My Winnipeg IV

My Winnipeg IV.

Linocut.

60cm x 60cm. 2013.

My paper arrived and with great excitement I started printing and here is My Winnipeg IV. I'm printing on Revere, a newer line of cotton paper by the Cartiera Magnani mill in Italy, the same mill that makes the Pescia Magnani paper I usually use. As I mentioned in my previous post, I re-used a previous image of an etching for this piece (My Winnipeg II), changing the scale to 60cm x 60cm (24" x 24") and translating it into black and white, with a focus on patterning. It took me about a day and multiple prints before figuring out how to ink the plate just right. I always have to get to know a plate first after I've made it before I can print it properly, even though it's 'just' a relief print. It was the background that was (and still is) giving me a hard time to get it just right. The background consists of relatively wide open and flat areas I carved away, so in some places, the brayer inevitably touches down and leaves a mark, especially around the edges. I solved the problem by using a soft brayer with a thin coat of ink to get deep down into the recessed areas, which don't get the same amount of pressure as the surface of the plate resulting in that grey patterned tone. The looseness of the background takes away some of that black and white starkness of the image. The surface of the plate I ink up with a harder brayer. Now the printing of the edition begins.