First Waka Prints

 I started work again the day after my test run. I wanted to continue printing with everything I had learnt from my test print still fresh in my head.

This was the next print I made, which at the time I was very happy with. The difference in quality from the previous effort, that of the test print, was immeasurable. The colours hadn't bled, the edition was almost identical with a couple of sheets used for proofs and the pigments all dried on the paper close to how I wanted them. I was happy, I finally had come close to printing with watercolour and getting the effects I knew you could with the medium that you just can't with others...

There were colour fades that actually faded, a technique that can't really be achieved in western printmaking (at least not nearly to the same extent), the colours overlapped not blotting out the colours underneath but instead building on top of one another in layers to create new colours as the transparent media of watercolour should. 

I was close with this print and I knew it, first time in 2 and a half years since experiments began in the medium that I had created something somewhat akin to a MokuHanga/ShinHanga print.

So, I thought why stop there and moved straight on to the second print in the series the day after. At the end of this however, I only felt further away. I applied everything I had learnt to this point and for some reason the print just wasn't right. This, as hard as it is to believe now looking at it, was 10 layers of colour, with 4 of those layers being in the main body of blue making up the sky and sea. That does not look like 4 layers of colour, 2 maybe if I'm lucky or 1 fairly good fade, not 4.

I left the edition to dry all the same and the next day realised my mistake. on this print as with the one of the woman in a kimono, I printed it across 3 different papers. with the edition being printed on Japanese HoSho paper, (a cheaper, thicker, and heavier weight paper than that of most Japanese edition papers) 2 proofs printed on Bunkoshi select from Awagami and 2 printed on Kozo Natural Select from Awagami (left to right in image above). Everything was better about the prints on the lighter, more expensive Awagami papers. With the colours being more pronounced, the fades more like fades and the colour build up far superior. 

Fair to say I was gutted to realise my mistake and sore at the fact I had made it just to save some money. Well, I wouldn't make this mistake again, that day I ordered a packet full of the Kozo Natural select from Awagami then took two days off waiting for it to arrive.