I’ve been thinking on this print for a long time. I wanted to incorporate some natural wood grain into this image. I didn’t have an idea what that grain would represent but I thought I would let the wood decide for me. It could be water, mountains or land.
After a rummage around a local lumber yard, I came home with a sturdy plank of hemlock with an interesting grain pattern. It was a lovely warm day in early March so I set up the saw horses outside and fired up the blow torch🔥
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This is a very satisfying job. Burning the wood helps to raise the grain. Once that task was done, I brushed the wood with a stiff brush and washed it well with soap and water.
Pretty...
Surly this would be the water beneath my murmuration of starlings.
I had pondered long and hard as to the shape my birds would make in the sky and how best to transfer that image to the Lino. In the end, and after watching countless videos of swirling, swooping, clustering starlings. My decision was to draw directly onto the Lino with India ink and a dip pen. The fact that it would be a reversed image really didn’t matter.
I loved doing this. A dip pen has come to be a favored tool. I love the olde world scratchiness of it.
I let the shape just form. I drew what felt to be about a bazillion birds, I really had no idea how long it would take to carve them out as I added more and more, changing direction and trying to feel the rhythm of their flight.
The wood had a hollow space at one end so I had to figure out how to nestle a rocky outcrop into this hole. I don’t have a photo of this, sorry. I inked my wood and made an impression onto a sheet of Mylar which I then transferred to the Lino block. After that I could better judge where my rocks would go.
Once I had penned in the rocks I thought, more birds were needed. I mean what would another few hundred matter if it made the image stronger.
Let the carving begin....wow! This is going to take me a long time.
I settled into a rhythm. Carve for about three hours, then I needed a long break, to stretch and have a cup of tea.
Ok, I didn’t have tea and cake at every break but, it is a nice little ritual I do occasionally indulge in😋
After about twelve hours I had completed this much.
Carving is probably my favorite and really the easiest part of the process. It’s meditative. I can just listen to a book or podcast and let the world go by as I used, in this case, my tiniest gouges to carve around all these birds. I’m guessing that it took around 50-60 hours to get all the birds carved.
On to my graduated sky roll..
I wanted the horizon line to be almost white, so I flipped the brayer over approximately at the halfway point. This block of lino had a bloody bump in it as you can see and no matter what I tried I couldn’t flatten her out. I made a registration with some mat board and my trusty turns burton pins and decided to just press on...
These are my first sheets to hit the line..It is my intention to do an edition of 20 but it may take quite a while. As I needed to wait for more paper to arrive. So let these dry for a couple of days then inked up the murmuration.
I added a few highlights with a dark grey blending with my breyer to add a little definition to the rocks.
This is the really exciting bit, you know in your heard there is a drum roll happening as you turn the wheel.
Hooray, first one looks clean, that is a bonus. I find I’m usually ditching the first one or two prints and re carving something, so yay!
The last part of this print gave me conniptions. My wooden board was over an inch thick and how on earth was I going to register it. Good grief, I give myself some challenges sometimes.
The last print of the wood block gave me fits, trying to figure out how in the world I was going to register this big old slab of wood. Well here is a video. Honestly, this is far from professional but it worked and I love this print. Nope, sorry I cannot figure out how to embed the darn video so if you want to see it you can go to my Instagram page @tinasfreshpress. If you would like to see this print in person it will be on view for first Friday art walk July 2nd on Bainbridge Island at the brand new Lamb and Kid studio space. The invite is also on my Instagram page.
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I began by drawing the mountains in with a dip pen and Indian ink straight onto the lino There is something so old fashioned and satisfying about using a scratchy nib and as I use oil based inks it doesn’t come off when I clean my block with spirits.
This reduction print was quite a challenge. I firstly wanted to add some soft whispy clouds to the sky, these I first painted onto the Lino with watercolor and then carved that out and printed on top of my blue sky. Next came several layers of differing shades for the hills.
Tackling the water was hard because the bird was in the way and I had to wipe ink away from the eagles silhouette with every pass, tricky that. Here’s a couple more shots as I progressed
The thing about reduction printing that is always such a challenge is deciding the order of print layers. Usually we print from light to dark but not always. I will say the hardest part of this print was the water splash. I looked at so many photos of water droplets you wouldn’t believe it. I hope it looks convincing but after all that thinking it will have to do.
I also used a little bit of silver ink on the salmon belly to add some iridescence.
Morning Catch
9” x 12” reduction print. Oil based ink on Reeves BFK 100% rag paper
Avaiable for shipping NOW!
]]>There are always seven ravens in residence in the tower, six and one to spare. Their presence is clouded in myth and legend but it is a strongly held belief that if there are ever less than six, then the tower and the monarchy will fall. We are a very superstitious lot.
Brân the blessed was a giant. A king of Britain in Welsh mythology. There are so many confusing stories involving battles, marriages, a magic cauldron that brings the dead back to life, presumably after being boiled in the same pot, but, the one reoccurring myth is that Brân, when mortally wounded in battle, insisted that his followers chop off his head and carry it back to London to be buried in the White mound, his face towards France, where he could continue (who knows how exactly) to protect his country against invasion. The Tower would eventually be built upon the white mound.
If by now you are wondering how the ravens fit in. The name Brân is translated from the Welsh to mean raven or crow. For those of you that watched the Game of Thrones, you will remember Brandon (Brân) Stark and the raven connection.
So there you go, a little mythology, superstition and my carving of Brân the Raven King....
]]>Hello and welcome 2021.
We are all happy you are here and there is nothing like that fresh start feeling, to make my fingers itch to get into the studio. I have been working on a series of “Lake” prints but before I could get started on a new one I had to finish my bizarre snake dream print.
So…...this was a super vivid dream of mine about being in a jungle with faceless women who were gently handling a large snake between them. I was struck by the tenderness of their hands and tried to convey that in my print. I have no idea what the dream was about. I have since learned that it is very good to dream of snakes in relation to life wisdom,creativity and vitality. I definitely need a bit of the last one to sustain me through, how much longer of this Covid 19 hell?
All drawn out, hands carved ready for first run through the press.
After this run, I pretty much had decided on the title.
Add first the color for the underbelly of my snake.
Ugh, now I’ve hit that ugly stage, when you think you’ve just ruined the whole thing. Press on, quickly..
hmm, not sure about this green, not looking very jungley
Ok, that is looking better. One more layer to go.
And done.....I can’t tell you how much better I felt getting this one “out of my system.” It was such a powerful dream that I actually got out of bed at 5 am bundled up and headed to my chilly studio in an effort to get this image onto paper. So thank you to the snake lovers out there for wanting to have this image on your walls. I’ve never really fancied reptiles as pets, but I said that about birds once upon a time and see how that turned out.
"Ghost Hands" is available in a limited run of 15 prints.
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