Woodblocks General Stuff 29 Feb 04
I'm new to woodcuts. The kind I do are done on the side of the wood rather than the end grain which are called wood engravings. Because I want to be able to do biggish prints I decided to go for plywood. The problem with plywood is that it chips easily so you can't do very fine work. Also it knackers the knives very quickly because of the glue. Later I found that Birch Plywood is much better than the common or garden stuff that I used for this one. One thing I found about carving a block is that its a bit like starting a packet of biscuits. Once you start you can't stop till its all finished.
Click on a picture to see a large version of it.
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Here is my first small woodcut printed with gauche onto normal somerset paper. You can see how the black line on the shape at the top has a chip in it. Drat! I was trying to see how fine a line I could cut.
You can also see lots of smudgy marks all over. This is where I've accidentally printed the areas where I've cut away the wood. They are not supposed to be there but on this print I quite like them. They add a kind of primitive look to the thing.
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My goal is to do Japanese style wood block printing. The process requires that all the tools and materials you use are exactly tuned and in balance. At first it seems impossible.
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This was my first print done on japanese paper. I say first but actually this one was the result of several weeks of producing soggy messes. I won't even begin to tell you whats wrong with this one. As far as I can tell most traditional japanese prints use black outlines like this one but I want to try to get away from that. Not because I don't like it but because I just want to try it without. This one was printed first with yellow ochre all over and the other colours are printed on top of that. Some important things I've found out about Japanese woodblock printing:- 1. The paper must be very slightly damp, not wet. 2. The ink is applied to the block very, very thinly. 3. If you leave rice paste out too long it starts to ferment and makes a bad smell. 4. You have to make at least 10 prints before the block is seasoned. This makes it a pain to do a quick trial print. Things I'm still not sure about:- You have to mix rice paste with the pigment. I'm still not sure why or what its function is. Everyone gives slight;y different reasons. |