Most of the past week has been spent hand colouring the edition, plus various proofs (Artist Proofs, APW Proofs, Presentation Proof, Viewing Proof, etc) of the linocut Jewel Beetle Woman. It was a satisfying, pleasurable process, despite being rather more time consuming than I'd anticipated. As a rule, I hand colour with watercolours, but for the first time ever, I used pigmented drawing inks. The result was a far richer and more luminous surface.
Based on past experience, I was wary of accidental drips and as a preventative measure cut stencils for two of the high risk areas: the body and hair. The greens of the beetle's upper body and legs were applied without benefit of stencils, but fortunately there were no mishaps.
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| Jewel Beetle Woman, 2014, linocut, hand coloured, 56.5 x 38 cm, edition: 20 Printer: Simon White. Photograph: Tim Gresham |
Today was a red letter day: the edition was delivered to the Australian Print Workshop, where it was numbered, titled, signed, dated and the relevant paperwork completed.
As always, it was great to catch up with the folk at the APW. I've really appreciated their enthusiasm and encouragement throughout this project, particularly Simon White, who so expertly printed Jewel Beetle Woman. I was delighted that APW Director Anne Virgo picked up on the influence of the artist-naturalist Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717). It turns out that not only does Anne share my deep admiration for this artist, she actually owns one of her exquisite hand coloured woodcuts.