More Silk Road Horse Mono prints

I did a redraw from my sketch and worked on some more prints. Working from a sketch again and again is like Chinese whispers and the image will change as you go. It’s so much better than going back to your original, unless you are looking for accuracy. Let the image and your marks develop in their own way.

 

I think you need to do lots and lots of experiments and be prepared to throw away lots of paper. I have many rejects. Some are too dark, some too light, some get blotches in the wrong places etc etc, but the possibilities are endless.



This image was printed twice, once wiping out some areas and then drawing on the plate again and running it through the press. It spreads the line in places which sometimes is wonderful and sometimes not.


Printing inks on Japanese Paper A4

This image (I forgot to reverse the drawing :)…) was worked on both in line with a pen and roller on the plate, which is how the blobs of ink got there. All of the prints so far are with waterbased inks.
Things are all very experimental and endlessly surprising.
I really like them.

First (ever) Japanese Woodcut!

Last week I had a one to one workshop with printmaker Laura Boswell. It was one of the very best workshops I have ever been to and was to say the least illuminating.

Everything about this type of printmaking is different from anything I have done before. I had no idea of its complexities, the need for methodical work and the translucent beauty it is possible for even me on my first attempt to achieve. It is far too complex a process to go over in this post but it is mostly like a mix of watercolour and print, deceptively simple in some ways but with all the emphasis on the inking and sensitivity of your own touch. I cannot take much credit for this as it was made step by step under Laura’s careful guidance and I have to say a fair bit of cutting help from her too.

I had chosen a image of an adder. It’s one of my Beautiful Beasts to come.  I thought the pattern might be quite useful but not knowing anything about this kind of printmaking I went with a very simple scribble.

This had to be simplified again to make something achievable in just a few hours.

It’s not a quick process but, in short, you draw the image, transfer the image onto the blocks, cut, ink and print. I marked out the three plates and did some cutting to understand the process then Laura took over the donkey work while I tried the inking and printing.  One plate for the background, one for the snake body and one for the pattern.

Even with these few plates there are a million possible variations of colours, shading, mottling, blending and over printing, inking and printing again and again with slight variations to achieve what you hope to get.

These are background trials, shading, mottling and then with a simple unshaded snake and pattern.

   

These two have a slightly shaded snake with different backgrounds.

Having done this I do understand a little more about this beautiful form of printmaking. I cannot recommend Laura’s workshop highly enough and after a bit of practise and armed with a million more questions I will definitely return.

Silk Road Horse 2: Mono prints

Using the sketches of the stucco horse from the Museum I made some simple monoprints.
Each of the prints below are a result of slightly different inking, slightly different drawing pressure and single or double printing.

 







It’s the first time I have tried this technique and I am delighted by the sensitivity of the mark. There is a lithographic feeling about them, which to me is very beautiful.
I have become really interested in the implied connection between the horse and the figure, so I’ll be working on that some more this week.