GARDEN PRINT BLOCKS

We always find it interesting to see how our blocks look after printing. When drawing the images on wood, the ink seems to go down in layers, crisp & sharp as the pens that drew it (and, later, as the knives that carve it out). Sometimes we use different colored markers to denote different areas. But once the blocks are rolled up with ink, all of those marks & tonations merge into one big colorful shape. It always amazes us how precise it is! The rollers deposit ink on carved surfaces that don't print, too. Compare, if you'd like! Here too!


www.tugboatprintshop.com/woodcut_garden.htm

NEW PRINTING VIDEO!

FARM BARGE PRINT!

Been tinkering with this print in the sidelines of the "GARDEN" and wanted to finally show some pictures! A repurposed barge afloat on the sea ~ decks peppered with crops in tidy rows, barns, greenhouses and wind turbine power. Color will be nostalgic, like an old timey ship lithograph, but the setting is the present/future… watch it as it develops online HERE! More photos, too, on our flickr.

GARDEN PARTY VEGETABLE DECOR

Decorating with vegetables! For the GARDEN RELEASE PARTY & WOODCUT SHOPPING HAPPY HOUR this Saturday, May 26 from 4-7pm at Tugboat Printshop's Studios in Lawrenceville (Pittsburgh, PA). You are all invited! Stop by for a refreshing summer cocktail & record player jams while you browse color woodcut prints. RSVP on Facebook, if you'd like. Hope to see you!

COLORING GARDEN

Printing the blue block and key block #2 on the new "GARDEN" woodcut!! Just a few days left for pre-ordering… here!

RED FOR GARDEN!

Printing the red block on the "GARDEN" today…still available for PRE-ORDER for a limited time (at a special introductory rate!)

YELLOW FOR GARDEN!

Printing the first block for the "GARDEN" print today...

"GARDEN" BLUE!

Two key blocks drawn and carved (check!) One yellow block drawn and carved (check!) One red block drawn and carved and transferred back to blue (check!) One blue block drawn, transferred on, drawn on some more, and carved (check! check! check! and almost check!)

We're rounding a big corner on our "GARDEN" woodcut this week ~ the final color block (above) is almost carved! The blue block has been drawn to create the colors blue, green, purple, and brown in the "GARDEN" image. When this block is finished, we will begin the process of proofing ALL 5 blocks together and perfecting the color palette for the print. We should have a final decision made and a print ready to show you all oh-so-very, very-soon!!!

This is probably one of the most complex woodcut prints the 2 of us have ever made. The amount of detail in the 5 blocks that have been painstakingly drawn and carved makes our heads spin. And it's almost done! If you haven't been following the progress of this print, more process photos of it's start-to-finish development can be found on our flickr. (You can view all of the other blocks there too.)

And if you'd like to secure a copy of your very own, you are in luck! Pre-order rate still applies! Get a copy of the "GARDEN" woodcut here! Xo!

RED, BLUE, YELLOW BLOCKS!

Oh, the rainbow of colors so soon to be yielded from these big blocks in the works at Tugboat Printshop this week! Joy, joy, joy!!! Yellow block will make yellow, orange, green, brown! Blue will make blue, green, brown, purple! Red will make red, orange, purple brown! And don't forget the 2 key blocks HERE & HERE that will print, too! (Yep ~ it's a long process…) Proofing in just a couple days! SO AMPED!!

"GARDEN" is up for PRE-ORDER until we've finished the editioning, so if you haven't already, grab your copy of the "GARDEN" today!

COLOR BLOCKS FOR "GARDEN"

Finished planning the color blocks for our latest big woodcut print in the works last week ~ "GARDEN" ~ and now we're onto the carving stage. Lots and lots of time spent pouring over all the little details in the 3 color blocks & how they will work together to layer just right into just the color we imagined for the print…boy-o-boy woodcut can be such a process! And girl-o-girl this "GARDEN" print has a whole lotta detail!

So, we've finished carving the yellow block (first 2 pics above) and work on the red is full tilt. Check out this CARVIN' VIDEO we posted to TUGBOAT'S YOUTUBE!

We are planning for the proof to be ready mid-April, with pre-orders shipping out by the end of the month. Ya-hoo! PRE-ORDER "GARDEN" is still available for a limited time ~ get a copy of this print-n-progress at the introductory rate HERE!

GARDEN WOODCUT UPDATES!

We'll have photos of the "GARDEN" color blocks in progress real soon, but couldn't wait to show you what the 2 key blocks look like printed together! The 2 blocks printed above will both be tinted colors (not straight up black) in the final print but the 2 tone proof above gives an idea what block #1 looks like printed with block #2. Mighty fine, we think! And just imagine the color layering up all magical like behind this…ooo…shivers! chills! O boy ~ can't wait!

"GARDEN" is available for pre-order at an introductory rate right now on our website. SCOOP UP A COPY NOW and save big bucks (the finished print will be listed at a higher rate)! We expect to be sending the pre-order prints in April.

See all of process photos of the "GARDEN" print here, on our flickr. More soon!

CARVING ANOTHER KEY

Getting sooo excited to see this print finished! Just 3 more color blocks left to draw & carve! "GARDEN" will be a 18" x 24" Woodcut Print on Ivory Somerset Paper ~ read more about it & pre-order a copy HERE!

GARDEN KEY BLOCK DONE!

We have finished carving the dark blue block for our upcoming "GARDEN" woodcut! This block had a LOT of intricate detail both to draw and carve so we are pretty amped to have tackled it. Work on the other color blocks will start this week! Getting very, very, very excited for the finished print…

As with many of the larger scale prints we make, the "GARDEN" is currently available for pre-order in our ONLINE SHOP. The cost of the print will be set at a higher rate when it is complete ~ so if you like this print and want to snag a deal, now's the time to place an order! Pre-orders will ship out from our shop as soon as the prints are completed and ink is dry post printing.

CARVING THE GARDEN

Carving is speeding along on the blue block for our new 18" x 24" color woodcut print, "GARDEN." We drew the image in in black, but all of the line work you see will print in dark blue. When this block is totally carved out, we'll start work on the 3-4 other color blocks. The finished blocks will all print together to complete the vibrant, full color final image! "GARDEN" is up on our website as part of our LIFE OF LEISURE Woodcut Series, currently available for pre-order at a reduced introductory rate.