My latest linocut print – with a bit extra

 

I'm so pleased to have completed my Great White Egret prints. 

I wanted to keep these much simpler than some of my recent efforts... Printmaking can be quite a drawn-out process anyway, especially now that I have to wait longer for my oil-based ink to dry. So it makes sense to minimise the number of layers used and thus the drying time.

I (nearly) always print the palest colour first. As you can probably work out, I started off with a very pale grey (for the shadowy parts of the egret):

Next came the blue for the background:

and finally I printed two colours at the same time, for the dark legs and the reeds. There was just enough space to ink the two up separately with small rollers:

From the beginning of the design process, it was clear that the egret's eye and bill were going to be very small and too tricky to print like the rest. So I left that area white and came back at the end to add some colour pencil. I used a tracing-paper transfer to make sure the eye was in the same place on each one!

So I suppose this is technically a mixed-media piece, but I think it makes sense to take this approach. I've seen other printmakers use a tiny stamp or a mask to apply small areas of colour.

Ten prints were made and they are available to buy in my Etsy shop.