Pencil sketches of the flowers.
I go over each transferred image with a Sharpie pen; facilitating the carving process.
I printed each card in a pale pink color after carving what remained white.
More was carved away on each block. This caused the areas of the darker pink to remain on the flower images. I then printed a dark blue purple color on each flower. This also provided the dark background for each print.
Detail of one of the cards. A great deal of work and planning was involved in printing this suite of flowers. Still, it was worth the time and effort.
I love flowers any time of the year. Those that survive the cold nights of winter to provide beauty and color are some of my favorites! I completed a group of cards in honor of these wonders.
I took photographs of four flowers; two Lenten roses, a Pansy, and a Camellia. I then moved on to sketching, transferring, carving and printing each flower. I used the reduction relief printing process.
Each image has been transferred to a linoleum block.
I then carved the areas on each flower that remained the pale pink hue. The second color run was a darker pink, almost magenta (Rubine red was the main ink in this mixed hue).
Here are the four completed botanical images. Can you guess which are the Lenten roses, Camellia, and Pansy?