Deer Print part 14

With the block all ready to go, all that remains in finishing this deer print is to go ahead and pull a good proof.  Found a supply of Rives Lightweight White, my preferred paper for this, and packed a sheet for the trip.  Right after lunch I headed up to Ocean Grove.

First stop was the office, as I had something to show Nichole.  She had mentioned recently that she was thinking of organizing a series of lectures about things of interest to artists- business related. It has been done before, and in the process of doing some cleaning, I found a flyer promoting a series of a similar nature back in 2016.  I had it in my bag for the last week, but this was the first time we had crossed paths.  She seemed happy to get it.

With that done, time for work.  Had all my print supplies in from the car, and again no Molly so I had the place to myself.  As I expected, inking the block went faster this second time, between the sealed wood and the stuff I removed yesterday.  Still got some stray ink here and there, but I didn't have nearly as much to tape today as the first time I proofed it.  Inked the block thoroughly, and was more careful placing the paper this time, as this proof could be a good print.  For music I started with one from my Studio library- Glen Miller and his Orchestra/A Legendary Performer. Of course, in his era, Miller didn't have any albums, just singles on 78 rpm records, just like everyone else. And those are widely available, but this album is a collection of live radio broadcasts from various ballrooms, a very common type of radio broadcast in those days.  There are 22 songs, plus some occasional talking and introductions, all recorded between when he started that band in 1940 and 1942, when he left his regular radio slot and joined the army.  His predictions (made on air) of returning and rejoining his band never came true; he disappeared in 1944, likely his plane went down at sea.  One of the things I like about live radio broadcasts (I have many in my collection and listen to them frequently in studio settings) is that they sound just as they did when the band played live and it was first broadcast, or with disc jockey shows playing records and talking, they are good at transporting the listener to that time and place.  When that disc ended, I went with one from home, a collection of Dexter Gordon songs from 3 of his 60's sessions for Blue Note, some recorded at the legendary Van Gelder studio here in New Jersey, but most in Paris where he was living at the time.

From start to finish (including cleaning up the ink) it took the equivalent of those two discs, about 2.5 hours.  This one is slightly reduced in size from the original print, but it's still fairly large and such things to take time to hand print.

The white paper this time (as opposed to the buff I had last time) results in a more pronounced contrast, helped by more thorough application of the black ink, and better printing of it.  More detail in the recut cranes and other parts of the block as well.  I'm satisfied with the results.  I decided to call this new print, "Time to Move Again", which pretty much sums up the idea here.  I will eventually pull an additional copy, but now I can start thinking about my next print.