print club news

print club news edition #02 - Why colour is so important to me

If you’ve seen my work, you’ll immediately realise that I use a lot of colour. For me, the interaction between colours gives a solidity and a depth to my work. My “Therapy Tapes” Series use bold, solid colours to create a contrasting tension between the two blocks used to make the print. Sometimes these colours are complimentary to each other and sometimes i’ll use different tones of the same colour, either way, the visual result is that one colour will make the other ‘pop’ and the whole image jump off the paper, or in the case of the “Ink Blot” Series, the translucent colour has to work with the opaque colour in a way that means they simply resonate with each other. The relationship between the colours is so important and the way in which they work when placed next to or over each other, that if the colour is even a little bit off when printed, i’ll just clean up and start again.

To create these prints, I only ever mix enough ink for me to complete a “Small Edition”, this might range from an edition size of between 4 - 12 prints. The reason for this is that I only mix that exact colour once and it is highly unlikely that I would be able to replicate this mixed colour again. This is why I refer to them as ‘Mixed Once Colours’. This makes the prints very limited while still being affordable.

I also use a LOT of extender. This is something that can be mixed into with an opaque or semi-transparent colour making an ink which ranges between a little bit or very translucent, depending on the ratio of extender to pigment. Being able to achieve this level of translucency for my “Ink Blot Prints” is essential, I must be able to create a print layer which allows the background colour to transform into a third colour when the two blocks are printed over the top of each other.

In order to create these amazing colours I only use Cranfield Colours Caligo Safe Wash Relief Inks. They have a very comprehensive range of colours, the process colours mix really well to create tertiary colours and the pigment is really good, a tiny bit of your darker colour mixed into the lighter base colour makes a massive difference. The extender can be mixed into with your desired amount of colour, the more pigment you add, the more opaque it will be, but adding a small amount of colour will create a very translucent and beautiful ink. They are really easy to clean up with soap and water or some people use vegetable oil, I find hot water and soap works just fine, in-fact, I am able to clean off my glass inking plate with hot water at good pressure. Don’t let them touch anything plastic as that’s a bit of a ‘mare to get off, similarly metal sinks! If you’re not using these inks, you really should. I buy mine from Lawrence Art Supplies, Jacksons Art, and Handprinted UK.