Anniversary Print

Here's the final version of the Let Go print. The prints are drying now, so I haven't culled them yet, but I think it will be a variable edition of somewhere between 8 and 10 prints. The paper is Echizen Kozo, which I've been using for several months. This print feels like a big turning point for me. Visually it's different from my previous prints and the process, too, was different. Instead of "building" the picture from various pieces of color on the carved blocks, I worked on this more like a monoprint. I painted on the block using several types of brushes, not just the traditional maru bake, and I sometimes applied more than one color to the block for one impression. I let myself be much more experimental, sometimes letting the paper get dryer, sometimes adding moisture, and overall I felt more confident about following my whims. And, most wondrous of all, I even abandoned my original idea. Even though I had already cut the blocks! But not before I quickly printed it up, to be sure that was what I wanted to do. Just so you can see how far astray I wandered, here's what the abandoned plan looked like: 

This print celebrates my 1-year anniversary as a woodblock printer. Many more years to come, I hope.