Yes! The sublime Columbian in action at Swansea Print Workshop. Here’s a short video of this gorgeous antique Victorian printing press. I’ve been using it all week, printing the first colour of a set of 8 reduction linocut prints. I’ll cut the second layer away from the blocks early next week and then get back to the lovely Columbian to print colour 2. Enjoy it. I do.
I spent this afternoon down at Swansea Print Workshop, printing the first colour of a series of reduction linocuts I’m making for a forthcoming exhibition at Oriel Ceri Richards at the Taliesin Arts Centre next month. There will be 12 linocuts in all and although I’ve started printing them, I had one left to cut ……. so I quickly drew it and made the first cuts this evening, ready for printing tomorrow.
I’m using a small, square vinyl ‘softcut’ by Intaglio Printmakers and a Faber Castell Pitt pen to draw the image. I use Flexcut tools for the cutting.
The softcut is very easy to use but not suitable for fine, controlled work. It’s great for my expressionist approach though and prints well onto the fine Japanese paper I’m using.
I’ve been preparing a stack of vinyl blocks ready for cutting. I’ve drawn on them, firstly in graphite then in Faber Castell Pitt drawing pens. Each block will be printed in 4 stages; the first stage is to start cutting away the areas that will be white on the final print. Then I’ll cut the areas that will be a light grey, then the areas to be dark grey and the final cut will leave the areas to be printed in black. This is called the ‘suicide’ or reduction method as it progressively cuts away at the block until there is very little of it left. There’s no margin for error. It’ll be a lot of work to print an edition from all 12 blocks. It’s going to take a while.
Printmakers = geeks. It’s true 😀
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