Rose-breasted Grosbeak Print

Happy Valentine's Day from a bird who seems to be wearing its heart on its chest.

Floyd

My latest reduction print was inspired by Jenn Ski's handsome cat, Floyd. I used one 4" x 6" "easy cut" block and Akua inks. The white areas were cut out first, and then I printed the light orange tones, followed by layers of deeper orange, green, and brown. It's a labor-intensive medium as compared to making a drawing and adding watercolor, as I usually do, but I really enjoy the process and the unique qualities of a print.

Sunflower Print

I've been having fun creating a variety of prints made from "easy cut" blocks since the summer. Right now I'm taking a printmaking class at the NH Institute of Art to learn more about professsional inks and papers suitable for for this medium, as well as new techniques. I'm really excited about the course!

A sunflower in town

My sketch of the sunflower, and the design on the block that I am going to be printing using the reduction technique. This will be a four color print when I am done. Hopefully by my next post!

New projects

This summer I've been working with flexible easy cut blocks. I like using the reduction technique because you only need one block per image, and if I plan my design out properly, I can still make one color prints with the finished block (the black layer). These three images of locally found sea creatures will be matted and framed into a triptych. I used Speedball water based inks and block printing paper for these 4" x 4" images.