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Baren Digest            Saturday, 26 September 1998    Volume 04 : Number 293

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From: David Bull <davebull@woodblock.com>
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1998 14:58:37 +0900
Subject: [Baren 1764] 'One-point' Lesson 

Here is this week's 'One-point' lesson 

(contributed by Dave Bull)

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(#24)  Printing very delicate colours

Controlling the depth and intensity of the colour in the finished print
is usually a straight-forward process - the more pigment that is placed
on the block, the deeper the colour one sees in the finished print. 
There are two ways to control this amount of pigment: the first is to
make a 'thicker' or 'thinner' fluid in the bowl, and the second is to
vary how much fluid one transfers to the block each time.

What happens though, when one desires an extremely delicate shade of
colour in the print?  'Thinning down' the pigment solution in the bowl
only works to a point - if the solution becomes too watery, the
impression in the print will not be the desired smooth delicate colour,
but will be blotchy and uneven.  If the other method is tried, and only
a very small dab of pigment is placed on the block, it will be
difficult, if not impossible, to spread it smoothly over the entire
surface.

The solution is to use an 'off the block' blending technique.  Get a
smooth ceramic tile - like the kind one sees on kitchen or bathroom
walls - and place it next to the block.  (I use one such tile as the
'stand' for my brush during all my printing)  Prepare a reasonably thin,
but not too watery, bowl of pigment, and prepare a normal cup of paste.

Moisten the wood surface as usual.  Place a dab of paste onto the tile -
_not_ onto the block surface as you normally would.  Beside it place a
tiny dab of pigment.  Blend them together with the brush right there on
the tile.  When they are smoothly blended, brush the mixture over the
surface of the block.  Take the impression; the result should be a
smooth and _very_ delicate tint of colour.

It will take a bit of practice to find out just how much pigment/paste
is needed to get the particular tint you wish, and of course the first
few impressions will be quite light - until the brush gets a bit
'loaded'.  But once the proper balance is found, it should be very easy
to maintain it throughout the edition.

Some astonishingly delicate colours can be printed with this technique
...

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Next week -   ...  Bill Ritchie reproduces himself ...

These 'One-point' lessons are being collected into a section in the
[Baren] Encyclopedia of Woodblock Printmaking.
http://www.woodblock.com/encyclopedia/updates.html

Contributions from experienced printmakers for future 'One-pointers' 
are eagerly solicited.

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End of Baren Digest V4 #293
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