Monday, March 1, 2021

Native Plant Art, Block Print Archival Ink Behavior

Interesting note about Cranfield block print / linocut ink.

Native Plant Art, Gold Monotype and Black Linocut Combination

An archival quality linocut ink dries upon interaction with paper but does not dry very quickly, if at all when applied to another pigment surface. Here I did a two part artwork of the Florida native plant, saw palmetto, Serenoa repens, where the first ink layer (gold) was applied directly to the paper.

Archival Block Print Ink Dries Best When Applied to Paper

The gold ink was absorbed into the fibers and did set. The black ink however was applied over the gold, monotype layer and did not interact with the fibers. Nine months later I went to frame the piece and the black ink smudged the mat. None of this info is very dramatic, just random info on ink and drying. However, one can add a drying fluid or, as I usually do, just apply a fixative spray after a month or so of air drying.

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