After four impressions with an uncarved block I cut out some small circles and kept printing with washes of ultramarine blue. After every other impression I cut out the stars just a little wider to make them appear to glow.
After a few more ultramarine impressions I found that I wanted a deeper blue, so I added a layer of pthalo blue, which is a very intense pigment. I liked what happened, but afterward I decided that I'd rather not use modern pigments like pthalo blue. I'd rather stick to pigments that were available in the 17th and 18th centuries. So I added some red oxide and another layer of yellow oxide and more ultramarine blue. What you see in the photo above is a total of 12 impressions. I think one or two more impressions will get me where I want to go.
10 comments:
My oh my, but that is beautiful! I'd love to try that technique myself! What is going to be at the bottom?
OMG glorious, I feel like you are spilling your secrets!!
Lovely Stars in the sky! Next time I will try that.
My stars in the sky are in Exchange 37a Journeys
Carol Lyons
artfulcarol@aol.com
The color is intense and I love the stars. They absolutely glow. 8-]
oh this is so,so beautiful....and the stars appeal to me...and it is december, then even more......do understand what you mean about that pthaloblue..it can be so strong and dominant and perhaps not available for many layers of prints...
Thanks everyone.
-Lana, there will be a Mayflower ship at the bottom.
-Diana, as far as spilling my secrets, I never know if that's a good thing to do or a bad thing. On the one hand, I think that the more people know about how a woodblock print is made the more they appreciate it. Of course, the flip side is that all you printmakers will steal my ideas!! But I stole them myself, by analyzing other people's prints.
-Carol, stars for Wanda in Exchange 37 was a great idea.
-Ellen, thanks. You've got some pretty wonderful stars going on in your latest print, too!
-Anita, I was thinking that while I was working - this sky is so December-like. Happy solstice!
Wow I am just crazy about the glow around the stars! Another thing I see is your perfect registration throughout the 12 impressions. I have struggled with that. You are so brave to just head in and accept a reduction approach. It makes so much sense in every way, but it seems to me that it takes a lot of courage!
Great job again, Annie.
Your starry, starry night is beautiful! It reminds me of your very first Moku Hanga print. Can't wait to see how this ship shapes up!
Thanks:) Beth, I assure you that my registration is not perfect. It's more what I would call "adequate." Leslie, yes I was thinking of my first print too, and also one I did of a woman with stars in her body. I guess I like stars.
this is beautiful! :)
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