Another drypoint experiment

Ragged robin drypoint print with deep pink ink added with brush.

Ragged robin drypoint print with deep pink ink added with brush.

Ragged robin drypoint print with deep pink ink added with brush.

Ragged robin drypoint print.

It took me half the day to measure and tear the paper – but I was also preparing paper for a future day (or 2) in the studio. Since I hadn’t had enough time to prepare a new plate, I decided to try a different way of printing the last 2 drypoint plates I’d made. I inked them up with etching ink in the usual way (I scrape ink into the lines and then wipe with scrim), but then painted on some relief ink which I had thinned further with some thin plate oil.

The first attempt at the ragged robin print was rather messy. I realised that there was a loose hair in the brush (which I removed) and a couple of hairs that stuck out at an angle (so I tried to use the other side of the brush). The brushes I use for acrylics might work better for applying the ink. The deep pink wasn’t quite the colour I wanted. Thinking about it afterwards, I realised that I probably need to use more extender to make the deep pink colour more translucent and therefore a bit lighter.

Butterfly on blackthorn blossom.

Butterfly on blackthorn blossom.

Butterfly on blackthorn blossom.

I tried brushing the orange of the butterfly on lightly on the paler areas on the first but that just looked a bit messy on the print. It seemed to work better with a less tentative approach and leaving the lighter areas without any ink. I think the butterfly works better. I will do some more of those.

Although I was a bit frustrated that I got little printing done and that it didn’t work as well as I’d hoped, I did learn something from it. I also enjoyed the day. It was a busy day in the studio, with three other people using it, and a couple of groups of visitors on guided tours.  I’d already met a couple of my fellow printmakers before, and It was lovely to have a chat now and then as we worked, sharing knowledge of printmaking or getting artwork seen.

Now I need to think of what subject my 20:20 print should be. This is a print exchange scheme between different studios, and I need to make an edition of 25 (20 x 20 cms each) within the next few weeks. I want to make prints that most people might like but can’t think what the subject should be.

A butterfly and ragged robin

It had taken me a while to get back into the studio due to the electric press being busy when I was available. I decided to try something that should be straightforward after the last 2 sessions when most of the prints didn’t turn out as I had hoped.

I had decided some time ago to make a series of images of Ouseburn’s flora and fauna and have been gathering photos for over a year. Making linocuts of some of the Ouseburn Farm’s livestock had been the start of my venturing seriously into printmaking. For the first wild Ouseburn images, I decided to try a butterfly on blackthorn blossom and ragged robin as drypoint plates.

Inking up the ragged robin drypoint plate.

First attempt at printing the ragged robin in Prussian blue.

Butterfly on blackthorn (paper is cream, not pink as it appears here).

Printing the ragged robin in purple (mixed using blue and red ink) worked better than Prussian blue.

The prints on the drying rack.

I shall try adding a little watercolour to these prints. For the next flora and fauna prints, I will try adding a second colour at the printing stage. I’m considering whether to try a relief plate after an intaglio plate, but will probably try a simpler option.