What is a reduction screenprint?

[Rant warning! Who came up with the concept that all competition is good for the customer? For years we’ve had a bus down our road every half an hour. Last week a new bus started, also every half hour. If we lived in a world of sensible co-operation, we would now have a bus every quarter of an hour. Do we? No chance! The new bus is scheduled for five minutes before the old bus so as to pinch all the passengers, so two buses within five minutes and twenty five minutes until the next one. It’s called competition! And the convenience for the passengers? End of rant! Back to posting art stuff.]

I’ve been screenprinting today at Hot Bed Press with Sam videoing the proceedings. You probably know about reduction lino-cuts. Here, a few marks are cut from the lino-block which is then printed in a light colour, the cut parts being white. More is then cut from the same block before printing in a darker colour. The parts cut out the second time being the first pale colour. A multicoloured print is thus built up using just one block. I have heard it called suicide printing since if you make a mistake in the later stages, there is nothing you can do about it because you can’t redo the earlier stages.

I found this example of a linocut print on the internet. The pale green was printed first. Most of the sky was cut out before printing the aqua. The sea was cut out before printing the blue and so on. A five colour (plus white) print has been produced from a single lino block.

(Update on 7th May: I’ve just discovered a blog which shows the production of a reduction linoprint produced by Drew Kail.)

Today I’ve been trying a similar technique using a screen. I had put an image of a derelict factory on the screen which I printed in a gold (the scan doesn’t look very gold, I know!)

After cleaning the screen in situ, I then brushed screen filler across the screen with a toothbrush then reprinted with a tan. Where the screen filler had blocked the screen the print remained gold.

More screen filler with the toothbrush before printing with chocolate.

Finally after a lot more filler – I didn’t want too much dark brown – the fourth and final colour. A four colour screenprint from just one screen.

I felt the technique lent itself to “dereliction”. On my website I have two prints done by the same method of a hobo from Greenwich Village, New York. Jen who prints animals is thinking of using it to get the effect of animal fur.

  Sam and I are now working on the video with the intention of posting it up to youtube. I’ll keep you informed.