Continuing the series of regular reports documenting the production process of the first and second issues of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics, Chapter 1: The Ingurgitator and Chapter 2: A Blot On His Escutcheon, this post shows more examples of the printmaking aspects of the project.

The inky black lake scene (Monoprint-© 2011 Michael Hill)

A deliberate ‘blotting’ effect was obtained from pressing a saturated inked block onto highly absorbent paper for a scene from the second issue. After the printing, the paper had to be peeled from the block quite carefully to avoid tearing due to the combination of the wet inked areas and the paper’s very soft and fibrous tissue texture.

Proposed cover or insert (Monoprint-© 2011 Michael Hill)

This unused print, above, from the first issue remains a possible inclusion as a cover or insert in the second issue.

Fish tail print (Monoprint-© 2011 Michael Hill)

Tails and fins of a cooked fish were inked and printed for some images used in Chapter 1. This approach was inspired by the Japanese sosaku hanga printmaking method in which inkable flat objects were employed as ‘blocks’ as an alternative to woodblocks. The resultant graphic effect is shown in the print above and photos of the image-making process involved in making that print, below.

Printing the fish tails (Photos by Louise Graberl)

Proposed back cover print (Monoprint-© 2010 Michael Hill)

Another unused print, above, from the first issue is a possible inclusion as a postcard insert in the second issue. It was constructed from a combination of woodblock and object printing. For a visual diary record and time-line overview of this project, see all of the BLOTTING PAPER production reports. Issue #1:   No.1   No.2   No.3   No.4   No.5   No.6   No.7   No.8   No.9   No.10   No.11   No.12   No.13   Issue #2:   No.14   No.15   No.16   No.17   No.18   No.19   No.20   No.21   No.22   No.23   No.24   No.25   No.26   No.27   No.28   No.29