A New Cardboard Print: "Circled"

Circled, ink on Gifu green tea medium paper; image size, 10 1/2 x 10 1/4 in; 

paper size 18 1/2 x 18 1/4 in.; ed 3

The triangle and partial half-circle are inscribed within a 12 inch circle, and nestle against an overlapped rectangle; the circle is there and not there. This is my second try with this cardboard plate: I did another version with similar colors––a pinkish and a green, on white paper––but I wasn't at all happy with the color: the green was too cool and the pink too strident. So, I tossed those and tried again, this time on a green paper, and I'm much happier with the results. 

Circled detail

This paper has wonderful surface texture, with little flecks of color. One of these days I'm going to get the viscosity of the ink right, and be able to replicate it each time I print. I use a transparent medium and water with the water-based inks to thin them; the trick is thin enough not to be tacky, yet thick enough to cover the surface moderately well. In this print, I realize that the ink is a bit too tacky. My use of cardboard, and of potatoes, for printing yields a rough, imperfect print, which is an essential aspect of their character, but I would still like to have better control of the ink, and over time, I expect that I shall.