The Heron Print, next stage...

I've been working on this print for a while, but I think I'll be finished this week. The image above is the stage that I'm at right now. I just printed the brown layer, and I am carving the block in preparation for the final one, which will be black. I'm using a "gomuban" plate which is softer than linoleum, but harder than easy-cut. I like the material because I can use a printing press, and get more consistent colors overall. The easy-cut doesn't work well with the press as it can get squished and distorted by the pressure.

On my winter break this week, so it's nice to have some flexible time to get a few projects completed!!

"Santa Barbara" print

Last summer, a group of my college friends met in California to celebrate 35 years of friendship. We started our trip in the beautiful city of Santa Barbara. I wanted to create a block print to commemorate our time there.

The sketch on tracing paper to be transferred onto the block.

Inking up the block with a blend of brown and blue.

Cutting around the tree tops was tricky.

Prints drying.

 The final stage of the block and the finished design.

This print ended up with 6 layers. Hope this makes the process of reductive block printing a little easier to visualize.