Michael: Sissinghurst

A dark green layer (the ninth!) across the entire image completes the print.



Sissinghurst. Linocut, 30 x 24 cm.

Michael: Reduction linocut, stage 8

Another layer, in dark green:



Hopefully, one more layer will complete this print.

Michael: Reduction linocut, stage 6 and 7

Stage 6: Blue shadow for the wall that goes all the way across the picture.



Stage 7: Spot the difference.



As soon as I had printed all of stage 6, I realised I'd forgotten to put on all the blue that I needed. So stage 7 has just a bit more ink (nearer the top of the image).

Michael: Reduction linocut stages 4 and 5

Two stages for the price of one.

Stage 4 has just a slightly darker green at the bottom of the image.



Stage 5 has a darker green over the rest of the picture.



Can anyone identify the subject yet?

Michael: Reduction linocut, stage 3

Next layer has a gradient from blue-green down to yellow-green.

Michael: Linocut, stage 2

Another layer of colours; fingers crossed that they're not already too dark.

Michael: New print

Here's the first layer (though there's not much to see yet):



To get some variation in what will be beds of flowers, I inked the block in selected places, using different colours. (Which works well -- apart from when you've finished, you realise that you have five rollers to clean...)

Michael: Reduction linocut, final stage

A final layer of dark green ink over the shadow areas completes the print.



Six stage reduction linocut, 10 x 10cm.

Michael: Reduction linocut, stage 5

A darker green layer over the previous layers. Nearly there.

Michael: Reduction linocut, stage 4

A small change: I printed a grey-purple shadow area just on the edge of the road, using a mask to keep the rest of the image unaffected.

Michael: Reduction linocut, stage 3

The sky is finished, so that's all cut away; I also cut away some more details of the hedges and fields, and then printed the block in green.

Michael: Reduction linocut, stage 2

Second layer, and already the picture is quite detailed. Another gradient blend: darker shade of blue down to a bright green.

Michael: Reduction linocut, stage 1

And we're off again. First stage of a new reduction linocut: gradient blend from cobalt blue with lots of white at the top down to yellow and a bit of burnt sienna.

Michael: Linocut, stage 3

Darker green over the previous stages.



Nearly there.

Michael: Linocut, stage 2

A tricky gradient from dark grey to yellowish green to dark grey across the previous layer.

Michael: Linocut, stage 1

This new linocut starts with a gradient of grey to grey-brown. The challenge here will be keeping the registration perfect: as the layers of ink build up at each stage, the slightest misregistration will make the white lettering disappear.

Michael: Croydon Art Society exhibition opens

The Croydon Art Society exhibition at Denbies Vineyard in Surrey starts today, and is open every day until 4pm on Sunday 18 September.

High Waving Heather
Reduction linocut • Image size 15 x 15cm • Edition of 12

Michael: Linocut, stage 4

Fourth and final stage. Near-black ink printed over the previous three layers.



Jeans, TShirts, Shoes. 10 x 10 cm.

This is another building that I found in the North Laines area of Brighton. The morning sun highlighted the clothes hanging in the window against the dark interior of the shop.

Michael: Linocut, stage 3

Red is difficult to print on top of. I printed this layer in grey (a mix of cobalt blue and burnt sienna, with white).

Michael: Linocut, stage 2

Red printed over the previous blue layer. The red ink (T.N. Lawrence's scarlet) is very transparent. If you add white in an attempt to increase the opacity, the red turns to pink. I adding lots (nearly 50:50) of warm yellow ink, which increased the opacity without shifting the colour.



The lamp and window details will have darker ink printed on them later, but I didn't want the red on those parts because I was worried that the slightest misregistration would show up too much. So I used a mask to hide these parts from the red on this layer.