Task 1 (Project 8) : Reduction Method Linocutting – Norwalk library at night

I chose the local library in Norwalk, Connecticut, as my subject, and used a photo source made in the evening of my visit to Norwalk. My choice of colours was supposed to bring out the warm and inviting character of the building against the dark night sky. I used the white of the paper for the lightest elements and two yellow-brown hues to indicate middle tones and lighter shadow areas. As third colour I chose olive green mixed from black and yellow, which worked both for deep shadows on the buildings and to indicate the greenery in artificial light. The black colour was actually a mix of black and blue. I added the blue to achieve more contrast against pure black, which would have been too similar to the olive green.

I’m happy with the final print. It turned out much better than I had anticipated when I started with the motif. I have described in my blog how I wasn’t totally happy with the aspect of developing an initial idea further, but I was glad about the hands-on technical experience I gained through the process. I made a series of 10 prints, from which about 5 turned out well enough for presentation. The print size is 30.5 x 38 cm (incl. rim), landscape format.

Blog article: http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=1032

Task 2 (Project 9): Experimental mark making on lino

I used a variety of houshold implements and tools to create texture on the linoleum surface, for example hole puncher, handsaw, screwdriver and scissors. The blog post contains my notes which tools I used for each of the 12 fields of my linoplate. I found the experience interesting, but felt a bit lost without a particular subject to inspire ideas how to represent its textures.

After the linocut plate, I made a second series of experimental relief plates with wood, styrofoam and cardboard, trying out a variety of tools including an electric hand drill. I was surprised by the styrofoam which is easy to manipulate and prints quite well.

Linocut experimental mark-making: http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=1066Second experimental series: http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=1113

Below are two prints from the Linocut series. The linoplate size was 20 x 30 cm, the prints are a few centimeters larger. I selected one printed on white vellum paper and the other on brown Kraft paper. Both surfaces were relatively smooth which worked well with the Akua ink.

Task 3 (Project 10): Experimental relief prints – Interior view

For this print, I chose an interior view as my subject. Primary aim was a development of my subject towards abstraction, yet retain a sense of space and the object (a cat scratch tree ensemble). I took an experimental approach in several aspects:

– how I treated the picture plane: Breaking up the traditional image rectangle, inspired by contemporary printmakers like Ian Phillips (my research post here http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=918)

– printing large geometrical shapes to indicate space in a more abstracted way. Using linocut to print plain shapes was new to me. I felt encouraged to follow my image idea by earlier research into the colourful, graphical linocuts by Atta Kwami (My blog post http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=752)

– treating the subject in a semi-abstract way by simplifying shapes and textures was inspired by Anne Sumpner Evans’ sailboat linocuts which I discovered durint research on contemporary printmakers (Blog post http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=1072)

– combining the reduction linocut method with a cut out styrofoam relief print to accomodate the different types of textures I wanted to depict. I built on prior experimentation with different surfaces and tools in Projects 9 and 10.

I’m quite satisfied with the final print. The technical quality is good, registration worked nicely despite the irregular shapes and unconventional inking and cutting methods. I’m also glad because the project was based on a process of idea development through drawing, painting and printing in a large sketchbook. This adressed a perceived shortcoming of project 8 (reduction method linocut) where I had focused on the technical process at the expense of working out an idea and develop it further.

The final print was made in an edition of 15, from which about 10 prints are in presentation quality. I used white medium weight paper (ca. 110 gsm), 50.5 x 35.5 cm portrait format.

Blog post describing development of the image idea and the printmaking process: http://ocaprintmaking1.blueconcretemoon.com/?p=1126