This post should wrap it up for the explanation of each layer in this print.

     Here I have decided that the tree trunks were too light, in the last post you can see what I'm talking about if you look closely at that area. Because the block had been carved away in prior reductions I would need to flip the block over and use the un-carved side. To register the new block with the existing block I taped tracing paper on top of a proof and traced the branches and trunks, then put the block in my registration jig, attached the proof with the tracing paper to my Turnes Burton registration tabs, laid it face down to align the tracing paper to the block and transferred the image to the new block. Next step was to run a proof to clean up any funky areas.

     These trunks are back lit so I wanted to keep the darker area mainly centered leaving it lighter around the edges, this allowed some flexibility as well. Results were good once I had sorted out all the gaps where leaves are in front of branches, and made sure they connected to make sense. Once this was to my satisfaction I did the run with raw umber and oil as I was completely out of extender. Glad I did it though, sometimes the smallest changes make the biggest difference, when in doubt be willing to do the work to make it right. Often when I am wondering about things like this I will use a proof and paint on it with ink the changes that I am considering, this way I can see if it helps or hurts, and fine tune the color.

Another layer of glow below, the last one.

     If you look closely at the top image and compare it with this bottom image you can see that I added some transparent shadows over some areas that were too light. This gave it much more depth and richness of color. Using the same process as described above I carved another block here as well. Fortunately I had saved enough of my go to shadow mix of magenta, cyan, and raw umber with about 90% extender, this creates a rich array of color by combining with the underlaying colors to create new ones. 

     Hope you have enjoyed and maybe learned something from reading about this print. There is so much misunderstanding about printmaking that I would hope my post helps explain what is involved in this art form. In other words, this is not inkjet or giclee, these are hand made one at a time one layer at a time.

     Here's a close up of the little highlight glow that I added after each layer that effected this area by the trees.

     Here I've added the darker shadow layer, a mix of extender and a dab of burnt sienna. A proof got killed for this layer with the first color mix of my go to shadow color (extender, cyan blue, magenta, and a touch of raw umber), when this mix hit the oranges it turned way too dark blackish, this is where I used up all the rest of my tube of extender.

     Now more fun big changes, get to add the light green leaves, the light blue where the sky reflects on the cliff, and the light grey highlights on the boulder in the foreground.

     This is the deeper shades of green in the trees and the blue on the cliff, and another layer of highlight by the trees. I used a rainbow roll for the green to add depth. 

     That does it for today, if anyone was wondering I'm posting this on Monday rather than Friday, my husband and I took a short trip to the Alabama Hills to do some exploring and got some beautiful pictures of the light show that appears every sunrise, maybe will be my next project. Next week should finish up this story, I actually had to carve some new blocks to make changes that I decided were necessary. Best to you.

-Cathryn