I am continuing on in my attempt to learn about the linocut process and have done a multi color reduction print to see how the inks work over each other and how registration works (or in my case doesn't quite work). The process is shown below with the first color printed in yellow, then the plate is further reduced by cutting away the areas to remain yellow and printing the next color (green). I then cut away all the parts to stay green and tried several different colors printing the final versions to see how the colors reacted with each other. I learned:
- I really need better inks. I am using a beginners water based ink by speedball that didn't offer any transparent base to work with and was difficult to print as the series went on.
- I am going to need to be more precise and have more guides set down for the registration process in order to get a better alignment for the prints
- The new lino was much better and easier to cut than my previous test print, as it is probably newer than what I had on hand previously
I may or may not revisit this croton motif in the future but this learning print really was quite helpful in seeing the process work (and not work) in my studio. It was also quite helpful in getting me to think in printmaking mode as opposed to painting mode when creating the starting image.
