Berry Print: Stage 2

For the second colour of the blue berry print I lightly inked up the plate to get a patchy dusty look of a sloe. It worked quite well/

 
Second colour on blue

I am just not sure how the red berry will work or how dull the colours may become with overprinting. I am just using waterbased cheap “inks” which are really an acrylic I think but with an added retarding agent. They are a bit dull which is fine for the blue but not so good for the red. So I have varied the second colour from a yellow to an orange.

Second colour on yellow.

OK so far and the registration plate seems to be working.I am dithering about an intermediate colour before the final one…. Unsure unsure..

I decided on an intermediate colour for the red berries in the hopes of getting some depth of colour. To keep the background from printing I cut a mask. Fiddly but worth it and probably quicker than cutting all the back ground away.

Third colour on yellow.

I am learning so much with these simple exercises . I think with printmaking as with most other skills you have to keep on doing it to get a feel for the inks, the paper, the press etc. There are many many variables.