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| Blue & Gold by Constance Brewer 7" x 7" White line print on Stonehenge paper. Daniel Smith watercolors. |
Updates have been thin on the ground of late because I was
pushing to get my latest print done. The Blue & Gold Macaw pictured above.
It's a bit different from my usual relief printmaking in that it's a white line
print. What is that, you ask? How is it different from the usual lino or wood
cut block?
The following from Jeanne Norman Chase as written in 1999 on
the Baren
Forum.
"White-line
woodblock printmaking began in 1915, the first woodblock printmaking unique to
the United States. Western artists admired the Eastern traditional type of
woodblock printing made by the Japanese artists. The Eastern art form required
several blocks of wood to produce a finished print. The Western printmakers of
1915 created their own style of woodblock printing using only one block of
wood.
The method started
with a group of six artists in Provincetown, Massachusetts and this new form of
woodblock printmaking became known as the Provincetown print, or white-line
woodcut. Their work has been exhibited worldwide, and recently at the National
Gallery of Art in Washington DC.
The registration was
uniquely different since only one print at a time would be printed. The side of
the paper was tacked to the board and folded back, in the same way that a book
would open. This would keep the registration lined up at all times and the print
could be left while other prints were inked.
The paper is attached
to the left edge of the block with thumbtacks, then gently folded back. This
makes the register. The paper is repeatedly lifted and printed so this method
keeps the paper in constant register.
The lines are cut into
the block with a V-shaped cut of the knife. The lines remain white in the
finished print, as only the raised areas which are left receive any color. It
is a relief print in reverse.
To print a color, mix
it alone on a palette. Apply the paint to the area (or areas) that you intend
to print. Fold the paper down on top of the block and rub very gently over the
inked area with the wooden spoon."
This method takes a while. I started working on the prints
in August, figuring I would have plenty of time to do 20 prints before the Oct. 31 deadline.
Here it is the 15th and I'm just getting done. I had to learn on the
first few prints to put enough color on first time. My prints were coming out
too light otherwise. I also found that I couldn't do more than two prints in a
sitting, because the woodblock would retain the wetness and cause some areas to
spread. I also decided next time I did this I would a) cut the lines
deeper b) use a bigger woodblock, and c) only make 4 or 5 prints.
Since this was for a Baren Forum Exchange, I needed to make
20 prints to exchange with the other participants. I'm going to get 19 other
white line prints in the exchange, how cool is that? The extra print goes to Pacific
Northwest College of Arts (PNCA) in Portland, Oregon to be archived.
I love these print exchanges because I get so many prints
from artists around the world. I study and learn from them. If you'd like to
see some of the exchanges, go to the Baren Exchange Gallery
and click on any of the active links. Some outstanding work there. Now, onwards
to more prints, and some 'Underground' work for the Gyroscope Review cover. Art
never rests.
