A Tangent Off the Digression

If you read my previous post you will know that I have temporarily veered away from my all-consuming zodiac project to prep for a show this coming weekend. I will be printing a linoleum block reduction print on site at Oddmall Tacoma. One of the features of a reduction print is the overlay of colors. Unlike multiple block prints where each color has its own block, reduction prints use only one block which is carved away as the printing process progresses. This means you only get one shot at it. So instead of risking a major public face-plant, I decided to test my color ideas.

I could have just cut some simple geometric shapes and run some color tests, but where's the fun in that? The paper for the Griffin piece is 8x10 and after cutting down the parent sheets, I was left with thirty 4x6's. I got a 2x3 block when I went to buy more ink and started drawing.

The image drawn directly onto the block in pencil and then refined in pen.

The image is derived from an ornament on a horse collar from an archeological find in Søllested, Denmark. The Griffin is also inspired by beasts on the horse collars in the same find.

The areas I want to stay white have been carved out. I lowered the angle of my desk light to hopefully show the carving.

My previous multi-color Norse block prints have had a Naples yellow-like background and I wanted to do something different that would still feel like it was part of the same series. On the mixing glass and on the block, the ink looks way too pink, but the print came out close enough to what I wanted.

The mixed ink and the ink on the block.

First impression drying inside the studio.

The second color is lighter than the first and I had no idea how well it would cover. The mix is yellow ochre-ish, but because it's on top of the rose color it changes to a gold or Raw Sienna.