FINAL COLOR FOR "OVERLOOK"

Since our first unveiling of the drawing on the key block & the introduction of pre-order in late August of 2014, we have worked steadily on the "OVERLOOK" print, designing, drawing, and carving each of the five 44" x 28" blocks.

After weeks of proofing & refining and remixing & reproofing & re-refining again and again, color proofing is finished! The print has changed a lot and in really great ways! 

We now introduce the "OVERLOOK" Woodcut Print in color! Printed from 5 blocks on 46" x 30" Okawara paper. Limited Edition. On pre-order currently, set to rise after the publication of the edition in January. (See the full print on our site!)

"OVERLOOK" is an expansive landscape lush with vibrant color and vivid patternwork. Intricate in every way, fabulously attentive to detail. The print shows a outdoor landscape that plays with scale as it rises from top to bottom from a dense forest woodland to fields and up into foothills, mountains, and finally a voluptuously clouded sky topped with a glowing blue gradient.

The "OVERLOOK" looks amazing as a single vertical piece but can also be matched up to the edges of itself to create a long, scroll-like vista of infinite size!

Available for purchase on our site HERE.

Or follow the whole making process as it continues to evolve in the printing of the edition HERE.

"OVERLOOK" WOODCUT IN COLOR

The latest color proof of the "OVERLOOK" woodcut. Still in progress, one more round of edits and we should be there! Stay tuned & join up to our mailing list on our website for details!

FINE-TUNING "OVERLOOK" BLOCKS

Final proof coming! We're color balancing & carving our last fixes in preparation for printing that for real color proof of the "OVERLOOK" woodcut this week! Hoping to have final print decisions made by Friday, and a newsletter to share it with y'all!

5 total blocks make the "OVERLOOK" woodcut print, years in the making (we haven't counted hours by boy it's been a LOT!) 

Join up to our mailing list to be the first to see how this epic project wraps up! Just enter your email at www.tugboatprintshop.com!

"OVERLOOK" SKY FINISHING

We transferred the sky drawing/carving from our 1st "OVERLOOK" blue block to the 2nd "OVERLOOK" blue block and then drew in some more sky details. The overall effect will (probably) compare to the sky in the "DESERT ISLAND" woodcut but with all mid-day blue tones.

(Carving is almost done, too! Forgive us for being behind in posting & documenting a bit...we're about to bring another tugboateer into our little Pittsburgh family! Baby 2 any day!)

MAKING "OVERLOOK" BLUE SKIES

Moving info from one "OVERLOOK" woodblock to another "OVERLOOK" woodblock (through transfer--printing from one block to another). Once this dries, we'll draw & carve the final details of the expansive blue sky and be ready to roll!!!

5 total woodblocks make the "OVERLOOK" woodcut, a huge print-in-progress we're about to wrap up that we've been working on on-and-off for the past 3 years. 

We'll be updating the print's webpage with new proof pictures as we get them, but you can get an idea of the current direction of the print HERE or access all of our in-progress shots to date HERE. 

CARVING BLOCK #5

Headed to press with the "OVERLOOK" to begin final proofing when we're done carving this last block! The 5th woodblock (4th color block) made for this lush vertical landscape print-in-progress, this block will add lots of dark green & shadowy depth...

ABOUT TO PRINT AGAIN!

The last (5th!) block for the "OVERLOOK" is now totally drawn in (and almost carved!) and the other 4 are getting fine-tuned for the beginning of final proofing in the coming week. 

With all the blocks carved, years into this massive project, we are beyond excited to start mixing colors and begin to realize this giant series of woodblocks as a big color woodcut print! 

Easily the most complex & detailed artwork we've ever made together (or apart, for that matter), the "OVERLOOK" began as a simple sketch around the time we were drawing in "THE MOON" and slowly over the years, alongside other woodcuts, took shape as an abundantly lush vertical landscape vibrating with patterns of the natural world.

Should be an exciting few weeks! Stay tuned!

LAST "OVERLOOK" BLUE!

Carving that last "OVERLOOK" woodcut blue! Whew!

FINAL BLOCK FOR "OVERLOOK"

Excited to be wrapping up the last of the drawing on the 2nd blue block this week & moving on to exclusively carving until this big, big intricate woodcut print (the "OVERLOOK") is finished! Hoping to be able to begin proofing again, with all the blocks this time, by next week...here goes!

The detail above is of the earlybird proof, crinkled, drawn on, pasted to, revised and generally abused in the tug to get this print completed. Color will change from what you see on this proof, this is such an early tester with only 4 of the 5 blocks for the print rolled up in standard ink colors just to see how they align and mix together.  A more refined color mixing will happen when we have all of the blocks completed & ready to proof together. Such a very small little fragment of the bottom left corner of the print! 

It's BIG!

"OVERLOOK" UPDATES

Well, the truthful news today...we're still working to get a 1st official color copy of the "OVERLOOK". The print just needs more time! Take a peek at our process behind the process & see what's left to do to finish up this epic color woodcut: T.B.P.S. Newsletter 111!

DETAILS OF BLUE #2

Carving on the 2nd blue block and final color block for the upcoming "OVERLOOK" woodcut has begun! A dense forest to carve through, but this block will add a secondary green tone to the printed image, along with shadow/depth between vertical landscape layers in the print as a whole. (A couple details of the 2nd blue block in progress above) Exciting!

Once carved, we'll finally be able to see the first real glimpses of our vision for the "OVERLOOK" color woodcut print taking shape. The print, which is designed to be both a singular vertical artwork or an infinitely expandable horizontal landscape diptych/triptych/installation, will be lush with color and pattern beyond anything we've ever made.

We have tried our best to document the work on this print, but no number of photos can do it proper justice! It's difficult to communicate both the intricacy & scale. We've collected the best into this photoset. 

Our online shop features a brief intro to the print & process of making it, with the ability to pre-order at an introductory rate (for just a limited while longer!)

Here goes!

THE 2ND BLUE BLOCK

Because of the wide range of greens & natural tones we want to color the "OVERLOOK" woodcut, we're making 2 woodblocks for blue (each will print a slightly different ink tone). Here, we're almost done drawing in the detail on the 2nd blue block--when this is done, we'll be carving night-and-day until it's done! 

The "OVERLOOK" woodcut is a 5 block, 46" x 30" color woodcut print-in-progress. This giant & intricate print and all of the blocks that make it are completely handmade using no computer or digital technologies (aside from the photos we take to record the making of it).  It has taken us over 2 years to make the key (in black) and all of the 4 color blocks, so you can imagine the growing excitement as we wrap up the last steps of the making and prepare to enter production on this massive project!

Accomplishing the "OVERLOOK" woodcut will start a new chapter at Tugboat Printshop.

EARLYBIRD COLOR "OVERLOOK"

The 1st color print of "OVERLOOK" will debut Friday, August 21, 2015! The print is starting to come to life in color, but still lots to do! We're working now to color balance & align all 5 woodblocks.

Above, our test proof with early proof amendments marked for change. We anticipate a dramatic transition from this early tester to the 1st color print.(Overall, too much brown here!) 

The "OVERLOOK" woodcut print is 46" x 30" with a 1" paper border. Production of the limited edition will follow the release of the 1st color proof. Pre-ordering info here! 

PROOFING "OVERLOOK" BEGINS!

Proofing on the big "OVERLOOK" woodcut has officially begun! Stay tuned for the big unveiling of the 1st proof in color on Friday, August 21st, 2015! Join up to our mailing list for 1st details.

FINE-TUNING "OVERLOOK" COLOR

We're going back through all of the "OVERLOOK" color blocks in preparation for first color proofing! We'll print a handful of copies during the proofing process, slowly fine-tuning color on each of the 5 blocks and carving the last block details, before we arrive at a finished 1st color proof. The 1st color proof will be a guide for how we mix & print during production. The full edition size of "OVERLOOK" will be 100 limited edition prints.We are planning to unveil the 1st color proof on Friday, August 21st, 2015 in the T.B.P.S. newsletter. Join up by entering your e-mail at www.tugboatprintshop.com and be the first to see & hear the latest details about the big "OVERLOOK" woodcut landscape!

FIRST PEEK IN B&W

The countdown to the "OVERLOOK" woodcut is on! Mark your calendars, we're unveiling the 1st color proof on August 21, 2015! (Join up to our mailing list/newsletter to be the 1st to see it)

Until then, enjoy this B&W teaser of the key block on newsprint... This is just a detail from the middle of the "OVERLOOK" print, see the full B&W test proof on our site!

Carving Clouds

This past week, we've been drawing & carving the blue sky into the "OVERLOOK" color blocks. 

DRAWING "OVERLOOK" SKY

"OVERLOOK" color blocks have taken over our entire basement workspace! Almost done drawing in the sky on the light blue block & then we'll transfer this to the others & make more sky magic happen! First proof will be along shortly after these are carved, the fire burns in our bellies to get this print done!

BIG RED!

The red block for the "OVERLOOK" woodcut is now carved, making 3 color blocks. We just proofed the 3 together with the key and now begin the process of going back to each of the blocks to refine, carve more, and fine tune how the colors will layer in the finished print. Throughout this process, we'll also be making one more block, which will add shadows, more greens, and a deeper dimension to space within the tiered landscape. Shouldn't be too long and we'll have a solid 1st proof to share!