Making W is for Walk - Part 1

I recently finished working on Emily Sutton's latest print, 'W is for Walk.' It's a fabulous print, one that is rich with detail and has a charm that really shows off Emily's skill as an image maker and artist.

What's harder to see is the five weeks of work that went into creating the print. Over the following few Journal entries, I wanted to share a little about that process and outline what it took to get to the finished print.

Part 1 - The development of an idea

Back in early November, I met with Emily to discuss what we might do for her new alphabet print. We discussed ideas, colours, and the general feel Emily wanted for the new print.

Emily talked me through her idea and then handed me a small preparatory sketch (see above) to give me an idea of what to expect. These drawings are beautiful in themselves and have a spontaneity that makes them so attractive. Emily usually makes these on A4 paper rather than in her sketchbook so that I can take them away with me.

Back in the studio, I used the sketch as a reference and mixed inks for each of the colours needed for the final print. On this occasion, I mixed and proofed these before Emily started creating the final print. This gave Emily a visual reference when working on the print and a better understanding of the relationships between the colours.

All of Emily's Alphabet screenprints are made by exposing hand-drawn images, called 'positives', onto screens. She makes one positive for each colour she'd like in the finished print. This new print has nine, so that's nine positives, nine colours, and nine screens needed to complete the print.

Using a scale drawing as a guide, Emily works on transparent drafting film using pencils, crayons, ink and paint to create an opaque image. It's part of the process that can baffle even experienced printmakers, as with only a sketch to guide her, Emily creates the image across the nine sheets of drafting film. She aligns one sheet with another to understand how they sit together, but other than that, she has to go on the picture in her mind. It's a process that needs great care and attention, as any mistakes in registration (alignment) made at this stage will transfer to the finished print.

These films usually take Emily around a week to complete. Once she is finished, she sends me the positives to transfer onto the screens. It's a wonderful moment for me, as for the first time, I see the balance Emily has achieved between spontaneous abstract marks and exquisite levels of delicate detail. I then spend the next few days ensuring all this detail has been exposed correctly onto the screen before getting ready to proof the image for the first time.

Coming Soon: Part 2 - Proofing