The Circus part 18

A good day to get back to making artwork.  Last week I had made some minor changes to the Circus block, and today I pulled the second proof of this print.

Above is the first proof from back from March 12, while below is the one I made from the block today.

At first glance it looks like not much difference, and there really isn't. But the changes seem significant to me.  One of the clearest is the change to the shading on that far left inside of the cardboard tray holding the crab sandwich.  Significantly lighter now, a change that can easily be seen even in these small blog photos.  Anther obvious change is where I re-cut the clowns in the rooftop sign.  After that it's all subtle stuff- some stray marks removed, some small gaps touched up.  One advantage of the 2nd proof is that it is usually easier to ink than the first, which tends to absorb a certain amount of ink. Needing to roll less ink also means less filling in of delicate cuts, and the whole inking and printing process goes faster.

So not much difference between the two proofs, but enough for me to notice, and when it's time to color this new one, there will be difference there as well.  Not so much in the choices, but with shapes and colors.  I look forward to seeing how it all works out, but that will have to wait until next week.