Hi, Annie!
I think you're approaching reduction printing exactly the 'right' way --
printing from light to dark -- and conceiving that the areas you carve will
remain whatever color they 'are'... One of the most wonderful things about
transparent colors is that each overprinting (regardless of how light or
dark) deepens the pigmentation, so you really can't go wrong -- quite
automatic and quite wonderful, I think!
My first reduction woodcut was in 1996 and it made my head spin as I tried
to figure out what the effect of each subsequent carving and printing would
be... I wasn't very 'precious' about it -- just experimented as I went
along... I printed the block in areas (didn't print the block with any
over-all flat color, but instead used numerous bokashi (gradation printing)
to print a quarter to half the block at a time, building the image in reds,
yellows, and blues from light to dark exactly as you described... I also
experimented with building this image in positive and negative spaces --
dark figures on light ground and light figures on dark ground. Where they
switch on the horizon from light-on-dark to dark-on-light was VERY confusing
to me and difficult to conceive and control. The effort really turned my
head around and I looked at everything with new eyes (and became HOOKED on
moku-hanga -- prior to that I'd been totally 'oily')!
Here're images of those first attempts at reduction printing moku-hanga
(about 7x9 inches, I think):
http://mlyon.com/images/Doggie-reduction-ex1-web.jpg (cheap 'hosho')
http://mlyon.com/images/Doggie-reduction-ex2-web.jpg (iyo glazed)
The drawings and paintings I've made recently grew directly out of my
experiences in reduction printing -- in particular the way the repeated
printing of the same area can build the most beautiful and intense
coloration.
My most recent painting (60x40 inch self-portrait in acrylic on linen) is
"reduction painted" (I suppose this may be a new term -- don't quote me?) in
'transparent' layers of titanium white on carbon black ground. Each
subsequent layer covered less canvas and used more opaque white (so with
white paint over black, it seemed more natural to build the painting from
darks to lights -- opposite of reduction printing on white paper)... You
can see some photos of the painting at
http://mlyon.com/blog/2007/10/self-portrait-painting-in-acrylic-on.html --
not printed, obviously, but conceptually identical to reduction printing.
A more complex approach (which allows a LOT more freedom and variation)
involves reducing multiple blocks -- then, instead of only reducing each
subsequent color layer (and overprinting only those areas already printed),
it's possible for one block to overprint the carved away areas of another
block -- each additional block increases the complexity of the color
geometrically! My first attempt at a multi-block reduction (three blocks)
is here:
http://mlyon.com/images/blue_shoes.jpg
One of my current projects, the publication of "Jim" in an edition of 42x30
inch lithographs from six plates grew directly out of my experiences with
multi-block reduction printing. "Jim" uses three plates to print various
transparencies of white ink and three plates to print various transparencies
of black ink on a mid-value (BFK Tan) paper. VERY cool (to me) to have been
able to design the plates and send my files over to my neighborhood
pre-press and receive (next day!) the six films for the large litho plates
(which will be burned and printed by Lawrence Lithography Workshop, Mike
Sims, director). SO exciting to go almost directly from mind to film, and
SO nice to have been invited to collaborate with LLW -- a first for me.
You can see my 'plan' for that litho at
http://mlyon.com/blog/2007/10/jim-collaboration-with-lawrence.html -- if you
click the image of "Jim", you can view a full-size (low-resolution 100dpi)
PDF of the plan -- I think it's just SOOOO very cool!
Anyway, no other tips for you, really -- but what you're doing, Annie, can
become pretty intensely addictive (was for me), so... Enjoy, and keep up
the great work!!!
Best,
Mike
Mike Lyon
Kansas City, MO
http://mlyon.com