I Heart Printing

I really can’t say much more than these images show. The handmade paper is really working out well on these.

But I think this also needs another colour – I would like to print onto the darker brown paper that I made from the recycled cardboard packaging, so would need to pull out the body of the heart, so I set about creating a block , just for solid colour:

I also ran off a few cards on Kraft card – these may make a nice addition to the greetings cards already for sale at The Department Of Something Else.

But it was on the brown paper I really began to enjoy this; laying down a solid block of colour onto rough, soft paper allows for a really visible impression. Then I picked up a damaged sheet of the whiter paper which is much thicker than the brown:

I know this will sound pretty lame, but I did get a bit Homer Simpson over this…

Now if you are one of the few people who do not understand this, go to Youtube and look for Homer Simpson drooling, or just listen here.

I made a very similar noise. I’m going for a shower now.

Ok then, back to work.

I’m using Caligo waterbased inks as usual, magenta and black, mixed a little darker this time as I am expecting the colour to be visibly lighter on the overprinted parts:

My registration jig worked perfectly on these – everyone a winner!

I then went onto the recycled packaging paper…

The results are great – and the white one I drooled over earlier?

I really ‘heart’ printing…

Barefaced Lino #2

These handsome fellows are printed on my first batch of handmade paper and what a delightful pairing it has made! The softness of the paper has allowed a really visible impression on these small additions to my “Barefaced Linos” collection. They are not uniform in size and range from just 20 to 35mm high!

  

  
These are the ones I printed originally in white ink on Kraft card and look excellent in Prussian Blue on the digestive biscut paper!

Barefaced Lino

I have long been fascinated by the facial reconstructions that often appear in the news, showing how a Neanderthal might look, or how closely Tutankhamun resembled his iconic sarcophagus, as well as those ‘cold-case’ revivals where the unidentified severed head that was found in 1903 finally gains a (possible) identity. Technology, craftsmanship, creative licence and a suitcase full of conjecture; my kind of stuff.

I have also visited a number of ossuaries - vaults for the bones of the dead – a very odd idea if ever there was one. You get buried, you become food for worms, then you’re dug up, cleaned off, and your bones are then stacked up on top of everyone else’s. Often anonymously. Probably the most famous ossuary is the Paris Catacombs, where the old quarries beneath the city were used to store the bones from an overfull (and infectious) cemetery, and has been a source of revulsion and fascination since the 18th century.

These images have been lurking around my consciousness (not a savoury place to go after dark!) for a while now, and recently surfaced after watching news reports about racism (the Muamba/Twitter case)  and hearing the presenters inane ‘analysis’ following the report, which ended with the obtuse cliché: “Well, we’re all the same under the skin aren’t we?” (cue Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney singing Eboneeee and Ivoreee…)

Ok, ok, time to get back on track with this post. Whatever you think, we are clearly not all the same under the skin. There is character held within our bone structures, and although technically we consist of all the same elements in pretty much the same composition, our individuality goes right down to the bone. Please consider how your reconstruction might look 2,000 years down the road…

Regular vistors to this blog will be aware that I carry a sketchbook and will draw, doodle, write (and waste time – Mrs. Lestaret!) and skulls have been a regular feature of late. It’s time to do something about that.

After many weeks of almost habitual skull drawings, even when I was intending to draw other things, I made a decision to make a block to see where this may lead. I carbon paper traced the sheet on the right onto an old offcut of lino - complete with drawings from a long abandoned project – and set to work: 

First getting the shapes and eyes generally sorted…

And then adding the nose, teeth and detailing…

And then removing the negative space. It got quite late by this time and I was getting a little tired and distracted, so stopped., but awoke the next morning and run a test print of the block as it was, just make sure I was going in the right direction. This is probably the first time I have printed a block before it was finished!

Printed with white ink on Lavender Colourplan by GFSmith shows that my block is shaping up exactly as I had planned.

The block, fully cut, mounted on thick board to aid consistency of print and positioning…

White ink is not the most solid of colours – I use it more often as a mixer – but gives a sort of transluclent effect on darker stock, this time some recycled kraft card that I had cut down to 6 x 12″ and folded to make a greeting card format.

This has been a very encouraging process. I am pleased with these results and have been sketching and thinking about other approaches, different styles and alternate styles and can see this growing into something a little bigger.

Watch this space…

Postcards #2

I have a very inviting pile of nicely printed postcards that are demanding to be overprinted. Again, I am experimenting with some new colours (for me) and aiming for a grungy/retro feel on each of the cards. I had printed a number of additional cards to use as set-ups as there is nothing definite when it comes to printing, and every stage has an opportunity for something to go awry.

Take this first print. this slimy effect is the result of a combination of things: a lot of transparent extender, too much ink mixed and rolled out on my inkslab and subsequently too much on the roller. The block is then over-inked which squishes out the excess under pressure and leaves this ‘beading’ effect. I also find that it takes two or three prints for the block to ‘come up to’ readiness – where the repetition of  re-inking saturates the lino surface and rids it of any greasy residue, either from the carving (a very hands-on process) or more likely in this case, of any soap left over from cleaning (I use a little liquid soap and water for Caligo water based relief inks, and baby wipes to keep my fingers clean during printing.)

But after a few prints, the block settles down and I start to get the results I’m after. This is quite a rich orange, but because of the transparent extender, it looks metallic, almost gold on the block!

This image has been my wallpaper ever since!

This was about 98% extender and 2% black! I couldn’t get the transparency I wanted so I under inked the block instead.

And then it was on to some shitty brown over the baby blue…

If anyone else would like to enjoy some printy wallpaper, you can down load it here.

Print Postcards #1

The unseasonally warm start to spring (although it has been followed by some fairly sharp ‘brass monkey’ weather) seems to have got my dander up in the printshop!

I run out a decent number of postcards using my trusty Belmont coppertop block and added a blog link in 10pt Gill Sans Italic. I ended up using the full stops from another font as the Gill was ‘sans punctuation.’ This has resulted in an unsightly drop on the baseline, but I decided to go with it as I thought it did not detract too much. (I can hear the sharp intake of breath from the purists and am girding my loins in anticipation of the responses this may draw!)

 
My aim on this project was to experiment with some new colours, combinations and effects, and began by mixing up some Opaque White with a dab of Prussian Plue and a tiny smidgen of Process Yellow:

I added just a little more yellow to push this towards a pale turquoise.

I am very pleased with this colour – it has covered well and laid down a rich base for the next stage. Oh, I had cut these blocks to try to develop my cutting skills. Sorry, no images of that part.

The next coulour was a soft pink, again using a base of the white with a dab of magenta.

Again, this has covered well and dressed up this blackletter a little…

I did want these prints to be clean – free from the lino ‘peaks’  – but thought these added something to the effect. I kept making small adjustments to the block to keep these to a minimum though.

The next block was printed in a baby peach colour, made from white, yellow and magenta.

This one has printed very clean and sharp as I intended.

There is also a fourth block, but I’ll save something for the end! With 40 cards all printed and stacked in my drying rack, I’ll let you know what is to come next; transparent colours.

Joan of Art

I forgot to upload the image I used for reference in my last post! This is one of the standard press release shots – there are a number of others quite similar in composition to this, but I liked the reactions of the men behind her.

Again, having coloured the lino with red marker, I traced out the lines of the second block and began cutting:

It’s in the small details where the benefit of the red surface really comes in, but you also get a good idea of what you are going to get too.

But, in my haste to get this done for the UK start of season five (just listen to me harping on – as if it matters to anybody when I do this!) I only printed a couple of tests, so I needed to get some proper prints done from the first block.

I decided to break with my usual “best on white” approach and use some bright yellow Colourplan by GFSmith for this one…

A few days later and the test print off the new block in a rich, dark brown shows no apparent issues, so it’s back to the press, and with a little trepidation, onto the second colour…

I was hoping that my jig was going to be enough to register the two colours…

Not bad!

The print measures 175x140mm on a 300x250mm sheet.

Joannie! Hold my calls and fix me a scotch. I’ll be in front of the TV tonight.

Mad Men Returns!

The long wait for season five of Mad Men is almost over! During the last few days, to get me in the mood or just to drive me a bit crazy, I decided to break with my usual themes and create a lino print featuring one of the main reasons why I watch!

Having selected an appropriate image I did a little tracing and because the image was quite complex, I grabbed a red marker and flooded the lino with colour – this would help to show the smaller cuts clearer and give me a good representation of how well I’d cut.

This is to be a two colour print – this time with two separate blocks – this will be too difficult to do as a reduction print!

Almost one hour later and I’m getting a pretty good idea of how this one is going! But it is in the printing that the proof is found. The following day I went to print some tests from a few blocks I am working on…

If I could wolf-whistle on the web, I would do it now! I’d best get started on that second block then!

Awesome! #2

The first colour has been printed. It’s time to move on. This is quite a moment, because there’s no going back – what you have is what you’ve got! I wasn’t sure how I was going to develop this when I began, so this is a kind of ‘as it happens’ post and I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

Once I’d removed a halo of around 5 mm around the words, I decided to clean up the block a little. During the last print run, I kept on picking up ink on the peaks – something I have actively incorporated in other lino prints, but I wanted the letters to remain white and clean on this one.

I used a flat bladed knife and a shallow curved gouge to take off all the peaks in the negative areas to minimise the possibility of picking up ink – I’ll also have to be careful inking up the block.

The central area is now relatively smooth. I decided to ‘loosen up the edges next, to introduce some of the lino texture into the print:

And it’s back to the press for the next colour, which as I mentioned before, is always an exciting affair (for us printerly types) as it usually the first time you get a real visual on the cutting:

The first print for me is always a plain proof print just to check that all is performing as it should, and then it is into production; here is the process for each print:

Inking – I used a small roller for this as I was working on a much reduced surface area – I had to be careful not to put any ink onto the cutaway space – when you have open spaces this is not as easy as it sounds!

EVERY inking left something on the block, so I needed to scrape it off with a blade and carefully remove the spoil…

With the sheet positioned in the jig (just a simple card structure with flaps to hold the print in place and position the block) I carefully put the block into place face down.

Four sheets of felt and a sheet of board go on top for packing (I have done some experiments and this works well for me on this process – I am not a purist!)

And in it goes. The press spins freely with fingertip ease – it is well oiled and only squeaks a little! These little copy presses were exceptionally well made and fit for purpose and I love using this press; it is so basic and relies upon your own feel for pressure…

Once the platen is down onto the block, a quick change of grip and a good pull (grunt!) and…

Awesome!

Well, not quite. Although I did do lots of cleaning up the blank areas after inking, some got through and fouled the white areas…

Some were not fully registered, but not so badly to render them useless – the nature of this design will tolerate a fair bit of ‘slippage’ and that’s printing for you! A lot were spot on though:

And although I did ‘lose’ a few, I am very pleased with the amount of prints available for the next and last step. So where are we now?

Indeed.

Awesome!

At the Leeds Print Festival I had a number of conversations with people about reduction linocut prints, where I heard of other people’s successes and told of my failures. That’s not entirely true, my reduction cuts have worked out very well, but my process certainly left a lot to be desired. I had awful problems with registration which led to a lot of setting up, which led to fewer final prints. One exactly. A lot of work for very little reward.

I thought I would give it another go, and demonstrate the process to my students along the way, as they are soon to be exploring some printmaking techniques. But what should I do? I figured that since pretty much everything is considered ‘awesome’ by anyone under 20 these days and I must have heard it said at least 4,732 times during the course of the day, that I must do something worthy of the word.

I scrawled out the word a good thirty times in marker pen on layout paper and parcel paper (both have a good ‘spread’ with markers) and selected out a couple that I thought worked well – flowing, legible, but a bit grafitti-ish. Awesome.

Scanning, scaling and cleaning up a bit was done in PhotoShop…

The final composition is 160mm square.

The area was marked out on a slab of lino and the image transferred using carbon paper.

Then it was a matter of removing the lettering – this I want to remain white throughout the process.

Just a trim around the edge and we are ready to go. Awesome.

If you are not familiar with reduction cut printing, it is a destructive process, where the same block is recarved for each colour:

Nick Clegg = reduction cut – hahahahahahahahah!

A couple of days later I got down to the first printing and mixed up a rich, custard yellow, and set up a registration jig. I always think that the first inking up is a bit exciting (I don’t get out much) as it is the point that the lino block becomes a printing block.

I printed twenty onto a stiff white card, and am very pleased with the quality, considering the large areas of solid colour.

I expect to lose a few along the way, both as set-ups and mis-registration, but aiming for a decent number of quality results.

Indeed.

Long Live the ‘Isms!’

Tonight I got the urge to print and was drawn to this 1920′s style typeface ‘Broadway Engraved’ and set up the words VIVA MODERNISM but in my haste made a bit of a typo, which needed a full manual change – no ‘control-Z’ here:

Once rectified, the satisfying repetition of a well set up press and a whole bunch of cards…

Long live modernism indeed. Look out for more ‘ isms…’