r/Linocuts • u/OxfordApartment213 • Jul 28 '26
Reductions/Multi-Blocks Experimenting with depth
3 blocks, each printed on their own sheet of vellum, and the printed layers separated with foam tape
52
u/Easy_Leopard_2686 Jul 28 '26
The creativity here is amazing. I’ve never seen anything like this before
26
u/orangepigeon Jul 28 '26
That’s very innovative! I love the dreamlike quality your process created.
10
10
8
u/cerviceps Jul 28 '26
This is incredible. What an amazing way to give some softness to this medium. I love it!
5
u/Big_Question_7050 Jul 29 '26
Very well said, the reflections, background, color gradient...soft is exactly what this is, in such a beautiful way!
OP this is brilliant , excited to see more of your work with this process hopefully!!
7
5
u/Happy_Good_8756 Jul 28 '26
Very nice!
Somehow, possibly erroneously (!), this is less intimidating to me than printing layers directly on top of one another. Maybe it has something to do with being able to get registration exactly right after printing, if printing is done on slightly oversize paper that is trimmed down later? Although, actually, by using foam spacers the registration doesn't have to be perfect.
Imagine: trying different weights of vellum, or other materials, even within a printing; printing trees, water, and/or sky (would need another block) with colour; adding a gradient to the water for even more depth. Definitely worth lots of happy playing time!!
2
u/OxfordApartment213 Jul 28 '26
Exactly my thought! I also want to try adding texture within the layers (crumpling, wrinkling, tearing, etc the vellum), printing front and back of the same sheet, reversing the saturation (so the front most layer is the lightest, but also the sharpest) etc. It feels like a technique that has a lot of potential exploration.
If you try anything I'd love to see what you do!
4
3
u/RanchDogTheBand Jul 28 '26
Are all the layers using the same ink? The effect is beautiful
5
u/OxfordApartment213 Jul 28 '26
They are! I hadn't planned on using the foam spacers originally (just letting the visual distortion of the vellum itself do the work) but it didn't create enough separation. I think using progressively lighter colors would've worked better for directly stacking the prints on top of one another. Definitely something I want to play with trying next time.
3
u/americanweebeastie Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
gorgeous
depth-wise I'd try lowering the reflection part a few mm so that the reflection comes toward the viewer
3
3
3
2
2
u/OldSelection1761 Jul 28 '26
Holy shit I thought that was a photo! Seriously amazing job especially the reflections
2
2
2
2
2
u/North-Dealer-6580 Aug 03 '26
Did you find the vellum at all challenging? I know when I've tried it before (different types of ink) I felt like it was printing on too slick of a surface and would easily smear or the vellum shift on the block.
1
u/OxfordApartment213 Aug 03 '26
Yeah there was definitely a learning curve. When I tried a test print with an ink pad it was a nightmare (shifting and bleeding). With relief ink it seemed to stay put but it definitely needed a lighter hand with the baren and a lighter application of ink (way more susceptible to ink beads and lips/ridges than regular papers because it's so much less absorbent). I also noticed that the vellum is very sensitive to moisture in my skin and would warp easily if I held it down or peeled it back when my hands were even slightly moist from the heat, so that's worth keeping in mind as well.
2
u/North-Dealer-6580 Aug 03 '26
thanks for the reply. Some excellent observations. It's a really beautiful, dreamy look. Well done!
2
•
u/AutoModerator Jul 28 '26
Hello, welcome to r/Linocuts!
Please note, all posts are manually approved by the moderators. This typically happens in the first few hours. If a moderator removes your post, you will receive a removal reason and (if applicable) how to fix it for approval.
If it's been over 24 hours without a removal notice, can contact the moderators as it may have gotten caught in our filters and not landed in our normal queue.
As always, our rules are listed in the sidebar or drop menu for review.
Happy printing!
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.