These two prints by Rosie are good examples of some of the elements of our print-making which were on show at the Gardens Gallery. They are both linocuts made by the reduction method, which allows us to create multi-coloured images from the same block by re-carving it between each layer of differently coloured ink which makes up the finished image. Both images, The Elms and The Chesnut are composed from four colours. In both instances, the first ink is a pale one, and the block has been lightly carved to remove areas of the picture which are intended to remain white, the colour of the paper. The first pale ink used for The Elms is a mauve which forms the clouds, which are themselves lined with the white of the paper.
The Elms
The next stage is to clean the ink from the block and to carve away more lino using the cutting tools. We carve away the areas from the block which we want the mauve to continue to show through in the final image, i.e., the cloud shapes. So when we have carved away the shapes of the clouds, we re-ink the block in a sky-blue ink and reprint from it onto the page which already contains the mauve ink from the first layer. Re-aligning the block with the paper so that there is a perfect match between the former and the overlying image is called registration, and it is perfection in achieving this which is one of the main technical components for success in this type of printmaking.
At this point, assuming that our registration is exact and our inks overly in a pleasing way, we have a two layered image consisting of white, mauve and blue clouds, and a big area of nondescript blue in the centre of the paper where the finished tree will sit.
To make a green tree with a dark brown bark and foliage we undertake the block cleaning and re-carving process twice more. Using the carving tools, we remove all of the sky area from the lino block to leave the outline of the tree and the ground. Using a dark green ink, which overlies the blue and mauve beneath, we produce the solid body colour over which the forth and darkest layer will add the necessary detail.
The Chestnut
The only real difference between the two images is the paper which we have chosen to print upon and the colours we have used. The top image is printed on a German Zerkyll paper and the ink sits on the surface producing a high gloss finish. The lower image of The Chestnut is on a Japanese Ho sho which absorbs the ink into its fibres and results in a very intense matt finish. We usually use one or other of these papers depending on the effects that we intend to achieve.
The original images came from sketches of real trees: the real chestnut stands in the parkland of Cowley Manor in the Cotswolds just outside of Cheltenham. The Elms links in with some of Rosie's story telling: if you look closely, a tree house is just visible between the branches, reminiscent of her latest book Something in the Woods. It is actually an image taken from a G. K. Chesterton short story, The Singular Speculation of the House-Agent, from The Club of Queer Trades. In a story of typical Chesterton surrealism, the characters are thrown into consternation at a very peculiar address.
Robin
