Thursday, June 23, 2016

Harley Davidson Cafe Las Vegas - Reduction Linocut tracing transfer process

It took me a couple days to really have the time to work on this piece for more than 15 minutes, but I decided today that instead of working on my day off I was going to instead do some things around the house that included working on this block.

Below are some pics I took of the process.
 

The upper left (#1) is the finished tracing turned upside down so that the graphic side is in contact with the linocut surface.  Upper right (#2) is what the blocks surface looks like after a single running through the etching press.  The graphite transfers to the lino from the pressure of the press.

 

In these two images the upper left (#3) is where I'm checking the transfer.  I'm looking for areas that did not transfer well.  The "C" in cafe apparently lost a good bit of the graphite while I was tracing the rest of the image even though I took steps to prevent such an occurence.  For areas that seem weak, I very carefully place the tracing back down and rub those areas with a baren to try and assist the transfer.  The upper right here (#4) is the starting of tracing in permanent ink.  I figured since the "C" was already rather difficult to see that that's where I was going to start.  This way it wouldn't be ablet o fade any further.


This image (#5) is the continuation of the permanent ink tracing.  I have to be very careful where my hand lays while doing this.  I do not want to run off any of the loosely attached graphite.  I usually start at an edge and work inward.  As with most artists who use pastels, graphite, charcoal I lay down a sheet of paper under my hand to prevent smudging and/or erasing.


About 1 hour later this where we end.  I'll let this sit for a day or two just to make sure that the ink has had plenty of time to dry.  I'll also be looking for areas that I may have missed and areas that just don't look right.

If you look closely at the inside of the "C", there is a section that was so questionable that I skipped tracing it in ink.  My job now will be to try and freehand what is happening there.  It's mostly shadow and I'm sure that if I can't fix it no one, except those who see this post will realize something is missing.

#art #printmaking #linocut #lino #reductionlinocut #HarleyDavidson #LasVegas #Cafe #Neon

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