Racer - 16x34" - 7 color Reduction Linocut
(Color 3 - Red)
So since my last entry I've managed to get a good bit done on this piece. The only major issue I'm experiencing with this piece is the amount of time that it takes to print each color. I'm working with a brayer that is only 7 inches wide and only rolls out about 6-7 inches. On a piece of this size that means it takes what feels like forever to ink the entire surface of the block evenly.
The first light grey layer took me 4.5 hours, the second layer took 4 hours and this layer took another 4.5 hours. That includes times where I didn't necessarily ink the block evenly and the printed ink came out uneven with areas that didn't print well. I would then just ink up those specific areas and run it through the press a second time.
(Color 4 - Shadow Red)
I managed to quickly carve the areas for the last color away and printed the fourth color a bit sooner than I probably would have. I really like how this is turning out so far and I'm down to 3 colors. I have the sky, a very dark blue on the banner flags and then a final black color. Much like the other layers, this color took about 4.5 hours to print properly. I guess that makes 17.5 hours of just printing for this piece. That doesn't include the carving or drawing time which probably has me well over 23 hours worth of time spent on this piece....with 3 colors still to print.
(Detail shot of the highlighted and shadowed red areas)
(Here's the block on the press bed ready to be printed).
#art #printmaking #linocut #reductionlinocut #reductionprint #racer #rollercoaster #kennywood #pittsburgh #pa #red
