Two-Tone Block Print

David enjoyed making greeting cards, and he learned how to make block prints after deciding he wanted to produce the cards in larger quantities. In this project, David makes a garden spider block print that can be hung on the wall.

Materials:

image on paper
carbon or graphite paper
linoleum blocks
cutting tool
oil-based printing ink
brayer
paper
wooden spoon or barren
watercolors
canola oil

1. Find a subject and draw a picture of it.

2. Create a reverse image by placing the drawing on a window with the image facing out. Trace the image on the backside of the paper. This reverse image is important because printing creates a reverse image. This step prevents your image from coming out backwards in the end. This is especially important if you want to have words in your picture.

3. Use carbon or graphite paper to transfer your reverse image to the first printing block. This block is called the key block because it contains the most important image. In this example, it's the black outline of a spider.

4. Carve out the parts of the linoleum block that you don’t want to print. Here is where it is necessary to decide what parts of the image should be negative or positive (negative being white or no ink, and positive being black or where the ink will print). What is carved out will be white.

5. Print a proof of your image using water-based ink. Ink the block with a brayer and lay a piece of paper on the block. Rub the back of the paper with a wooden spoon or a barren.

6. Lift the paper off the key block. If the image is good, lay the paper, image side down on block number two and press. This will transfer the key image to the second block. Remove the paper. The spider image is now on the second block.

7. Carve out what you don’t want to print. In this case, the second block is used to create a background. So carve out the entire area where the spider image is.

8. Paper should be smooth and heavy. Put guide marks on the paper with a pencil so that you will print the image where you want it and so that it will be straight and centered.

9. Use oil-based ink to print the next steps. Since the spider is going to be watercolored, it is best to use oil-based ink so that it will not mix with the watercolor.

10. First ink and print block number two, the background. Use a color that you like; we used aqua. Wait for it to dry.

11. Ink and print the key block. Make sure it lines up exactly with the image from block number two.

12. Clean up the mess. Oil-based ink can be cleaned up with turpentine, but that is horrible and stinky. You can also clean up with canola oil. It is safe, cheap, and leaves your hands youthful and revitalized.

13. When the print is dry, come back and watercolor with any color. In this case, yellow was a good complement to the aqua background and the actual color of the spider.

14. Sign, title, and date your work using pencil.

Website: www.dsborden.com