Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Rusty Blackbird and Carolina Wren at Manayunk Canal

Rusty Blackbird and Carolina Wren. Reduction Lino with second lino block by Ken Januski.

Rusty Blackbird and Carolina Wren. Reduction Lino with second lino block by Ken Januski

Barring a few little green tidbits here and there I think this lino is done. I know I'M done! It's always amazing to me how draining these reduction linocuts, especially when combined with another block, can be.

I read of another wildlife printer saying in  Wildlife in Printmaking that it was best to stay away from him on the day he printed an edition. That rang very true to my experience. There are just so many things to keep track of and so many things that can go wrong.

On the other hand I recently hung some of my linos in our bedroom and my wife Jerene was saying the other day how much she enjoyed just looking at the abstract qualities of the Green Heron and Twelve-spotted Skimmer lino. That's exactly the type of reaction I'd like. And it's one that I generally come to myself. It can just take awhile!

Because this is such a dark lino, intentionally, it was hard to photograph. The photos came out too bright and with too much contrast so I doctored them on the computer to make the photo a bit darker. I don't normally do this. But I think this does give a truer indication of what the print actually looks like.

I am happy by the way that it indicates the rich, almost iridescent colors of the Rusty Blackbird.

I'm also happy that this began as a sketch from memory after coming home from seeing the Rusty Blackbird last January or February. Often these sketches aren't great. They would never work as finished works. But they are the first step in articulating an experience. It's always very satisfying when a finished work like this results from it.

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