More fiddling about with ink

Today I’ve been having another ‘go’ with the piece of Japanese plywood – my first attempt was somewhat feeble. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5Q2kkUMZHkJEUtJZHJ3AvlIej1kun08LWa0hE0/?img_index=1

 I had much better luck with the carving today (on the back of the piece that I did before) and got a halfway decent image out of the wood (a dolmen in amongst trees).  I am still finding it hard to do circular marks (like dots and squiggly lines) – this is a slow learning process! 

I printed on really cheap paper.  I forgot to dampen it for the first couple of prints but then ended up  soaking the paper and layering it between sheets of kitchen towel, that seems to work really well.  Paper must be as damp as you can get it for this process (I’m not using a press).  The biggest mistake I made today (along with all the others) was using Linocut ink (trying to save money – duh) … it doesn’t provide a strong print, no matter how many times you ink up the block and it also doesn’t make any difference if you apply the ink directly to the block with a rag or roll it on.    I tried a few monoprinted (colour) background papers (that I made using the gelli plate)  and this worked well – but again I was using linocut ink and the black image of the block wasn’t strongly defined at all.  

Images below show some work done on new Lino yesterday and the resultant print (Celtic designs) and then the work today using the Japanese plywood and various inks/papers

Linocut carving yesterday

Linocut print

Carving onto the Japanese plywood

Print with black Caligo safewash ink

Print on pre-coloured paper using Lino ink – not as strong an image as the Caligo ink

Print on precolour Fabriano paper – not as good a print as on the cheap paper.

Eventually I changed to Caligo safewash ink and the results were instantly ‘true’.   I made more coloured backgrounds on the gelli plate using Fabriano paper (which is really thick) and again tried to make sure this paper was very wet.  I had mixed results with the Fabriano paper but I like the archival quality of this paper.   I did about 20 print experiments in all, working on one with soft pastels after it had partially dried – not very successful result though. I carved into the block again and will do some more prints, to see how the block takes to being abused.  Wood makes a much more durable printing block than lino but it is harder to cut into.   I have bought more plywood sheets, some ShujiGami (Japanese) paper, which I have used before to do dual-sided monoprints on- it is wonderful paper and very cheap for how much you get in a roll.  Once this arrives, I will try and produce something that is good enough to sell.   I have the best intentions …