The second subject in the Heritage Series (prints made using vintage and rescued or found wood) is from a local historic ranch. Again, the off-cuts came from my wood-working neighbour who had salvaged lumber from decades-old cattle feeders that were being replaced with modern metal structures. Years of exposure to the weather had left the wood blackened with age and deeply abraded. (The white residue on the left-hand blocks is printing ink.)
The scruffy wood, when cut, revealed a startling cinnamon-hued interior. The photo above doesn't do justice to how that planed and sanded wood (the edge of the right-hand sample) glows when it's been oiled and rubbed to a smooth finish. When I tried to re-create this gorgeous colour, I ended up with prints that didn’t look all that different from the race track fencing prints.
My intention is to produce a distinct look for each subject in the series – which has proven a challenge since, frankly, one piece of old wood can pretty much look like any other piece of old wood! My solution was to mimic the colours of the rough exterior and stick with a simple palette of greys and black with an occasional undertone of red or blue.
Here's a tip -- if you're inking up roughly textured wood, don't use your good brayers! I permanently indented this Speedball one. It wasn't expensive but it worked well and I feel badly for damaging it. The 4-inch foam rollers you pick up at any dollar store actually work better on deeply grained wood like this. They lay down a more consistent layer of ink on the uneven surface.
I love how the layers of ink and multiple passes through the press bring out the texture of the old wood. It's not just a visual effect -- if you run a finger over the print you can feel the deep embossing. The power of the press pushes the soft printmaking paper down into the grain and knots in a way you could never achieve by hand.
