A Lesson in Print Making

Printmaking with traditional methods is such an adventure.  You work and work on cutting the block and you are always guessing how it is going to work out.  Then once in a while, it turns out nice and you are surprised.

Printmaking in a corner of my studio

I cut my first print in high school in 1973 and the adventure is still there.  Today in my little corner of the basement I pulled out a favorite that I designed a couple of years ago and printed a few of "Somber Bay Lighthouse."  

If I learned one thing today it was a lesson in patience.  I knew that a few of the prints I made would be rejects- I seem to reject a lot of product but I want my friends to receive beautiful prints, not smudgy goofy things.  I found that I had to take my time and expect to print either fewer pictures or take longer to do them. 

Reject prints.

As I slowly brought each piece of paper up I studied the image and sometimes held it half way off the block and rolled a little more ink to a spot and pressed the paper back down again to get a clearer image.  Taking my time proved to be the secret to getting a good image. 

I did reject quite a few but came out with about ten I was really happy with. I will put them on mat board and sell them for $49.00 each or frame them and sell for $99.00 each. 

Somber Bay Lighthouse, a numbered print.

(c) Adron

Chokeberry Flowers, Handmade Print

Chokeberry flower. 

This is a mono print, a handmade one of a kind image.

Chokeberry,  Monoprint,  edition of 1 by Adron.

I made this by drawing directly on the ink with a pencil while it was on the ink-glass then pressed paper onto it. This is not the normal way of print making, at least that I know, normally you would cut a block of wood, linoleum, or foam and then ink the block then press the paper onto the block. It allows you to make many editions of the same image. The block can be re-cut for additional colors and effects, but the mono print does not offer that opportunity.

I think it would have been more effective if I had a different tool other than the pencil that I used to draw the picture with. Maybe a wider or duller instrument would have given more variety in the lines, and more interest in the picture.

I am happy with the results and will consider framing it.

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(c) Adron

Owl Relief Print. Handmade.

Mono Print of an Owl.

This is a hand made one of a kind relief print. 

Owl Handmade Mono-print 1/1 printed 12/22/12 

I have been having a lot of fun print making lately. I read in a book about a process of scribing into the ink while it was on the glass and printing off of the ink-glass  directly. This does not require carving a block, but you only get one or two images.  

This owl image was made after I did some other print work and I had a little ink on the glass which I didn't want to waste. So I used a dull pencil and drew right on the ink and laid a page on it. It was the fist time I tried this sort of thing. I was mostly happy with the results. The unevenness of the print is a little disappointing but the image is clear. Water based inks seem to dry  unevenly on the glass after you roll the brayer over it a few times so that is why the uneven dark and light areas. 

Sun Image, Handmade Monoprint

A Monoprint of a Sun  

This is a hand made print. Only one is made so it is called a mono-print. The sun is a popular and favorite subject.  

January Sun, monoprint, 1 of 1 made. 8.5x11 inches by Adron 

This was made in my basement studio on January 3rd 2013. I first rolled a square of yellow onto the paper. While that dried I cut a block, or in this case Styrofoam, and rolled ink over it then pressed the paper onto it. The outside shape was cut and he face was simply drawn in the soft material which depressed the Styrofoam and left the yellow underneath to show through. The raised image leaves the print of the image. 

It is always an adventure because you never really know what it will be like when it comes out. 

The ink I use is speedball water based ink. The paper was 20 lb paper. Which is a little lightweight for my taste but OK for making something for fun.

I didn't feel like going to great lengths to make different colors and try to get things to match up for more layers of color. So I kept it simple. 

Hand Made Print of Daisies Black

This is a handmade print of daisies I did with block print methods.

Hand-made Print, Daisies. limited edition of 18

The design started out as part of an art lesson I was teaching to kids where we were discussing negative space. The white areas create the composition. My study I did for the lesson looked like it would work well as a print. The idea fermented in my mind for a while and so I gave it a try. I think it turned out very well.

I used a foam material instead of the traditional wood or lino block. I am poor and have to make do with what I can find. I drew the image with charcoal on the foam block and then went over it in felt tip marker. I cut out the large white areas with a razor knife and added texture by putting pressure onto the foam with a pencil.

I use water based ink and was not happy with the way it beaded up on the foam. Most of the prints had to be gone over twice to get a satisfactory result; even still some have hazy areas. In retrospect, I think it would have looked nice with a blue or green background, but I didn't want to get into all the mess of registration and matching little marks up.

You can purchase one at my society6 site.

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Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 
If you want to see more just choose from the labels or the favorites in the sidebar. 
Adron



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(c) Adron Dozat

The Lark, Handmade Print In Negative Line

The Lark 

limited edition print of 10

The Lark, Limited edition print of 10 

This is a handmade print in negative line. Negative line is the white of the paper showing through the black of the surrounding medium, it is a variation of negative space. 

I did several studies of the bird before I began the print. I am learning to take my time and work out the design with greater care. 

I etched the image in a sheet of foam then rolled the brayer over it with black ink. Foam is easy and cheap to work with but it is also fragile and many times one has an unwanted mark or a crease in the foam-plate. The foam was textured; I didn't realize this at the first and was frustrated with the results. The foam kept rejecting the ink, this made each image to be cloudy some more than others, I found it necessary to roll back the paper and check the image then roll more ink on to darken the picture. It turned out that they are each unique though true to the medium of ink block print. If I was not committed to black I would have done several colors in layers to maximize the effect. 

I printed about 16 of these but rejected 6, I am getting better I used to reject half of the prints. The illustration above is number 10 of the edition. 

The size is about 5x7. This is printed on acid free paper. The paper is eggshell white but the lighting in my work area is not ideal for photography. I will sell these unframed but mounted on foam core for $15.00 framed will be $40.00.

How to Make Easy Block Print Bookmarks.

Wood cut block prints are very exciting to do. You take a long time carving out an image and don't really know what it will look like until you ink it and press the paper on. It is very gratifying to see a project turn out and to have others like it.

I made some book marks for friends at church to give out as gifts. I know bookmarks are a thing of the past but I am still holding on. I decided to not use a wood or linoleum block but to use self adhesive foam since I was in a big hurry.  I cut the foam into the shape of the words from the Bible that I chose and then stuck them in mirror to a piece of acrylic.

I knew the black ink and white of the paper would be too stark so I stained some papers in pastel washes of red, violet, blue, and green. Then cut them into shape leaving a little overage for final trimming. It was a lot of work.

I inked my "foam letter block" and pressed the papers onto the print. It turned out as expected, I was very pleased. After printing about twenty I cut them to size and laminated the prints onto a lightweight paper so a white border would show and the lamination would hold to the boarder, this kept the print in place and gave it protection.  For lamination I just used a strip of boxing tape; it is clear and heavy, but you have to be careful since it has static and the pieces want to move into it before you are ready.

 The final project had the verse on one side and the reference on the other. I used a hole punch and tied tassels on them.

The gifts were well received.

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(c) Adron

Tree, White on Black Block Print

White on Black Block Print. Limited Print of 5 

Block print normally employs ink and progressed from the lightest colors to that darkest; but why be normal? This little print was made to experiment with some of the possibilities of the medium by using acrylic instead of ink.

I began by rolling black acrylic gesso on a sheet of cold press 140 lb watercolor paper. I prefer the heaver papers these days. Then I carved a block to print. I mean carved in the generic terms since what I really did was to inscribe into a piece of soft foam. Next the white acrylic gesso was sponge brushed over the foam and block printed over the now dry black field. The foam had a lot of give so I did not use a brayer but the palm of my hand and fingers to burnish the paint onto the paper. The acrylic white wanted to fill in the inscribing so I lost about half of my prints to a poor bleeding image. I found that I needed to thoroughly clean the block every time, but  being water based acrylic this was easy. I liked the texture the white left on the print. This is number 3 of 5 and is one of the best.

The size is 6x8 it would go nicely in an 8x10 mat and frame. It is for sale for $9.99. plus shipping, get in touch with me if you are interested in this one or one of the other 4.

I had a lot of fun doing this and will be doing more.

Adron

Hand Made Print Pumpkins 8x10

Hand Made Print of Pumpkins, by Artist Adron.

Pumpkins. This is a project I did with block print methods. I am having lots of fun experimenting with making block prints. Here is my print of two pumpkins I made on 8x10 paper, the image is about 5x7. I cut the block for the green and did that first, normally one would do the lightest colors first and then progress to the darkest but since I wanted to have a progression to the shadow I did the green first then had the orange next over parts of the green to give the roundness the black was last.

I did not use lino block or wood but was trying alternative methods so I cut styrofoam plates to make the block and then using tape to hold the styrofoam to the block, which in this case was a piece of acrylic sheeting.

The hard part is getting the second and third print to register, or line up, with the first so there is no overlap. I feel good about the results.

I was only able to make 8; I made 12 but only 8 were of acceptable quality that I felt worthy of signing. I will sell them for $12.00 unframed, or $24.00 in a frame. It took a day to make these 8 so it is not a quick process. They are signed and numbered the example above is 2 of 8.

Handmade Print, October Butterfly

This is a handmade print. I cut the block or in this case styrofoam in the shape of a butterfly, then inked it with a brayer, (a kind of roller), and made the print. It was a multi-step process since there were three colors, orange, red and black. The white is the paper showing through. The black was the last step, I prepared the block by using white glue to draw slightly random lines that hardened then rolled black over the lines for the print.

October Butterfly Hand Made Print by Adron 

Making prints by hand is very fun. You never really know how it will turn out. You have to think in layers and steps and understand how thing will change.

 You can see that it is hand made. I have a little trouble with the registration, where the subsequent print of a different color is placed a little off to the side. This is very common and is a feature of handmade prints.

I only made 10 of these and illustrated is number 3. These are for sale for only $9.00 each, they are unmounted and unframed.

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I hope you enjoy my art. 
If you want to see more just choose from the labels or the favorites in the sidebar. 
Adron


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Cone flowers hand made print by Adron

Cone Flowers Art. 

Cone Flowers hand made print for sale.

I have always loved seeing these bright orange flowers in the summertime. It was a joy to design a print of some. It was a surprise at how hard it would be to get right.

This is a project took me three weeks to get right. It is a handmade print. I made plates for each color by cutting the shapes out of a foam material and gluing them to acrylic sheets. Each plate needed some adjusting and it took a long time to get the registration right, (where each plate matches up with the others). I made several test prints and each time had to make changes. It is finally what I had envisioned. The colors were very frustrating. The manufacturer didn't have a cerulean blue or an equivalent only a dark royal blue, so to get the blue field I had to use a very thin coat on the roller and like watercolor the paper would show through the ink. The color of the flowers was a challenge I found I had to double roll scarlet over orange.

I find that it takes me about a day to print 10 of these by traditional hand methods. It is a joy to see each one   when I pull the paper off of the last plate. I hope it will be a joy for others.

I redid this as a digital image for my society6 store. You can see it here.

(c) Adron

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I hope you enjoy my art. 
If you want to see more just choose from the labels or the favorites in the sidebar. 
Adron



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St. Francis Of Assisi, A New View, Print by Adron for sale

St. Francis of Assisi block print in black.

St Francs A new View, Print by Adron for sale by artist.

My photography made it look darker and grey but the paper is really white. Below is a modified exposure, as seen at my Society6 store.

Here is a hand made print of "St, Francis of Assisi, a new view." I call it a new view because after reading his biography I became convinced that St Francis was a joyful even playful though devout person. All the images of him are very pious and reverent but I search in vain for an image of him with a smile. So I created my own. He is smiling gently with a contentment that comes from piety and the inner joy that comes from faith. In his hand is a sparrow. This composition went through several versions before I got it to where I was happy with it.

This is a "Cut Block Print." I cut the foam block with knives and mount it to acrylic sheet. Using commercial ink I roll ink on the block and press paper onto it. This is the traditional print method. The paper is Green that is made out of recycled content but still is acid-free.

This can be purchased at my Society6 store see the link to the right.

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Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 
If you want to see more just choose from the labels or the favorites in the sidebar. 
Adron



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(c)Adron Dozat

SUNFLOWER HAND MADE PRINT 14X11

Sunflower Print by Artist Adron

This handmade print of a sunflower is a real beauty.

It takes 5 blocks to run a project like this one plate for each color. I carve the blocks by hand. With each new block I have to keep going back to make sure they will all register correctly so the picture won't have large gaps and huge color overlaps. I have to ink each block and print them individually on the paper and make sure they are dry before I go to the next color. Since I am doing these by hand it takes a long time. It took a day to print 10 and I had to discard two for smudges.

I have a revised version this in watercolor and acrylic at my online art store. You can see it here.

Sunflower in mixed media for sale 

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I hope you enjoy my art. 
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Adron


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Celtic Cross Hand Made 14x11 Print by Adron

Here is a project I worked on for a couple of weeks. It is a "wood cut" print except I used an acrylic sheet to cut it this is the 21st century anyway. Though I used modern materials the technique is still the traditional approach of cutting an image in a surface, rolling ink over it and pressing paper to it to transfer the ink to the paper thus making a mirror image of the plate.

Celtic Cross Hand Made Print By Adron

The design took a long time to work out and I made a few trips to the internet and book sources to get the classic Celtic shape and then tried to design original knot motif. I say tried - you will recognize at least two classic Celtic knots patterns.


I redid this print on watercolor paper and then converted it as a digital print for my online store.

Celtic Cross Art For Sale

You can see it and purchase one at my online store.

Click here for greeting cards with this design.

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Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 
If you want to see more just choose from the labels or the favorites in the sidebar. 
Adron



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(c) Adron Dozat

Tulip Hand Made Print.

Tulip, hand made print

I designed and printed this picture. It is a limited edition, I will be printing 200. I cut three blocks using cardboard which I had to mount to 3 boards. It is printed on acid free "Green" paper, (paper made out of recycled content). The background is acrylic and the image is speedball printers ink.

Size is 9x11

(c) Adron

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Thank you for visiting my blog. 
I hope you enjoy my art. 
If you want to see more just choose from the labels or the favorites in the sidebar. 
Adron



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Bridge at Methodist Creek Limited Edition Hand Made Print

Covered Bridge at Methodist Creek  hand made print

Print of Bridge at Methodist Creek

Bridge at Methodist Creek is a is a print of a covered bridge.  I will be printing 200 by traditional hand methods. I designed it from some pictures and cut them out of a foam block. The archival ink was applied with a roller to the print and acid free "Green" paper applied on top to make the print. I am very happy with the results.

Print size is 9x11 paper Size is 11x14. 

I am selling these for 12.00 each unframed. 

To order just click the secure button below.

If you are interested in printmaking you might consider: The Printmaking Bible: The Complete Guide to Materials and Techniques (Google Affiliate Ad)

Somber Bay Lighthouse limited edition hand made print

Here is a print that I cut and produced by hand of a lighthouse at a place called Somber Bay. Lighthouses are so classic and even romantic. This is just a black and white print.

Hand made Print Somber Bay Lighthouse.

I designed and cut this 11x14 "Wood Block" print myself. It is a lighthouse a on a rock at Somber Bay with a dock and a stair leading up to it and a pier on the left side. It has a nice balance between the white paper and black ink. There is a variety of texture and effects.

Below is a better image of the print that I digitized for my Society6 store, available framed and unframed.

Somber Bay Lighthouse Print For Sale

To see this at my Society6 store enter here.

(c) Adron

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I hope you enjoy my art. 

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