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A productive day
Jan. 2nd, 2012 06:17 pmI'm on call today but it's been mercifully quiet, so rather than faff about with the gouache sketch in my last entry and risk messing it up, I decided to adapt it for a three-colour reduction linocut print.
It's taken me all day to get to the finished block for the first layer print. This is the early stages of cutting, see my clean and organised studio space!
I traced off the essentials of the original sketch and reversed it onto the lino block, then cut the outline with the smallest V-cutter (which is about as far as I've got there). I think this would be called a veining tool if I had anything other than cheapo cutters. Mind you I really quite like these Abig cutters.
About 7 hours after starting, the block is finished (below). To make sure this is right before printing, I had to make rubbings (the same way as brass rubbings!), to make sure that all of the cuts register that I want to, and that areas that are not supposed to register are low enough not to print. The fine clearing was done with a small U-gouge, then the large areas cleared with the largest U-gouge and the edges neatened up with a scalpel. I only gouged myself once!
I'm going to print this block in two runs: bright green and bright red. After that, I'll cut away some more and overprint in dark green/dark red, cut away again and overprint in black. By the time the black layer is printed, there shouldn't be much left of the block, barring the legs!
Hopefully should get the first and maybe second layers printed on Saturday.
It's taken me all day to get to the finished block for the first layer print. This is the early stages of cutting, see my clean and organised studio space!
I traced off the essentials of the original sketch and reversed it onto the lino block, then cut the outline with the smallest V-cutter (which is about as far as I've got there). I think this would be called a veining tool if I had anything other than cheapo cutters. Mind you I really quite like these Abig cutters.
About 7 hours after starting, the block is finished (below). To make sure this is right before printing, I had to make rubbings (the same way as brass rubbings!), to make sure that all of the cuts register that I want to, and that areas that are not supposed to register are low enough not to print. The fine clearing was done with a small U-gouge, then the large areas cleared with the largest U-gouge and the edges neatened up with a scalpel. I only gouged myself once!
I'm going to print this block in two runs: bright green and bright red. After that, I'll cut away some more and overprint in dark green/dark red, cut away again and overprint in black. By the time the black layer is printed, there shouldn't be much left of the block, barring the legs!
Hopefully should get the first and maybe second layers printed on Saturday.
