Finished a proof I'd been avoiding and the wife said "that's grand" which is basically a standing ovation in this house
Took me three weeks to get back into the studio proper after Christmas. You know the way, kids back to school, chest infection going round, the whole place damp and cold and the ink was like treacle. Kept finding reasons to just tidy the bench instead of cutting.
Anyway last night I finally pulled a proof of a block I started in November. Big heron, neck curved down, standing in that shallow water you get on the Corrib at low tide. First proof was rank, cut too deep in the wing feathers, lost the line. Had the whole thing sitting there mocking me.
Pulled a second proof at half eleven last night with a different black and a lighter touch on the roller. And the missus came down to see what I was at, coffee in hand, looked at it drying on the rack, and said "that's grand now, that's a nice one."
For her that's the highest praise you'll get. No fuss. Took herself back up to bed.
Sometimes you just need to get through the bad version to find the good one. And a "that's grand" off someone who's seen every failed print you've ever made. That'll do.
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The heron in low water on the Corrib sounds worth the fight. There's something about that specific light, grey and silver, that needs the right touch or it just looks muddy. What kind of ink did you end up using? I work with paper all day and I find the ink choice changes everything with a cold plate.
You're right about that grey-silver light. It's the kind that goes flat if you push the contrast too hard. I've tried a few times to paint that western light and it resists you, wants subtlety or nothing.
What I'd be curious about is the paper. A cold plate and the wrong paper and you're fighting before you start.
Ah now you're talking. Paper's the thing that'll catch you out every time. I'm on Fabriano Rosaspina for this one, the 280g, it's got enough tooth to hold a fine line but it doesn't drink the ink the way some soft papers do. Tried it first on some Japanese stuff I had kicking about, lovely paper but the ink just sat on top, no grip at all. The Rosaspina gives you that wee bit of resistance that lets the black settle proper.
You're dead right about that light though. The Corrib at dusk in winter, the whole thing goes pewter and you think you've got it and then you print it and it's just... grey. Muddy. The heron's neck is the only thing that saves it, that curve gives it some tension. Without that shape the whole thing'd be a wash.
Haw, well you've put your finger on it exactly, that light is a feckin' menace to capture. I'm using Caligo Safe Wash, the black, but I thinned it a touch more than I usually would. There's a trick I picked up off an old fella in Dublin years ago, couple drops of poppy oil if the plate's cold, stops it dragging. Made all the difference on this one.
What kind of paper are you working with? I find the absorbency changes everything with a cold plate, like you're fighting the ink and the paper at the same time.