I used a barred owl for the first print in the series. The drawing is complete and the block is ready to carve. I will go over it with a black Sharpee pen before I begin carving.
Note the composing stick with text forms. These are the greetings I used for the cards.
Final carving of the owl; ready for printing the third color.
A wren and a chickadee were used on the other cards. In this picture I have drawn and transferred the images and am ready to begin carving. These cards were printed in the same blue hues that I used for the barred owl.
Two colors have now been printed on the chickadee.
The chickadee is finished. Notice how the dark blue adds the key details of the image. This card will say ‘Happy Holidays’ inside; printed in 18 pt Times New Roman metal type.
This shows the completed wren print. The interior message will say ‘Tidings of Joy’ also using 18 pt Times New Roman metal type.
I explored the imagery of birds in winter surroundings using reduction prints. The prints were the images for a trio of holiday cards I recently completed.
I have completed two runs through the press. The third and final color will be a dark blue-black (using Reflex Blue and Black ink).
The third color is printed. I printed the message ‘Peace on Earth’ in 12 pt Garamond on the inside of the card. This card was my personal Christmas card. I have sent a handmade holiday card since 1985.
Carving for the first run through the press of the chickadee - the areas that are carved away will remain white (or the color of the Lettra paper I used for the cards).
This shows how the carved chickadee looks prior to the third run through the press.
The wren was also printed in three colors. Here I am carving away everything except what will be printed with the dark blue.
Printing this suite of prints and cards was a satisfying way to end 2019 and begin 2020. Happy New Year!