Step Four ...

This is sort of an 'undercoat' block; nearly all areas covered by it will get more colour from later blocks. Only one area will remain as you currently see it - the pathway at lower left. It might be a bit difficult to imagine at the moment, but in the finished print this will appear quite brightly lit by the moonlight.

When John and I were first working through the proofing, we had this block done at quite a lighter tone. It just didn't seem possible that the pathway would look bright unless this block was printed lightly. But we found that the relative brightness of any area in the finished print is primarily determined by the areas that surround it; in this case, so much more pigment will be going down on those nearby areas, that this pathway will indeed look bright in comparison. So we had to 'bring it up' to this fairly deep level of grey.

Another aspect of this impression needed some thought - how smooth to make it. For twenty-odd years now I have worked primarily in the ukiyo-e tradition, and colour there is always smoothly applied. If any speckled texture like this becomes apparent, ways must be found to avoid it. This is generally done by using a good amount of paste mixed with the pigment, and by firm rubbing with a strong baren. So as a matter of course, when charging the block each time while proofing this impression, I found my hand reaching out for the paste pot. John had to remind me (politely, of course!) to 'leave that stuff alone!' He wanted plenty of texture in the print, to add both realism and visual interest ...

(But we'll see who has the last laugh - there are so many impressions going onto this building, that as a matter of course the final texture of the walls will become pretty smooth! :-) )