Duck

Duck
reduction linocut by Teresa Newham

Here is the companion piece to the new Drake reduction linocut, imaginatively titled Duck. As you may recall, I printed them alongside each other, so that I always had something to work on while the other print was drying.

printing the beak & feet
© Teresa Newham

Sorting out her beak and feet was a little complicated, as it involved some wet in wet overprinting. Once the base body layer was in place everything made much more sense, and the next layer of shadow  made the duck look reassuringly solid.   

adding volume to the body
© Teresa Newham

The most challenging part was cutting the feathers on her body and head, and I had to resort to a mirror to ensure the pattern was correct.  I wasn't trying to portray every individual feather, but it still took two separate cutting sessions to get the right effect.

cutting the feathers
© Teresa Newham

Printing the final layer was a joy, as the duck came completely to life on the page at this point. She looks as though she could hold her own in any encounter and I think she'll make a fitting mate for that drake!

printing the final layer
© Teresa Newham

Drake

Drake
reduction linocut by Teresa Newham

Time for an update on one of the two reduction linocuts I've been making during lockdown.  As a distraction project it's worked well - I've learnt a lot and had a great deal of fun.  And it's certainly kept me occupied!

feet & beak
© Teresa Newham

Having finished the background, I've been dealing with each piece separately, which meant I could work on one while the other dried in between layers.  I printed the yellow feet and beak of the drake first, adding in some extended shadow on the beak.

feet (again) & head
© Teresa Newham

I printed the orange part of the feet and the green head next, and added in some wet in wet shadow on the head at the same time.  As you can see from the photo above, things were beginning to get somewhat complicated . . .

base layer on body
© Teresa Newham

The next stage was to print a layer of flat grey onto the body to give some texture and to knock out any intrusions from the background. This was a straightforward layer, as was the next one, which added some subtle extended shadows with a sweep of the baren.

subtle shadows
© Teresa Newham

The final process was to add the brown and black feathers, which I printed together as one layer.  I was sorry to finish with this handsome fellow, because he's been so absorbing to work on - as has his female companion! More about her soon . . 

final feathers
© Teresa Newham