2nd relief engraving - The Wild Rose (a botanical print)

This botanical study of a wild rose blossom is a working proof printed from a small 1.5 x 2.75 inch resingrave block. I was using it as an exercise to practice cutting with a variety of engraving tools. I also received a small sample tube of Gamblin oil relief printing ink from McClain's and so had the opportunity to try it out with the block.

The first image is simple black ink proof printed on white paper. Below that is a hand tinted version that incorporates watercolour.

The image began as a drawing made onto an black india ink coated resingrave block surface with a fine point silver gel marker. Then using a variety of engraving tools I cut away the silver lines (but some non-drawn line cuts were made spur of the moment on the block).

A tip I learned from wood engraver/author George Walker's book The Woodcut Artist's handbook is to brush some chalk or white talcum powder into the cut lines as this will help the relief to become more visible while working on the dark block.

I have printed several proofs so far on a variety of different papers that include Gampi, Kozo, Somerset velvet rag and Arches cover buff.

The block was printed onto the papers using a cardboard tympan set over top and passed under the top roller of my small table top etching press that was adjusted to print using a slight pressure.

final version of an earlier work

Shore

relief block with hand colour

edition size: 40

image size: 2.75 x 3.5 in.

I printed the original key block (cut from the Easy to Cut material) using black ink onto a piece of waterproof drafting film. While the ink was still wet I then carefully by eye aligned it onto an equal size piece of battleship linoleum. Then the image was transferred to the lino surface using hand burnishing with the back of a wooden spoon (rubbing the backside of the drafting film in a firm yet gentle circular motion.)

Once the ink had dried on the surface of the lino the black line image was used as a cutting guide (the transfer from the drafting film allowed the design to be positioned on the new block in the same directional layout as the original easy to cut block). I decided to incorporate a thin line border around the design for this version.

Another difference this time is that the print is derived from a single block. Colour has been added into the print with watercolour painted in by hand.

19 of the edition are slated as exchange prints with fellow printmakers through the WetCanvas printmaking forum.

Wilderness - new series of works on paper

Late Afternoon - Algoma woods
drypoint intaglio from an acrylic plate
edition of 10
2009

A study from a new series of 24 prints I have titled Wilderness. Each image in this series is a depiction of some aspect of the untouched beauty found in the region of Canada I call home and have explored at different stages during my life to date. Some of the work focuses on landscapes, others portray flora and fauna in their natural habitats. I also explore different seasons and times of day.
Late Afternoon - Algoma woods is a single colour (monochromatic) drypoint that was created by drawing into an acrylic plate using a sharp steel needle. Ink was wiped into the recessed lines and the plate was printed into dampened rag paper under extreme high pressure forcing the paper fibers into the recessed lines to pick up ink while it was passed through the rollers of my hand turned etching press.
I will be posting more studies from the series as they are photographed.

Elementary School Art - Teaching Relief Printmaking in the schools

I recently completed a 25 hour placement in a regional school where the students learned to make multiple colour relief landscape and other prints. This was my first solo venture as an arts educator into the educational system through the Artist in Education program which is offered to schools by the Ontario Arts Council. I have been active through another program here in Thunder Bay called Community Arts and Heritage Education Project (CAHEP) for the past three years running where projects I've offered have been selected by teachers/schools. Usually the time committment is much shorter for these in comparison to the OAC projects.

http://www.arts.on.ca/index.aspx

http://www.cahep.ca/

For this project the students learned relief printmaking from scratch and were given the opportunity to create a series of square format landscape colour prints.

Below are a couple of photos showing a few of the finished prints displayed in a horizontal panoramic type format.

To view a PDF file that gives the project overview and also includes a photo montage of particular stages of this project click on the following link:

http://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7910101&postcount=8

the pdf file can be opened by clicking on the blue underlined text link which is located underneath the photos on the page.

Resingrave - a new type of engraving surface for relief printing

The Marsh

relief engraving

block size 3 x 6.5 cm (about 1.75 x 2.5 inches)

Daniel Smith Black relief ink printed onto Somerset 250 gsm rag white

Above is a photo and close up of the engraved surface from my first print created from the surface of a material called Resingrave. This study is from a very small block and required viewing it through the magnifying lens of a swing arm daylight lamp while cutting the surface.
Here is a link to McClain's in Portland, Oregon. They are a relief printmaking supplier/retailer who sell the Resingrave product. They also have a wonderful online gallery of works submitted by many known and unknown artists.
http://www.imcclains.com/catalog/blocks/resingrave.html

Last year I purchased a starter set of six wood engraving tools from McClains (manufactured by Edward Lyons Co.) and several blocks of a product called Resingrave. This hard resin epoxy material is bonded in a thin layer onto a thicker layer below of MDF substrate base and is a synthetic version of hardwood. Since traditional boxwood is becoming an endangered species this was invented by a printmaker from California as a substitute. The blocks that I purchased are a new formula that has more resistance to chipping, something that unfortunately was a problem with the original formula and turned a few people off of using it. In addition to the resingrave I purchased a small leather cushion filled with sand to set the block on while cutting (this makes it easier to turn the block when you are cutting round lines). First I coated the surface of the resingrave with black india ink and when it was dry then I drew on top using a Sakura gelly roll white pen. When the surface area was cut away (using the white ink lines as my cutting guide) the contrast off white of the resin epoxy material was exposed, so this more or less shows you a bit of what your image will appear when it is printed in black and white (but in reverse).
I was able to locate a cabinet maker locally who possessed a fine tooth carbide blade and a table saw, he was able to cut down the larger blocks into smaller size pieces . I used a small tabletop etching press to print the block. I first created a set of runners made of compressed particle wood material (MDF) with a thin layer of easy to cut vinyl material glued on top. I wanted to make these the exact height as the resingrave blocks as they would be positioned under the roller to keep it level. Then I would set a 1/8 inch sheet of millboard over top of the damp rag paper which was positioned over top of the inked block and passed the works under the top roller with just enough of a slight pressure to allow a good transfer of ink onto the paper. In the photo you will notice that some of the uninked cut areas that define the sky were embossed into the paper creating a very interesting subtle 3D effect that is quite noticable when light hits it at the right angle. This is a technique called blind embossing.
I have also experimented with other papers including Masa oriental paper and Zerkall paper that is made in Germany. These are not soaked and will not reveal the wonderful embossing effect to the degree that a heavier damp paper will.

Below is a photo that shows the block surface with ink rolled on the flat surface and the resulting reverse image print.

The summer months are going to be spent with more exploration of this medium.

landscape - demonstration print for teaching relief block

Lake Superior shoreline study

five colour working proof print

speedball w/s ink on subi block paper

printed using hand burnishing

I am starting a classroom based printmaking project next week in a elementary school about an hour east of Thunder Bay. The students will learn to create several multiple colour relief block studies based on landscapes of the region.
The print pictured above is a piece that was created specially for this project. It is a study of rocky shore along Lake Superior. Will be using it as an example to show how to print a landscape using a combination of different types of relief surfaces (softoleum and scratchfoam in this case). It also illustrates how one can layer colours from different relief block surfaces to build an image.

Fig. 1 shows the initial pencil sketch which was scaled down to fit the softoleum block which became my master or "key" block.

fig. 1

fig. 2

Figure 2 shows the colour layout that I did in marker. This will serve as my guide for mixing my ink colours when the blocks are carved and ready for printing.

In figure 3 I have cut away the surface of a piece of softoleum with linocut knives. First I coated the surface using black permanent marker and then using my sketch as a reference I redrew the image on the black surface using a silver gel pen. The light silver colour lines and shaded areas were cut away to leave the surface areas that would determine the relief when it is printed using black ink. This material cuts very easily so I had to just lightly dig in with the tool tips to remove it. I wanted to create a bit of depth from the lower section so I went over that later with a larger U gouge blade to remove more of the rubber like material.

fig. 3

Fig. 4 is an example of a simple registration system for printing. One important observation I made is for exact registration the block height and horizontal level that the paper rests on the block should be about the same distance. Any variance in height can cause a slight misregistration when printing. To allow my paper to lay horizontally level on the 3/8 inch thick softoleum keyblock I found that a strip of 1/4 inch foamboard with a strip of matboard on top of this created a header bar to which I could pin my paper at the top of the registration board. What I did was tape this header bar to the top edge of a baseboard (cardboard). I also cut the baseboard to be the same size as that of the paper which is 23 x 30.5 cm (9 x 12 inches.) The paper was secured by applying four evenly spaced thumb tacks pushed through the paper into the foam strip underneath.

fig. 4

The blocks were secured in place for printing on the registration board by first centering the key block then taping strips of matboard around the sides and along the bottom edge. The additional blocks which were the same size as the key block fit into this U shaped brace. The paper was placed over top of the inked block, hand burnished and then carefully folded back and held down wiith one hand while I removed the block. Then you can remove the tacks and hang the print to dry until ready to print the next colour in which you match up the pin holes in the paper with the foam strip (the thumb tacks will fall into place easily when you find them.

A tip is to make a black dot by using a marker point around the pin hole on the foam strip. These dots can usually be seen through the paper. This helps to relocate the depressions in the foam where the tack points will depress when reattaching the paper to the board.

Fig. 5 illustrates several colours on the paper printed from the styrofoam (scratchfoam) sheets.

Sheets of scratchfoam were glued onto both sides of a piece of foamboard. First of all it made the block the same height as the softoleum block. The second benefit is that it also allows both sides of the block to be used.

fig. 5

Pukaskwa/Driftwood Beach - the finished print

Pukaskwa/driftwood beach
colour relief blockprint
2009

Finally completed this study which started off as a single colour black and white print.
I wasn't satisfied with the hand colour application so made a decision to cut additional blocks and add in a majority of colour with ink. However a little hand tinting was still used in the driftwood and background foliage. It is hard to tell from the photo but the variations of the light washes of Payne's gray would have been too much work to try and capture printing off another block surface. It also simplified things to paint in the little area of green for the foliage as it is small and subtle. The ink printed a little darker than what was shown in the computer visualization, however the darker hues appear to add more drama which I don't mind at all.
The granular texture in the sand was created from the surface of a piece of wondercut linoleum which produced a grainy effect . This was intentional as the hint of texture added more interest into the image.
The two different colours of blue were printed from one block, the water section was cut away as a jigsaw insert, was inked seperately and then set back into place and printed along with the blue sky with one pass of the press roller.
In the process of printing an edition of 50.

Pukaskwa National Park - driftwood beach

Continuing on with the blockprint series this is my most recent work. The above image is the first proof taken from the cut block which was printed in black ink onto Subi paper.
It is a landscape study featuring driftwood and washed up weather beaten logs that litter one of the many pristine white sand beaches located at Pukaskwa National Park on Lake Superior.

I plan to apply watercolour to a few and then possibly a series of prints created with the addition of colour blocks. 

The block was glued down onto a masonite panel substrate and then cut with a variety of linocut tools plus one or two spitsticker wood engraving tools for fine detailing.

I refined the image a bit more with some additional cutting of the block. There is now better definition of the background foliage and also the water to the left side of the print.

The image developed by referring to a couple of digital photos that were taken last fall when we visited the park. Once again I blackened the surface of a piece of linoleum (13 x 18 cm or 5 x 7 in.), however this time used a golden cut variety instead of battleship gray. This allowed me to see the block as it would print (only in reverse) as the lighter areas of the block material would appear as white on the paper.

Below is the freehand sketch on the linoleum surface made with white Sakura gel pen.

The attachment below that is of the block during the cutting stage.

Wolf lake relief block with watercolour

Wolf Lake - North View

Here is my first attempt at the application of watercolour into the image. Since the paper is a slightly textured 250 gsm rag suited for printmaking it also accepts the washes of the watercolour very nicely. The print was secured to a birch board by fastening with butchers tape around the edges to keep it from developing a permament buckle from the wash application.

Wolf lake - working proof

I have cut the block and decided to print a test proof. The block had black oil relief printing ink rolled on and was printed onto Subi white blockprinting paper. I spotted a couple of areas that will be refined a little more with cutting tools before the final print is made. My intention is to print this in a single colour (black) on ph neutral paper like Coventry rag or Somerset. Then watercolour will be painted into the image.

The block size is 13 x 18 cm (5 x & inches).

Below is an example of a print I did in 2007 titled Lake Marie Louise which incorporates this hand colouring technique into a single colour of ink printed on to watercolour paper.