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

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

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

New Table Easel + Hack

From a couple of weeks ago I've been having some back and shoulder pain. Not bad enough to be alarming, but nonetheless very irritating. After some contemplation I decided that it had to do with my posture, or to be more exact, how I carve.

I have a pretty large, flat working surface and an adjustable chair, but I do have the tendency to round my upper back too much over the table when I carve. This puts a lot of pressure on my shoulders as and back.

An angled work surface solved the problem. Well, first I tried to visualize my posture if I could create an angled surface on top of my work desk, and it just seemed much more natural and easy. I Googled different options, and found desk easels with a solid wood board (instead of just bars) as back support, which looked perfect as a carving surface.

I ordered the Mabef M34 Lectern Table Easel from Matton, a Swedish art supply store two weeks ago and got it last weekend. Here's a picture from Mabef.

First impression: very sturdy, and the wood has a subtle hue of peach that neither the manufacturer photo or mine captures. 

I tried it instantly, but the legs are very slippery on my work surface (very smooth). The Mabef easel legs are completely flat. With the pressure you put on when you lean against it to carve, the easel will simply glide away at your first attempt. 

Since I have every intention of using it, I'll have to fix the legs somehow. I don't trust the usual anti-slip stickers for furniture, and I found this dashboard anti-slip mat stacked away. Very weird jelly-like texture, but extremely non-slip - you can use it to stick your phone to an almost vertical surface. It costs very little and you can find it on Ebay.

It's very soft too. I cut it into strips just a little smaller than the easel legs, and attached the anti-slip strips on with wood glue, smooth surface facing the easel. 

Works like a charm! The easel legs are so non-slip they really grab onto the cutting mat, and now I'm considering getting a bigger non-slip mat (the grid kind) to lay under the cutting mat :/

I removed the wood bar on the bottom - it's meant to secure canvases and they get in my arms' way when I carve. The angle is adjustable with the handy screws on the sides, and you can get a very steady surface if you really tighten them. I put my Pfeil tools in the little holes - I might add some stickers to color-code the different gouges later on. 

When the surface is rather flat like this, the linoleum or stamp (I tried both) have no problem sliding off; but you will need to hold it with your non-carving hand if the surface is any higher up. I might drill some more holes in the center in the future so I can put in small pins to keep the carving material in place, but I carved for 1 hour today and this wasn't really an issue. 

Yup. The next time I post I will have completed the triceratops print - need to dig up some paper from storage first. Good thing I've transferred all the Caligo paint to tubes; now printing will be less stressful :)

Dead Astronaut Ex Libris, stamp

In my last post I wrote and put pictures about how I sketched for the custom dead astronaut Ex Libris stamp; in this one you'll see how I carved it - with my Pfeil gouges fresh from Switzerland, which are probably the best things I've bought in a while.

I transferred the design to a piece of Speedy Carve; the design measures just under 8 x 6 cm. I had to test the new gouges (the ones with mushroom-like handles) on a small piece of rubber (top left) first to get myself a little familiar with them, but their blade is so long, smooth and round to the touch, and they are very nice to hold. They are all wonderfully sharp and leaves perfectly clean cuts in the rubber. I'm pretty sure I'll abandon my old gouges once I save up some money to buy the Pfeil in more sizes/models.

I also color-coded the two small gouges (a V and a U) with marker pens. Look very nice too I think.

I had a woodcut-like effect in my head so I wanted to use the gouges as much as I could. I ended up only carving the name and the UFO (it's just too small) with the scalpel (white one). 

The stamp took me about 2 hours to carve - almost non-stop. Sketching took longer, which usually is the case with custom designs like this. I've not been happy with my new office chair, but I've just ordered a Mabef desk easel so hopefully it'll give my neck and back an easier time 

Here's the completed stamp! (And the Pfeil knives are just so beautiful, aren't they?)

Here's a bigger image with more details. It's one of my favorite works so far, and the whole communication with Franz, the sketching and carving was just so much fun.

If you'd like to order a custom Ex Libris stamp too, feel free to contact me using the form on the right :) I love commissions like this. 

Greetings from a dead astronaut far away!