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A chiaroscuro print, in the simplest terms, involves a black lined block printed over a color background. I’ve wanted to make some color woodblock prints for a while now. Not owning my own press stopped me from taking on the process. I finally got over this, mostly mental, hurdle and made some small 3 x 4” prints from 2007-2008. The whole experience has really sparked my interest to further pursuing this process. I’ve printed most of my relief prints by hand. That is, I ink up the block with a roller, I lay a sheet of paper over the block, and I burnish a sheet of paper with a spoon or other smooth utensil to transfer the ink onto the paper. I do this repeatedly until I have a set of prints that make up an edition. It’s a simple process but time intensive. This is why I keep my print editions small – 5, 6, 9, or 25 impressions to an edition. This series of small prints was no different. I set my parameters to two blocks for printing – one block for the color and one for the black line. I constructed a simple small wooden jig to help me align and properly register the two blocks. Most of the images used for these new colored prints are taken from an assortment of doodles I’ve collected over the years. These doodles are misfits really. Most have little or no relation to any current body of work so they sit in pasted compilations in my sketchbook for the right moment. These patient misfits finally had their day as the perfect subjects for my first colored relief prints. I called the series “Unfinished Stories” because each image gives a tightly cropped glimpse into some uncertain narrative. The idea is to be able to combine images in different configurations and let each speak to another in complimentary or opposing dialogues. I’ve intended to print 5 different color versions for each image to add to the range of interactive possibilities. |
