Posted on January 22, 2012 [Permalink]

Continued from Mystique Series #18 : key done, and colours coming | Starting point of the thread was Mystique #18 - back in the saddle!

Updates haven't been coming very regularly, but there is time for one tonight - printing has been underway for a couple of days, and there are a few stages to show.

I didn't actually catch the first one with the scanner, as it was just the blank beta block, to smooth the surface of the paper before doing the key block. Once that was in place, the key could go down:

The carving turned out pretty well I think. It would have been better to have used boxwood for this, but I didn't have a block this wide, and I don't want to take a chance using a jointed one, as the division would almost certainly show, if not immediately, then certainly after a few years has gone by. But the fine lines are there, and he even has rows of teeth ... (these images are all enlargeable.)

The key was followed later the same evening, with the first 'colour' block:

I use quotes around the word 'colour', because of course this print is going to be all done with tones of sumi ink, as was the original version.

That first tone used a faint green mixed with the sumi, and this next one uses a purple. Not sure how much of all this is going to be visible in these scans, but the collectors will see it, for sure!

That impression is most noticeable on the clothing, but it also covered the hibachi, and the wall on the right (with a gradation taking the colour out as we move upwards ...)

We then head outside, to put a gradation behind the mountain, making it stand out more clearly:

And it looks quite 'rich' already, even with only this minimum number of impressions done!

The thread continues in Mystique Series #18 : Printing done! ...

Added by: Sue Kallaugher on January 23, 2012

I love seeing these steps, it's like magic!

Added by: Jennifer Martindale on January 23, 2012

It is a glorious image on many levels. What is the function of the container sitting on a cushion full of ?sand?, with what looks like opium pipes sticking out of it. I am intrigued. What a skilled piece to end the series.

Added by: Dave on January 23, 2012

It's a hibachi (literally 'fire bowl'), and is full of ash. A few hot coals are on the surface, and this is the 'central heating' for the building! The sticks are metal chopsticks, used to arrange/stir the coals.