Printmaking is a little like cooking, trying to find the right combination of ingredients for the perfect recipe. I spent the weekend trying to find the best combination of paper type and press tension for a new type of ink (Daniel Smith oil-based relief ink) I'm test driving. By Sunday afternoon, after countless test prints, I happily found the right mix. I often print on Stonehenge paper, but from time to time I've had a problem when the paper slips ever so slightly as the etching press roller pushes the print through. The front half of the print looks crisp, while the rear half of the print looks a little fuzzy and I end up having to recycle the prints. But Rives heavyweight paper worked fantastic. It's a little lighter weight than the Stonehenge paper and laid nice and 'snug' to the inked block. The result, after going through the press, was a nice clear image. To add another wrinkle, I decided to mount the carved linoleum block on plywood, which I never do, and I see some benefits. The photo shows the first layer of my newest edition of Italian car prints.

Car Linocut Print

Yesterday, I found myself roaming the dark aisles of a specialty lumber warehouse in industrial west Berkeley, looking for enticing leftovers of cut hardwood, while wheeling around a little baby sporting a cast the color of pink cotton candy. If you had told me that this would be my life five years ago, I'd have told you to stop sniffing your Sharpies. But there I was and I came across quite a find. They had salvaged these huge, old Douglas fir beams from a 100-year old building on Harrison in San Francisco and I walked away with this four-foot long plank, with the most rad striated grain, for dirt cheap. I need to do this wood justice.

On Sunday, May 19, I'll be returning to the Albany Arts & Green Festival. Hope to see you there.

Ukulele Linocut Block Print

Earlier this month, I listed these new ukulele linocut prints for sale on Etsy. There are four different color versions in a total edition of 12 prints. It was made using the reduction method where the same linoleum block is used to print each color. After a layer is printed on the paper with oil-based ink, more of the block is carved away for an additional color. The print can never be replicated because the block has been carved away during the creation process.

After a nice holiday break, which included a short rejuvenating trip up into the snowy mountains of Northern California, I'm getting back into the swing of things. This morning, I finished a world airport map linocut. This is the most recent addition to my series of airport prints. This two-layer, 8"x16" block print was done in two different color versions - the orange seen in the photo below and a blue-green color.

World Airport Map - Linocut Print