Reduction Linocut

So, this will be my first attempt at reduction linocut method. If you don't know what that is, the printmaker artist Belinda Del Pesco has a very comprehensive video on it, that you can check.

But basically you start out carving the lightest colors on your drawing and proceed to the darkest ones, printing by layers.

I started out with a simple sketch of an heron, planning to use only three colors (yellow, light orange and black). I did 8 prints in total, but only three came out decent.

With this method you really need to pat your expectations and print more than you think you will need, to consider that some of the prints will not come out well. Here is a close up from before and after the final layer.

This was done using Caligo Safe Wash Relief Ink (black) and Schmincke Linoprint colors (yellow and orange). I have to say I'm not a big fan of the Schmincke ink, I feel the Caligo Ink does a much better job, but now I have to stick with the Schmincke set....

Finally I have done small bookmark, just for fun with some left overs of the inks:

I was more happy with the bookmarker print then with the heron print, but overall it was fun to try this method and I'm definitely making more reduction linocuts in the future.

New Prints and New Papers

Some time ago I have bought a few new papers to try with diversified techniques (from top to bottom): Fabriano Bristol Paper (Smooth), Daler and Rowney Pastel Paper Block, Schut Drawing Paper and Arches Watercolor Paper Hot-pressed. 

I have started to make some test with the papers, to see how they behave with different techniques, but I have not a complete piece with any of them. 

I can say the Fabriano paper does not handle watercolor or other water media (like watercolor pencils) very well. But seems great for graphite or pen drawings. 

I am finally done with the lino cut for my uncle's dog, and I am very happy with the result:

Took me a while to get all that fur completed carved away, but the patience payed off.

I used Caligo Safe Wash Relief Ink, so I can then apply water media do the prints. The possibilities are endless with these inks, since you can combined with almost any media, which is great!

Magpie Prints and another lino in progress

I have done a series of new prints from my magpie lino cut, decided to change a bit the background since I think it was too heavy. I'm quite happy with the effect.

Also, I started to work on a new lino cut, this one should be a reduction print:

I'm still unsure of which colors to use, but I will definitely go with purplish blueish tones. I still haven't use my Schmincke College Linoprint ink set and this will be a great opportunity to test it out. 

Mixed Media with Printmaking

Based on an old illustration I had done some time ago, I decided to make a lino cut and combine it with different types of media, mostly water media (watercolors, inktense pencils and graphitint pencils from Derwent) .

This is the old illustration I had done:

I used watercolors and a pen in sepia color. And here are some of the new prints:

Starting from the top to the right, the first one is an original done just in white  and black, the second one I colored with Graphitint pencils, the third one with watercolors and the last one with Inktense pencils.

I used Caligo Safe Wash Relief ink and was delighted with the results. The comes smoothly in the lino cut and makes very consistent prints. It's also great to combine with water media, since it tolerates washes of watercolor without bleeding. Needless to say, you must first let the ink dry completely before applying any watery media on it, but after that you can splash as much water as you want.

I particularly liked the effect of the combination with watercolor and will definitely use in the future mixed media projects.

Work in Progress - Linocut

Current work in progress, based on a photograph of my Uncle's dog:

I'm making the drawing on top with a Faber-Castell black pencil, afterwards I will apply some fixative (so the drawing doesn't smudge when I'm cutting the lino).

Printmaking Mini Haul

After some experiments with relief printmaking, I decided I wanted to go deeper into this media. So I have some new acquisitions:

Two blocks of printmaking paper from Strathmore (one from the 300 series and the other from the 400 series, which a little bit better supposedly), Schmincke College set of inks for relief printmaking, Calligo Safe Wash black ink (so I can start to add watercolor to my prints) and finally some more lino to cut!

My kitchen turns into a printmaking studio once in a while:

A close up of some of the final prints:

I achieved the background with "pastel marbling", a technique I found on the Hajra Meeks channel. It's a little tricky to do it, but the effect is worth it.

And another print:

I'm quite happy this one, I like how the water reflections came out, although there are some spots where the ink didn't grab the paper properly.

Printmaking Adventures

During Christmas time I have received a really cool gift: a kit to try out relief printmaking. I have been wanting to try this style in a very long time.

Essdee Kit Review

My kit is from Essdee and it has all the basic items necessary for you to start printing (see the image below):

Since then, I have bought a few more linoleum blocks (the grey ones are normal, but the whites are the soft cut linoleum blocks). The set comes with a handy barren that opens up to hold the linoleum cutters, it's easy to mount and easy to pack up. 

The only down side I found in this kit was that the cutter feels a little bit too small for me.

Here is a close view on the variety of cutters that comes in the set, you get a really decent range of cutters.

Test Prints

Since this was my first attempt with these materials I went for a simple design (maybe it could have been simpler!). So I decided some prints with the stamps that come in the set:

Then I went for the larger blocks and here some images of my first prints:

And in celebration of the new Star Wars movie, I made a print of Rey and BB-8 silhouettes, walking in the desert: 

These prints were all done with "normal" linoleum blocks (the grey ones, shown in the first image), and the final one was done using the soft-cut linoleum block that came in the set:

Some conclusions regarding this set and my first experience with printmaking in general:

- As I mentioned one of the problems in the set is that the cutter is a little to small, it still does the job off course, but a bigger handler would be nicer;

- The ink that comes in the set is water soluble, so if want to use mixed media techniques (like applying watercolor in the print)  you need to buy a water resistant ink.

- The soft-cut linoleum definitely seemed to give better results while printmaking than the "normal" linoleum, I think some of the reasons might be that the "normal" linoleum comes with a slight upward curvature (which makes it difficult to spreed the ink equally on the block) other reason might simply the material (the soft-cut doesn't seem to absorb so much ink as the "normal" linoleum); 

- It's sometimes not easy to find the ideal quantity of ink to apply to the block, if it's to little the impression will have white areas, if it's too much the ink may damage the paper or accumulate in certain areas of the print. So it's important to make a few tests, before the final prints;

- The paper you use for printing is extremely important: if the paper is very thick you will have trouble in pressing it enough to pass the ink, if the paper is too thin you might damage it while pressing it. So take some time to search for the best paper you can afford to print.