New Blog :)

The blog is moving to a new address!

You'll find me here from now on; all the old posts and comments from this blog have been moved over too.

Enjoy!

/Tian

Linocut, S:t Johannes Kyrka (St. John's Church)

This will be an update with mostly process pictures of my first two-color reduction linocut, S:t Johannes Kyrka (St. John's Church).

Making this print was really challenging but also great fun, so I tried to photo and document everything. If you have any questions about any step or something I used, feel free to comment and I'll be happy to answer.

I've been drawing, carving, proofing and printing non-stop for the past two weeks, and the next week will be the last before the deadline for next year's Liljevachs Spring Salon (Liljevachs vårsalong). Background information: Liljevachs public art gallery was opened in 1916 as the first independent, public museum for contemporary art in Sweden. I am planning to apply with a couple of my original linocuts, including two new reduction prints featuring churches and rooftops in Stockholm.

S:t Johannes Kyrka is the first of the two and is the view of Vasastan roofs with the church's peaking Gothic tower. I've been going up to the roof park on Sveavägen to look at the amazing geometry; this linocut is my interpretation of it.

I started with a sketch in Photoshop. Here's what I learned: clipping masks work great when sketching for reduction prints. Nothing fancy at this stage - just messy doodle to show myself the overall composition and colors.

I did a quick transfer, tracing the outline (I printed it out to A3, same size with the block) and draw the details right onto the block. Here's me carving for the first layer. 

At this point I'm carving away what I want to leave white. 

First test proof of the lighter-colored layer. I'm making two editions, with this layer being red or yellow. 

I made enough prints of the first layer, in both colors, to give myself some margin for error in registration. Prints would hang to dry for 3 - 4 days before I print the second layer. 

This is the yellow one - a bright, rich color that really reminds one of the sunrise on a beautiful day. 

When the prints were hanging on the wire, I cleaned the block using baby wipes and baby oil, then started carving more from the block to prepare for the second layer. Here I'm carving away what I wanted to leave yellow/red. 

First test print! Apart from the dark color not saturated enough, I also marked with little stickers all the places I wanted to tweak before printing the final edition. Oh, also - you'll notice I signed this test print in Chinese :)

Printing the final edition :) Registration turned out great, and the dark color really made the lighter one pop.

Another angle - 

And the completed print, in yellow and dark gray (Sunrise), or red and dark purple (Sunset).

Can you spot the squirrel?

Some details on the print: 

Well, that's the print :) It's available for purchase in my shop here. Limited edition of 10 original linocuts for both colors; the design measures A3 and is printed on Hosho paper. 

Until next time!

/Tian

Two Interviews this Month

Two of my recent interviews are published this month - one in Swedish and one in English.

Happy face :3

For the first one, I was chosen to be Lidingö's Start-up of the Month by Nyföretagarcentrum.

(Lidingö is the island in Stockholm archipelago where I live and work. The Swedish Jobs and Society Foundation is forcefully supporting entrepreneurship in Sweden through professional start-up advice for people who want to start a business; they do this through Nyföretagarcentrum - Enterprise Agencies that cover most parts of Sweden.)

Lidingö's Nyföretagarcentrum have helped me a lot before and after I started my freelance business as printmaker and graphic designer. It's great to have somewhere one can go with all their business-related questions and get professional help, and it feels totally awesome to be recognized as a member of the community.

Here's the interview in Swedish.

If you don't speak Swedish, you could still check out the second interview in the latest issue of Nordic Living magazine. I talk about when I started the business, my work process and exciting stuff happening in the near future.

Maria over at Nordic Design Collective is responsible for this well-curated magazine that introduces independent designers in Sweden.

Here's the magazine!

I'm still preparing my next two-color reduction print that features Stockholm buildings and a little something extra. Start carving tomorrow - we'll see how long this one takes :)

/Tian

Blackbird & Rowanberries, Linocut

A couple of pictures to record the process of making my new linocut with a blackbird on a rowanberry branch. We had a blackbird nest in the garden this summer and we watched three eggs turn into beautiful birds.

Blackbirds come often to the rowanberry trees in our garden and this print is inspired by them.

Starting with a carving out linoleum - I'm using Jack Richeson this time. 

Prints hanging to dry. These are printed with Caligo oil-based ink on 200 gram Hahnemühle paper.

Hand-coloring the prints with watercolor. 

Getting to the leaves on the branch, mixing in yellow, blue to get different shades of green.

The print measures 23 x 30.5 cm (or 9" x 12") and the paper roughly 40 x 40 cm (16" x 16").

The print is available for purchase in my shop. 

Have a great week!

/Tian

Cat, cat, cat

A new custom pet portrait stamp - now in its new home in Norway :)

The last is the original photo provided by the customer - 

:) 

/Tian

The Truth about Love

So I named my latest linocut Kärlek (love) for apparent reasons. I tried to work in some gruesomeness, some depth and some humor. Pretty happy with how the final prints look!

Now, as usual, some process pictures - 

I've been using A4 sized linoleum blocks so I usually just sketch on a piece of printer paper.

After transferring the outline, I drew the design on the lino again with a brush marker. Then carve -

Here's how it looks at the final stages. I added some more details along the way. 

I mixed a nice red with Caligo's ink plus a lot of extender and a little big white to tone down the brightness just a little.

I printed in both this red and black, like in the beginning of the post. 

The prints are available in two colors in my shop; and soon postcards of this design in even more colors will come out too :) They will be ready for purchase through my autumn Kickstarter campaign also. Stay tuned - follow me on Facebook or Instagram, or say hello!

Enjoy a nice midsummer weekend!

/Tian

Tunnelgatan - finally, the dinosaur!

If you've been following my work on Facebook or Instagram, you'd know that I started the dinosaur print quite a while ago. I've always been fascinated by the area close to Tunnelgatan, which is the name of the print and it literally translates to Tunnel Street. It's a street in Stockholm names after the Brunkeberg tunnel - the one behind the dinosaur in this design. I love how dramatic the stairs look and how the tunnel is mysterious and inviting.

[source]

Tunnelgatan is also associated with the murder of Olof Palme, Swedish Social Democratic politician, statesman and prime minister, which occurred at the tunnel mouth on Sveavägen street, and the killer fled up the stairs.

I took multiple reference pictures when passing by and started everything with a pencil sketch.

In retrospect it wasn't very smart to use the transfer paper. A lot of the details were gone and I had to re-draw the design directly onto the lino with a brush marker pen.

Here's how I carve with the Pfeil tools - my right hand gives most pressure while my left index finger guides the gouge and keeps it steady. If you keep your tools sharp, the linoleum should be quite nice to carve, especially if you do it in the sun like I did to keep the lino warm. 

The tool handle is flat on the bottom-side; this way they don't roll around on the table and you don't risk destroying the blade. The lino block is half-completed.

Completed! All prints are handmade and this is a limited edition of 9. The print is available in my shop here; I ship worldwide - in poster tubes to protect the delicate mulberry paper. 

Apart from that... my big project this year has been keeping me very busy. I ordered some product samples from different manufactures and will get the first batch of serving trays in the mail this week. This year will witness a dozen new products and I am very eager and nervous to see how they are received :)

/Tian

Reeled In, New Linocut with Four Swedish Fishes

It took a while to complete this print - I was moving studios, and in a length pursuit in finding the perfect paper to print on, one that both looks great and is easy to tear into the cut/tear into the sizes I usually work with.

Luckily, everything was sorted out and I have two new linocuts to show you, Reeled In and Trotty. I'll put some pictures of the making of the first one now, and then make another post about the bird print.

This print features four Swedish fishes: abborre (European pirch), alaska pollock/torskfisk (a kind of cod), sjurygg (lumpfish or lumpsucker) and gädda (pike). It started - as usual - with a pencil sketch. I've been quite happy with this A4-sized lino and I've been sketching on printer paper. I transferred the outline to the lino with carbon paper, then started drawing the details with markers.

Onto carving. I've been making the stamps during weekdays and carving linoleum over the weekend, so this usually happens on our coffee table.

Our fluffy friend has taken a special interest in this linocut.

After a few morning's carving, the fish completed is ready for proofing. I am rolling on a generous layer of the Caligo oil-based ink to get a nice rich black especially on the sjurygg. Look at the velvety ink!

Here's the first proof. I marked the places that need a little tweaking. This is A4 printer paper. 

Printing the final edition on handmade mulberry paper. It's very light but has strong fibers and beautiful texture. 

This metal postcard mobile has been very helpful for drying prints! I taped little paper pads on the toothy clamps to protect the printing paper. 

A close-up on the pike. 

So, here's the completed print! Blogger has been doing bad things to my photos' white balance and brightness and I've been thinking about building a Wordpress site that incorporates my portfolio site and this blog. If only there was 48 hours in a day! :)

Anyway, this is a limited edition of 10, all hand-printed and signed at the bottom with the edition number. You can purchase it in my shop; and in my next post I'll share the process of Trotty, a smaller print with a white wagtail.

I also post a lot of photos of what goes on behind my work on my Facebook and Instagram, so head over and perhaps say hello! :P

/Tian