I had originally carved some birds on the dark blue block, but I decided I didn't like them so I carved these new ones in the old "sky" block. Again, I had a lot of trouble getting a clean print with these as I was getting a lot of blurred edges. I tried really lightening up on pigment and paste, but that caused loss of coverage.
Finally, something that Tom posted the other day clicked: I think there was too much moisture and paste built up on the paper by the time I printed this block. Probably should have let the paper dry some before I continued printing. Hopefully I'll recognize the symptoms next time. Anyway, here's the finished print.
2 comments:
hi Annie
I'm so enjoying watching your steps, to my inexperienced block printing eyes this turned out beautifully !
I love the addition of the birds. I know you wrote earlier you thought this was the weakest of the series, but it is my favorite.
Hi Annie,
Sometimes you have to go backwards to get ahead. I'm always going backwards. You could redo the last block (outrageous suggestion, I know). This would give you a chance to reconsider the composition, and make some corrections. The new block could have parts that add to any of the previous colours.
There is a quick way to make a new block. Take a copy of the print and cut out a new improved design. This then becomes a stencil that you can use to draw through directly onto the new block. When you go to do the tracing you need to have the paper moist as if you were printing. Before tracing carve your kento marks and then fit the stencil into them. In a couple of hours you can turn the whole thing around.
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