A Shopping Mystery part 7

Got up to the Studio a little earlier than I typically do, and got to work on the block. I made a few early decisions and continued the process of cutting out the white sections. (floor and figures mostly) I then used my V gouge to cut thin lines through the black areas, and then used the same tool to do the vertical lines that form the optical gray tones in the composition. I had just planned to get started on this part today, but things were going well and I had nowhere in particular that I had to be, so I decided to keep going until it was finished.

I found a piece of newsprint and did a pencil rubbing of the block at this state, seen below along with the block itself. I do the rubbing to see how the values in the composition are working without having to actually ink the block. The differences between black and gray are not as apparent in the rubbing, but I know how those will translate into the resulting print. Another benefit of the rubbing is that it can demonstrate any spots I missed. My initial inspection showed no major omissions, but some things could be more clarified.

I took the rubbing home to further study this evening, and make a list of changes. I hope to finish these last cuts tomorrow and get it printed.