Hello Friends,

My last blog addressed two prints. This one, just one. But what a challenging print it was! I told my wife, Nina that I thought this was going to be a simple print using two blocks. That was absolutely not correct!

I began turning to a familiar subject, a stream in a forest. Those who know me well know that this is a particular stream which I continue to revisit after more than 35 years. I started with this photograph and then changed everything. Well, nearly everything. I went from a vertical to a horizontal format. I added light in an otherwise flat-light image. I added to the composition on one side. And then there are all the changes I made later on.

In considering how to begin I decided that I would use two blocks, one for the water and the background forest, one for everything else - rocks, trees, leaves. I started printing with the "everything else" block and found that, after going from light to dark colors, I then worked backward (with the same block), going dark to light. In total I did eight impressions with that block before beginning with the second block. Below are the first nine impressions, the last one being with the second block.

That last impression (lower right) shows you that I applied three colors. Two of them, the blue and the yellow are applied onto the block in a limited area with the brayer. Each print is therefore a little bit unique because this is not exact from one to another. (Ultimately, the differences are very minor and probably impossible to find from one print to another after it is finished.)

In this print I limited my use of colors to three (plus white). So, do keep in mind that all of the colors you'll see are combinations of those three colors. Printer's ink colors are not the same as the familiar names of oil paints or watercolors. The colors I used and their approximate equivalents are Process Cyan (Cyan), Warm Red (Cadmium Red medium) and Warm Yellow (Cadmium Yellow deep).

This next array of impressions begins with the same image as #9 (lower right) above.

That last impression is a completely new block, a third block. With this block I added a transparent layer of blue over nearly the entire print. And here's the final result:

"Emerald Stream", linocut print 9" x 12" (23.5 x 31)

I have simplified the process pretty significantly for you as I know a detail explanation of all the stages would end up to be terribly boring. I hope you've enjoyed seeing this one come together. In all, this print took more than three months to complete.

I've had my work included in many national juried exhibitions this year from Texas to Wisconsin and Virginia to Colorado - and one in England. The judges have been generous with me and I've received some really fine awards. (Take a look at my CV.) There are still more shows like this coming up in the next few months and I am grateful my work is included in them.

Lastly, I received a request to do an interview from Richard Elsen, who lives on the south coast of England. Richard is a prolific and talented writer about art. His subjects are often less well known but the stories are always worthwhile reading. His interview, "To Build, You Must Destroy: William H. Hays and the Art of Reduction Linocut" is thoughtful and certainly the most in-depth work written about my printmaking. This is on Substack.

Thank you so much for your interest and continued support of my work. I always look forward to hearing from you and I wish you all the best in your life.