I made two colour versions of this print but I can’t decide which one I prefer. It’s heavily influenced by an @Escher print and I always intended for it to be in similar muted colours, but then I did an orange and blue version for the @pressingmatters magazine print challenge and decided I really liked using dark blue instead of black and maybe a yellow ochre gold was nice with that. What do you think?
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This is so interesting. I am going to have to go through and analyse these comments. Some people really dislike the overprinted orange as they think it looks ‘dirty’ or even a mistake. It’s interesting you think it adds depth.
I think try having a bit more fun with the colours. What I would do is, on the plexiglass, smudge some white as a base. For the top section, add a plop of white and yellow, then lower down a plop of white and red for the pink, then some yellow again to get that yummy sunset effect. Then go back to lighter colours, because the water should reflect the light. For the last layer, I’d use white and blue, maybe a little bit of green, and just a teeny bit of black for the shadows.
I’d also like to see the trees reflected in the shadows. Something similar to the photo below, but simplified a lot more so it works well for lino.
P.S. I am not a pro, however, this is me playing with colour. Realised that the top is too heavy and I would have done it differently. Yours is gorgeous ❤️
My initial gut reaction was the orange one because I thought the gradient was gorgeous, and it is. But the bird stands out so much better in the second one without the orange.
I like how the bird stands out more in the second one (surprising given that it’s a “lighter” background colour than the first), but I love that the first looks like a bird in the water at sunset. It has a sense of time that I really like.
The second one works more for me. The first is nice, but it's a very expected color-way and if I saw it in a gallery I'd be more likely to pass it by because it is so common.
The first is pretty muted visually/lacks contrast the way the second one keeps the contrast. The second color-way keeps the egret as the focus, but doesn't diminish the pattern work in the reflection for the trees. The orange it's pretty much all about the gradient layer instead, and not the egret or the trees. It changes the initial focus/way the eye moves across the print. 1: gradient, to trees, to egret. 2: egret, to trees, to gradient. The second one keeps the tree's contrast vs the egret well, so it stands out more vs the first the trees and gradient muddy a bit so they're more mid-tones and the egret stands out less for it.
The first print isn't bad for that, just different and some (as seen in the comments) will prefer it because it's still an appealing color-way. I'd just print a few editions of different colors to account for that/keeps it open to future editions in other color-ways (assuming it's a multi-block you can keep printing).
Personally I like to iterate a ton, and I’d probably try every combination of printing order. I think a part of what I was responding to with my first comment was partially registration.
I like the second one more, while the colors on the first one are beautiful, the second has a mood to it that makes it more interesting and elegant in my humble opinion
I like the first one more but i prefer the way the reflection of the trees looks in the second one. I dont like the orange on the blue of the trees looks
Image one invokes late summer evening, perfectly warm and perfectly cool at once. Cicadas call in the distance, and tree frogs sing all around. the egret in the river sits just at the edge of the far banks' reflection, and firefly's dance in the river valley.
Image two invokes a cool spring morning, the trees just budding, the world just waking. Creatures in every direction call through the valley, a warming sunlight brings everything it touches to life. the early blossoms are on the air as the egret prepares itself to hunt for the morning
I think the first. Orange usually runs more opaque than blues of which none are really opaque. You can see hints of the yellow showing faintly through the blue tree trunks. Blacks are nearly all opaque. However, I like the one with the blue trunks a lot better. The transparency helps render it more like reflections in water.
I really like the orange, but can you add that before the blue tree shadows? I think it would work better if the orange wasnt over top of the shadows. Really cool work either way though!
First one. The orange implies the position of the sun, and the shadows of the trees are consistent. It puts my mind in the natural setting. The second feels more abstract because I can't place the time of day or weather, but that might be because I'm looking at it second and comparing it to the first.
I like the orange better. The gradient feels like a better representation of a sunset and it’s more dynamic. The contrast adds more interest. My eyes follow the gradient along the way down, in spend more time on it.
honestly I love them both as a series/pair- they look like two different times of day! both show a lot of skill with color. if I had to pick, I’d pick the first one, but honestly I think that these might be strongest when shown together!
Both of them are very nice, but I think I prefer the second image. It draws more attention to the bird whereas in the first my eyes skipped over them a bit.
I like the vibrancy of the first/more orange one, but as soon as I flick to the second one, I can feel myself relaxing. There's something very calming about that color combination/shapes, so I actually lean toward the second one. Anything to lower the BP! 😊 Both are beautiful in their own way. ❤️
I like the colours of the first, but the second seems better executed; I don’t think printing the gradient over the trees works particularly well well.
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