The Circus part 14

After examining yesterday's pencil rubbing of the new block, I found no obvious places I missed cutting, so today I moved onto to next task, pulling a proof.  Only way to find out what I got is to print it.  Decided to go with some Rives Heavyweight, since this piece will be colored, and that paper can hold up to multiple attempts at coloring, which may happen with a first color attempt.  So I grabbed a set of the chosen paper, and everything else I needed was already out in the car or in the Studio.

Everything went as I expected.  No big complications in the inking, and the balance I was working on  for the space between the rooftop sign and the food in the foreground shows up so far.  After a preliminary inking I pulled a quick proof on a piece of newspaper, then re-inked the block.  When it seemed properly inked, I started printing it on a piece of the Heavyweight I had brought with me today.

Above is my test proof.  This is just a practice copy, so I'm not worried about the stray marks here and there.   Everything that I cut seems to be what I intended it to be, and I expect will look even more like what I planned when the color comes in.  I left the proof in my drying rack for now.  It will be a few days before it will be dry enough to start the first attempt at coloring, but since much of the scene is based on photos I have, there is already a plan as to how I will proceed.  If I don't like the balance of color and value at that point, I'll make adjustments until I get something I am satisfied with.