''A huge massive thank you for such a great lino cutting day.
It was lovely to see you and I thoroughly enjoyed it. You gave us great tuition, as always, and I learnt so much. It’s always a bumpy journey when you’re learning something new but so worth it! '' - Mel
When people come to my single colour workshops they often ask about colour rolls and methods to get lots of colour on a print. I like to teach people to print at home so we use things that you may already have rather than buying expensive kit.
There are several ways
Multiblock prints - one plate printed over another. Here is my sister's Marmite print consisting of six blocks https://www.wychwoodart.com/art/kate-willows-eat-me
Jigsaw prints - pieces of lino literally like a jigsaw, a different ink on each block. Great explanatory video here from Hannah and her Press https://www.instagram.com/p/B3RP3FRAyea/
Reduction prints - taking a layer of lino away each time you print a different colour - these can only be made once and not repeated. Pic of fish above.
Colour Roll - blending colours on the roller. Pic below
Also
Chine Colle - very fiddly (for me) placing of delicate papers as you print. See the clever people at Handprinted explaining all here
Watercolour or inks painted once the print is dry. Belinda Del Pesco has some beautiful examples.
All of these methods can be combined, but maybe not at the same time! This blog shows what people came up with at last Saturday's workshop in St Agnes, we used colour roll with reduction.
We began by me talking everyone though a tiny version of my mackerel print above. We only cut one fish and used four layers of a green/blue col0ur roll. The first layer is mainly extender with a hint of colour. We build up the layers from there and finish with black. Reduction printing is a right head scramble at first so being talked through a prescribed piece is (sometimes!) helpful. As this was an example and we were only making one we needed to be able to put our cut block back in the same place after each inking and keep our paper in the same place too. We drew around the block on some card and taped our single piece of paper to the card too. This meant we could flip it up and down and it stayed where is was.
Pic below of Klaire cutting a layer with her paper flipped. You can see the initial pale layer on the paper.
Great results from this little exercise
People then chose to create their own piece. Bev chose a graduated blue colour roll for an owl print for her grandson. The others chose a reduction print.
Registration
To register these we used picture frame mounts to place the blocks and Ternes Burton pins attached to the paper so that it can be lifted on and off and you can print more than once. Each layer on all of your papers needs to be printed before you do the next colour. So you need to think about how big you want your edition. I usually print less than 20 as I hand press and that's about all my wrists can cope with.
Below - Nic's engine house, Ternes Burton (TB) tabs on paper, registration jig with TB pins, block held in place, note the arrows to remind you to push it into the same place each time.
To begin a reduction print
Cut away any areas that you would like to be white. Be careful here! White can jump out of a print in quite a loud way. I usually only cut the white of an eye or some stars.
Print your base col0ur
Cut away all of the bits that you want to stay that colour
Print in your next colour, repeat.
Angie's shell below, layers 2 & 3. Colour roll of extender, gradually adding more colour
Issues
Maintaining your image on the block through multiple layers
I tend to have the black layer in my head and just wing the rest. You can draw that final layer on the block. It may transfer to your paper but it doesn't really matter if it is your last black layer as it will cover it. I use a Sharpie.
You can also trace your design and col0ur it in so you know what to cut next, just pop it over the block and trace between layers.
Drying times
I print wet on wet which creates some interesting 'mottled' textures. You can blot between layers too but I find this is just one more step that can go wrong with a smudge so I don't!
You can leave each layer to dry and print then but I'm too impatient for that. There is also a thought that doing that increases the drying time as you're printing on top of a layer of oily set ink which is a bit like printing on plastic and may take a while to dry.
Going too dark too early
This decreases the amount of depth of col0ur and layers that you can add. BUT if you realise this with your first pressing just stop and re-mix your ink. Save that other ink for something else. You can wrap it in foil, greaseproof or plastic in a little packet and tape it up. Just give it a good mix when you use it again.
If you mess up a print with a smudge or mis registration, do not despair, just use that one first to test out subsequent layers. The image below is from a previous workshop where the creator played with different colours for all of the layers. You can add colour at any stage during printing. My mackerel at the top of the page have more green and more blue in some of them. I love this way of working. Gives my a lot of variety, and gives customers a lot of choice.
Other prints from Saturday all using the reduction method. Plus Nic's fabulous Victoria Sponge and, wait for it, Curly Wurly Brownies!
Why extender?
I rarely use white in a reduction print. It is opaque and I find it creates a 'flat' look. I like to use extender (see through ink) to dilute colours for the initial layers and put in stronger colours with the subsequent layers. I often end with black which really makes the other col0urs pop.
The print below is about the only one I have used opaque white ink with. Colour roll from blue to purple.
Resources
Hosho paper
Caligo Safewash Inks
Ternes Burton pins and tabs
Books - look at Linocut Boy & Rob Barnes
For suppliers and a list of basic items needed for linocuts please see my Absolute Basics blog.
Next years workshop dates. Ping me a message if you'd like to be on the mailing list.
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