It's been almost 5 weeks since I've added any ink to the
Great Wall print. I have a hard time getting back into the studio when too much time goes by. I begin to feel nervous, afraid that the creative moment / impulse has passed, that I won't be able to get back into the flow, that I'll mess up what I've started -- all sorts of blocks (walls!) start popping up. I've slowly carved this next plate over the past 4 weeks and this morning I finally found the time and the energy to go print. What a relief!
First I put down a brown wash on the entire block:
Then I hand painted some areas where I wanted to have some spot colors. This is actually more akin to the Chinese method of woodblock printing than the Japanese method, I think:
I did the green and the red in separate impressions:
Now I need to carve this block some more.
4 comments:
It is looking good! Yeah, the Chinese method is interesting to see. They paint the whole block really wet on dry paper without any paste and use this enormous baren. They also have a specially made table with all the prints (dry) attached like a book so you just turn the page, print, push the print down a slot (so it hangs vertically below the table) and the next one is ready to go. It is hard to find people still doing this on the mainland, but I saw it once. The carvers were crazy skilled.
Beautiful, subtle effect. And I LOVE the thorny branches in contrast to the blossoms and leaves.
It's so delicate and beautiful! I love the shadowy feel of the impressions on the left.
Adam, I saw a video once of that process you describe and the table with the slot in it. Very interesting. Steve, thank you. Kylie, I just (finally) framed your beautiful little "tea" print and hung it in my kitchen. I love it!
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