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| first cut with reference photo © Teresa Newham |
The longer days have encouraged me back into the studio to work on a reduction linocut that I initally sketched out last September, based on a photo taken almost exactly a year ago of some redwings sheltering from s snowstorm in our holly tree.
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| progressing through the first layer © Teresa Newham |
It's turning out to be a challenge. I kept changing my mind about where to put the snow, making the final revisions to the design on the lino. The red carbon paper I used transferred to some of the prints - luckily in places which won't show - and I need to work out why. I suspect it's either because I stained the lino or used extender.
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| studio set up for printing the first layer © Teresa Newham |
I started with twenty sheets of paper - four of which were ordinary Hosho for proofing and the rest were Awagami 80 gsm Hosho - only to discover that one of them had become marked, possibly while I was cutting the paper to size. So the print run for the first layer became nineteen.
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| inking up for the second layer © Teresa Newham |
The printing of the second mid green layer progressed smoothly until I started to get tired. I had marked the back of each sheet up correctly for the registration device but still managed to place the sixteenth print so badly out of position that it went in the bin. So now the run is eighteen . . .
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| some problems can be troubleshooted - others not so much . . . © Teresa Newham |
I've also realised that I haven't cut the twig that the lower bird is sitting on properly, so I will have to correct that when printing the other layers. I do have a plan - let's hope it works, as I really don't want to have to start again!
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| ghostly birds on the second layer © Teresa Newham |
Looks beautiful so far!
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