Next project

I’m working on a giant centipede print.  It will be cut in several different blocks, and printed in slightly differing arrangements over a number of editions.  I’m hoping to find some nice Japanese paper to use for the print, but I may settle for regular old printing paper like the “Pollution” print that I did  a few months back.

Since I’m anxious to start painting again, plus have other projects up my sleeve, this might be the last major printing effort I do for a while.  I’m far better at coming up with ideas than actually seeing them to fruition.  It doesn’t help that I only get maybe two or three free hours a night to work on things like this.  I’m a librarian by profession.

Here are some photos of the sketches, and a cut linoleum piece.

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That print’s now for sale

The print that I posted about last time is now for sale at my Etsy shop: http://oldscratch.etsy.com:

The first print in a series of 11

I’ll be posting the prints one at a time since the results were different.  Eventually, I’ll print a new edition that will be monochromatic–maybe something other than black.

An Ambitious Project, Take 2

Either an unexplained error on my part or a bug with WordPress has led to my previous post of a few weeks ago not displaying the series of images I added to the post.  Which led to a bit of weirdness where the captions for all those images became sort of a paragraph in themselves. Let’s try this again.

Here’s the original photo:

The tree that provided the original inspiration.

The drawing that I did, based extremely loosely on the tree in the photo.

Step 1. I did a drawing of the tree I saw, roughly the size of the block.  I tend to work quick and sloppy, because it helps me beat procrastination.  So I traced the original block, and kept my drawing within that framework.  I used a sharpie to try and cut down on my tendency to overdo the details.  Didn’t work.

Starting the cut: the outline of the tree.

Step 2.  After adding the design to the block with transfer paper, I cut away all the negative space around the outline.  Then I started on the inside, where all the details were.  I knew I wouldn’t get them all.

Step 3.  Inking up the design with black mixed with a bit of blue.  I had thought at the last minute that I wanted this to be two colors after all: silver and black.  Unfortunately, since I already started cutting the top, the only place the silver stands out on the tree is at the lower half of the trunk.  I still liked the effect.

The block fully inked.

The first color all printed: the silver layer.

Final Result: I applied the black ink over the now dry silver ink with a paper registering system, basically just an outline of the paper size with an outline of the block on the inside.  Again, registering a print can be intimidating, and I don’t pretend to be a professional at this.  I just let it be what it wants to be.  Hence, some prints turned out better than others.

And here's the result.

I printed a small run of these that I’ll soon make available at my Old Scratch store on etsy.

An ambitious project

This spring I came up with an idea.  I would take on one of my more ambitious block-printing projects and document it in a blog.  I was going to use a block of about 12″ x 18,” which is larger than I’ve ever done before.

I never really documented it as it happened, but better late than never.    I’ll be posting the prints on my  Etsy store soon.  Below is, in sequential order, the process of inspiration/production.

This old and very interesting tree served as my inspiration.The original drawing, inspired by the photo with extensive creative license.The linoleum block, cut around the outline.The blocked completely cut and inked for the first time.The silver layer of the print, the multiple color idea came late in the process.And the end result.

The Dark Art

I’m a relief print nut. I’m not sure why, because they seldom turn out the way I expect and I’m almost always disappointed. But I persist, even though everyone tells me screenprinting might be more suited to my work. I think it’s the process I love. With my drawings, I tend to get more absorbed in the repetitive action and think less about what I’m doing, whereas block printing forces me to pay closer attention. I also break all the rules of the medium, since my prints are in small runs using different colors and paper, and tend to appear different from one another, each just a little bit unique. I do this for fun, and I don’t charge too much, so I feel like I can get away with it.

The two images below show some of my process. I created the print to the right using the three blocks, only registering by eyesight. While registration is an important part of printmaking, there are some times when it simply doesn’t matter. The fish block I had carved before for a greeting card, and the waves and boat I created later as the idea for the current print came to me. This is a run of 8 prints, and I intend to make more runs as soon as I can find the kind of paper I’d like to use.

These three blocks were combined for a single composition.Sample print using three separate blocks to in the composition.

The resulting print using the three separate blocks.