like to have as much control over my soundscape as possible. You know how important it is to have quiet when one is playing Star Trek episodes as background company for the umpty-bazillionth time.

Slowly but surely the birds have begun to emerge in this linocut-in-progress.

Laughing gull linocut, Step 5

Given their postures you probably won't be at all surprised to learn that I'm working on a species called "laughing gull." Of course seabird researchers will tell you that their incessant calling is not the least bit funny when you're sharing an island with them for weeks on end.

Laughing gull linocut, Step 6

There is at least one more gray to go, but at this point I was getting pretty darn tired of the same inks over and over so I decided to do some spot printing in the birds' bills. I think here that they look like either old ladies or two-year-olds with questionable lipstick application skills.

Laughing gull linocut, Step 7

And then back to gray. Obviously Steps 6 and 7 were shot at two different times of day... Step 6 is entirely too dark overall. That would have been a night shot. Many are the times I've found myself wandering out of here after dark– not a huge stretch since it's dark by 5:30 pm. Thank goodness the winter solstice is only what? Six weeks away? Five? But who's counting?

Linocut in progress: Finding a rhythm

Studio F up and running

Slowly but surely I'm developing a new daily routine. My studio space is, according to the GPS on my phone, 6/10 of a mile from where I'm living. This is the furthest my work space has been from my living space... ever... so it's taking a bit of adjustment.

No more printing in my pajamas, for example. I am obliged to get dressed before arriving in the studio, especially since it is my intention to walk between home and work each day and winter is approaching. My jammies are cozy, but they're not weatherproof.

If I intend to spend the day here, as I did today, I also need to bring a lunch unless I want to start a bad fast food habit. No more tripping off to the kitchen when the mood strikes. This could be a good thing.

The studio is also the only place where I have internet, which puts a damper on my evening working AND surfing habits. It has been fairly typical that I don't settle down to work until late afternoon and then work into the evening when I have contract assignments... but no more! At least for now. And no more compulsive checking of Facebook when I'm not sure what else to do with myself. (Thank goodness.)

So far I find I like the focus. I've been coming into the studio in the morning, spending an hour or two catching up on long-neglected administrative tasks, and then turning my attention to the print bench. Lovely.

Two new passes have been accomplished on the linocut-in-progress since Saturday's check-in.

Laughing gull linocut - Step 3

 Step 3 involved a blend of the previous two inks, made slightly lighter and more opaque with the addition of white. Light ink over a darker tone might seem counter-intuitive, but can really be striking in some instances. This particular application is subtle and early in the game, so not really any big deal.

Laughing gull linocut - Step 4

Step 4 involved a false start. Initially I tried another blended roll of the previous two colors darkened with a brown. Eh. Not effective and not really necessary, so I cleaned the block and the ink slab and instead printed a solid but transparent darker gray-blue. Better.

The next step involves some rather tedious delicate carving of bird feathers and rocks. Fun times.

Tomorrow, however, my schedule includes several appointments elsewhere so I'm not likely to get to the studio. EEK! This is where the new setup becomes challenging. What do you mean I can't at least wander through the studio and rearrange my tools before I go to bed?

Ah, well. I might throw the block and my tools in my backpack and take them with me when I leave this evening. I can always go back to making lino crumbs at the kitchen table, just as I did in my early printmaking days. :-)

Linocut demo: Laughing Gull

This past weekend's "Wildlife Art and Wine" event at The Wildlife Experience in Denver was amazing! About 500 people came out for the evening, pretty spectacular for a first time exhibition. The show continues through January 5, 2014.

I was one of eight artists who gave short demonstrations during the event– I printed the final color on this small linocut of a laughing gull. At each stage I pulled one print from the run to help explain the process... here are all six steps shown together:

Click to embiggen

• Step 1: Light gray
• Step 2: Medium gray
• Step 3: Blue
• Step 4: Red (selective inking)
• Step 5: Dark gray
• Step 6: Black